Dmitry Chernyshenko (pictured), President and chief executive officer of the committee, was commenting after the announcement that 26 educational institutions, including 25 universities, had been successful in their bids to become Russian Volunteer Centres.

"The programme for the preparation of the Olympic volunteers is one of the largest and most innovative of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee projects," said Chernyshenko.

"We have an ambitious task ahead of us - preparing tens of thousands of specialists for working at the Games."

The contest to find the volunteer centres was organised with the support of the Russian ministry of sport, tourism and youth policy and the ministry of education and science.

Bids were judged in 11 individual areas: Transport, medicine, doping control, team and delegation services, protocol and language services, technology, ceremonies, communications and press operations, administration management and accreditation, services, event services and Paralympic integration.

The contest received 126 bids from 51 higher and nine further specialist educational institutions from all regions of the Russian Federation.

The overall leader in terms of bid numbers was the Krasnodar Region, with Moscow and Saint Petersburg coming in second and third place.

"This contest has enabled us to incorporate all the regions of Russia into the volunteer movement - from Arkhangelsk to Pyatigorsk, and from Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok," added Chernyshenko.

"The universities and organisations who have responded will allow us to create a firm foundation for the preparation of thousands of volunteers for working at the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi.

"The creation of an infrastructure for the preparation of volunteers for such events in Russia will be one of the most important legacies of the 2014 Games, the significance of which is difficult to overstate."

The volunteer centres will open mid-2011 and the mass recruitment of volunteers for the Sochi 2014 Games is planned for the beginning of 2012.

The selection and training of volunteers will take place between 2012 and 2013.

During the training teams of volunteers will take part in scheduled test events.

About 25,000 volunteers will work during the Games in Sochi in more than 20 areas - from meeting the delegations at the airport to helping organise the closing ceremony.

In addition, around 3,000 volunteers, trained by the city of Sochi, will help visitors attending the Games to travel between venues and ensure a welcoming and friendly atmosphere.


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