Abu Dhabi residents among lucky few to be selected to volunteer at Rio Olympics

A Canadian couple will be using their experience of golf events in Abu Dhabi when they volunteer at the Olympics in Brazil, while sparing some time to cheer on Canadian and UAE athletes participating.

Norman Labbe and Susan Ward say their multicultural experience in the UAE led to their successful Games application. Christopher Pike / The National

Canadian couple Susan Ward and Norman Labbe, both long-time Abu Dhabi residents, are set to fulfill their dream of volunteering at the Games in Rio de Janeiro after a two-year application process.

ABU DHABI // A Canadian couple will be checking off a significant item on their bucket list tomorrow when they arrive in Rio de Janeiro as official Olympic volunteers.

Abu Dhabi residents Susan Ward and Norman Labbe, both 59, are set to join the 50,000 volunteers at the 2016 Games ahead of the opening ceremony on Friday.

About 10,000 non-Brazilians have been selected from about 250,000 applicants in what Ms Ward calls an arduous application process.

The two-year process involved hours of filling in forms, background checks, language tests, online courses and a group Skype interview.

“We were interviewed with five others from around the world and asked to complete tasks together to see how we would work in a diverse group,” Mr Labbe says.

The couple say their successful applications are largely because of their experience in working and living in a multicultural environment.

“Our time in the UAE has helped us to develop a cultural sensitivity that we take wherever we go,” says Ms Ward, who moved to Abu Dhabi from Ottawa more than 15 years ago, with her husband joining her a few years later.

She says she would be representing both Canada and the UAE at the Games.

“I consider myself an unofficial ambassador for the country wherever I go,” Ms Ward says.

Her experience in health care, which includes helping to set up the Sheikh Khalifa Medical City and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, and Mr Labbe’s work with Abu Dhabi Police and the Environment, Health and Safety Centre will no doubt be useful at the games.

But it is their love for and involvement in sports that has led them to Rio.

Mr Labbe has contributed to the UAE’s ice hockey league, as well as his knowledge of traffic management to the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship since its start in 2006.

Ms Ward has also volunteered for golf events, which was why Games organisers chose to use their experience for the historic return of golf to the Olympics after a 112-year hiatus.

“They asked us to select four events we were interested in and one of those events for both of us was golf,” says Mr Labbe, who is happy to be sharing the experience with his wife.

Most of their time in Brazil will be spent on volunteering but the couple will set aside time to cheer on Canadian and UAE athletes.

“We’ve bought tickets to athletics, track and field and – wait for this – beach volleyball at Copacabana,” Ms Ward says.

The couple are excited to receive their yellow and green uniforms but, aside from a few transport vouchers, they must fund their entire journey.

“It wasn’t easy getting flights with everyone descending on Rio and we were fortunate to get an apartment through a Brazilian teacher in Abu Dhabi,” Ms Ward says.

“But that is what volunteering is about – giving up your time, finances or anything else.”

Asked if they are concerned about the Zika virus or political unrest in the country, the couple say security is their main priority.

“We’ve travelled extensively and been to Brazil twice, so I won’t be wearing jewellery in the street or carrying a handbag,” Ms Ward says.

Mr Labbe says Rio is his favourite city.

“To be part of the Games in such a vibrant city is an incredible opportunity that we both appreciate and look forward to,” he says.