26 September 2006

Ontario, Canada: The 2007 Canada Winter Games signed up its 2,000th volunteer on the weekend but organizers say they need at least twice that number before the event begins in February.

About 300 more people signed up to help with the Games at a recruitment fair in the Yukon capital on Saturday. Organizers had set an ultimate goal of nearly 5,000 for the event, which takes place from 23 February to 10 March.

General manager Chris Morrissey said they need at least double that number of volunteers before the Games begin.

"We're still not sure of the number. We know that, based on past Canada Games, somewhere between 4,000 and 4,500 will be adequate," Morrissey said.

"But because of the compactness of our venues, we're not quite sure if we need that many volunteers."

He said he's confident they will reach their volunteer target by late December.

Volunteer Paula Kubica said Yukoners need to be convinced how important it is to sign up.

"This is the first time the Games have been north of 60," Kubica said.

"This is a huge event for Whitehorse. We want to show Canada that we can do it and we can pull it off and we want it to be the best Games yet."