Approximately 600 volunteers are needed to support the organization of the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Cologne, the German venue of the two-nation project with France. The Organizing Committee received more than 1,000 applications since June 2016. After a preselection had been made, 500 interviews with candidates from Germany and its neighbouring countries were conducted at the LANXESS arena in Cologne in a real marathon of castings. The club room of the arena was transformed into a large interview zone. Thus, more than ten chats could take place at the same time.

Franz Reindl, President of the German Ice Hockey Association and of the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Organizing Committee, personally welcomed the applicants: “I am very glad that so many people show real interest in our sport and want to help making the 2017 IIHF Ice World Championship a success”, he said. “In ice hockey there are different special teams, the volunteers are one of them. We need friendly and professional volunteers since we want to create a good atmosphere in the city and reflect a great image of Germany.”

Volunteers will be employed in 22 departments in Cologne: For instance in transportation, the media centre, ticketing, in team services, in the service for spectators and in the Fan Village. The Organizing Committee received applications from many different countries. Most of them are from Germany and the ice hockey nations of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden, from Canada and the United States. But there were also applicants from Portugal and Turkey and even one from Iran. About a third of the candidates are female.

The long-distance interviews with the applicants from countries far from Germany will be conducted via Skype in the coming days and weeks. The closing date for the application procedure is in January. The candidates will learn then if they were selected to be part of the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship’s special team of volunteers. The opening game for the German national team is on 5th May vs. Team USA in Cologne.