Today was my first volunteer shift at the Whistler Volunteer Centre, as an Accreditation Operator. What is an Accreditation Operator, you say? More on that later.

I was a little nervous, like the first day at a new job. Especially since I had forgotten how to use the Accreditation System on which I was trained over 2 months ago! Not to worry, as everyone was in the same boat. Fortunately, it was also a slow day as the Whistler office had just opened this past week.

Portion of Accreditation Card

So, back to the Accreditation question. Accreditation is the process that identifies and registers all persons involved in the staging of the Games, e.g. athletes, officials, media, guests, staff and volunteers.An accreditation card is reserved for persons performing a role or function necessary in the staging of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The accreditation process establishes a person’s eligibility to perform a role at the Games and the access entitlements they need to fulfill their role. Once established, this information is displayed on an accreditation card (see sample at left), together with personal information, such as first and last name, function and organization, and access privileges.

Just to give you an idea of the numbers involved in this process, VANOC is expecting to accredit approximately 85,000 people for the Olympic Winter Games, and 20,000 for the Paralympic Winter Games!