Standing erect in a corner of the hall of Queen Elizabeth Stadium, Lee Ping-sum, a man over 60, dutifully carried out his role as an EAG volunteer, by pointing a spectator at a table tennis match to the washroom. Lee will stand here for about 8 hours everyday during the East Asian Games (EAG).

Lee is one of 6,000 volunteers for the games. His job is to make sure people find their ways to toilets and not the back stairs by mistake.

He has been at work since the first day of preliminary competition, December 2. Standing for long periods is not easy for the elderly. But Lee has learned a few secrets, "Press the back of the hands against the back of the waist, and take a 10-minute rest every two hours," he said.

Lee has been volunteering for different activities for more than ten years. Certainly with that record he had no intention of missing the EAG, he said.

Retirees like Lee comprise only a small portion of EAG volunteers. Most are students - about half. Working adults occupy another 40 percent. The rest are housewives and unemployed persons, according to one of the staff at the EAG Volunteer Programme Office (VPO).

Some volunteers have been on the job since the 24th of last month, to carry out authentication and security for some stadiums and hotels, she said.

All 6,000 volunteers were selected from over 14,000 applicants, according to the VPO. The enthusiasm shared among the volunteers may have its origins in the Beijing Olympics last year. "People were impressed and now don't want to miss the EAG," she said.

Three-year Hong Kong University student Alvin Sit missed the chance to volunteer in 2008 for the Olympic Equestrian events, which Hong Kong co-hosted with Beijing, because he had to attend public examinations. "Having seen the success of the 2008 Olympics, I think servicing EAG could also be meaningful," he said. "Plus, I love sports,"he added.

Alvin is doing authentication and security in the media room, checking the credentials of everyone entering. He's enjoying the work and in his spare time, he can watch the competitions on a TV screen on the wall.

Both Lee and Alvin wear the red uniforms specially designed for the EAG. Volunteers wearing blue uniforms are team leaders.

"Being a leader, I have to organize the work flow, assign work tasks, and deal with interpersonal relations," said Thomas Chan, the leader of the Media Team at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium. The 28-year-old man's enthusiasm for the games moved him to take a week's vacation so he could become and EAG volunteer.

"The leadership experience could benefit my future work," he said.

James Hung, a retired official, has rich management experience and plenty of hours of free time. As the leader of the Hotline Service Team, he has to organize lots of basic jobs, such as answering phone calls from prospective spectators and journalists, preparing photocopies, managing lockers.

"We hope the games hosted by Hongkongers are successful. The EAG needed people, and I love to contribute and help," Hung said.

(HK Edition 12/05/2009 page7)