Over 40 students from Coventry University will be making their way to Moscow at the end of June to volunteer at the sixth IRB Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament.
Sport and event management students (front L-R) Melike Calliste-Ozen (19, from UK); Elena Vasile (20, from Romania); (rear L-R) Kerri Pritchard (22, from UK); Desislava Goranova (22, from Bulgaria).
The students, most of whom are studying sport and event management courses at the University’s Business School, were invited to support the event by the competition’s organisers, the Rugby Union of Russia (RUR).
Students will be based mainly within the Luzhniki Stadium in the country’s capital, and will work with the teams, referees, media and the tournament committee to ensure the smooth running of the event.
Four undergraduates from the Faculty of Health and Life Science’s sports therapy course will also work as volunteers in the event’s medical facilities throughout the course of the competition.
The volunteers are set to show off not only their people and management skills, but also the diversity of the University’s student body, with representation from countries including Britain, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, Latvia, India, France, Cyprus, Canada and Russia.
This latest opportunity follows on from the success of sport and event management students who volunteered at the ‘Going Global’ conference in Dubai in March, which has led to the British Council inviting Coventry students to participate at the same event in Miami in 2014.
Melike Calliste-Ozen, 19 years old and one of the students taking part, has already got her preparations off to a good start by being selected as captain of her local Keresley Rugby Club team.
Neville Clements, head of the Department of Sport and Event Management at Coventry University, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for our students. Volunteering at the Rugby Sevens World Cup will bring significant international work experience for the students, and will create the ideal forum for them to engage with key international markets.”
Gleb Babkin, amateur and students’ rugby development manager for RUR, said: “We are happy that we have an opportunity to work with volunteers from Coventry University. Rugby World Cup Sevens is a great international event and we are happy that we will all have this unprecedented experience.”
Kicking off on Friday 28th June, the Rugby World Cup Sevens event will see the England men’s team up against Argentina, Portugal and Hong Kong in the group stages, with the women’s team competing against France, Japan and hosts Russia.
The final is set to take place on the Sunday.
