First group of overseas volunteers of media operation for the Beijing
Olympic Games, 23 students from US University of Iowa, arrived yesterday.
One student will join the group on the next day, said Sterling Bacher, study
abroad coordinator of the university, who arrived on June 15 in advance.
Among the 24 Iowa volunteers, some will work at the Main Press Center (MPC)
and the International Broadcast Center (IBC), Bacher said.
Some will work at the tennis or wrestling course, mainly responsible for
collecting comments or advice from athletes who finish their matches.
"They will ask the athletes how they feel the venue." he added.
According to Bacher, the Iowa volunteers, most majoring in journalism or
conversational Chinese, were picked up after three rounds of tests by the
Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG), including story
writing and role playing.
After a week-long orientation course on Chinese culture at Tsinghua
University as of Monday, they will join the other 292 overseas Olympic
volunteers of media operation for training by BOCOG.
The University of Iowa, started its Olympic training program three years ago,
was the first overseas school that built contract with the BOCOG.
