Around 2,000 volunteers needed for National Veterans Golden Age Games
Aug 6, 2024, 2:11 PM | Updated: 6:50 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — The National Veterans Golden Age Games are being held in Utah for the first time in their nearly 40-year history, and NVGAG officials are looking for volunteers.
The event is expected to attract more than 1,000 veteran athletes, according to Brittany Hook, director of the National Veterans Golden Age Games. Hook said more than 2,000 volunteers are needed.
“We need help from volunteers to assist with everything,” Hook said. “From arrivals and departures at the airport, to registration, check-in for the event, all the way to assisting with our 19 various sports competitions. And there really is a role for everyone.”
Retired U.S. veteran Oz Hutton, who was injured in the U.S. Marines, talked about how cycling and competing at the NVGAG help him feel free.
Hutton has mobility issues due to neurological damage and three cracked vertebrae in his back. He said he can’t walk long distances and can’t run at all.
He trains on an adaptive tricycle three times a week around the Wasatch Front with a group of fellow veteran athletes. He’ll compete in the 20K cycling race at the NVGAG.
“It gives me a chance to get out, get back into nature, to be active,” Hutton said. “I’m also doing this to keep in shape, and to prove to myself in spite of setbacks, I can always recover.”
Oz Hutton cycles three times a week, and will compete in the 20K cycling race at the NVGAG. (KSL TV)
The 2024 games run from Aug. 24 through Aug. 29. They’ll include events like cycling, air rifle, track and field, swimming, golf, cornhole, bowling and pickleball. Dr. Mike Campian, who is on staff at the games, said there are some incredible shows of strength and resilience.
“We had a 90-year-old do the 100-yard dash,” Campian said. “It’s absolutely amazing.”
The games, founded in 1985, were designed to promote a healthy and active lifestyle for veterans.
Dr. Campian, who was injured while on active duty, explained how physical activity and camaraderie at the NVGAG are forms of therapy for competing veterans. He described them as a win for their mental health and healing in their day-to-day lives outside of the games.
“Which is huge because some of these veterans are fairly isolated,” Campian said. When they have that energy and that excitement, they want to get out, and they want to work out.”
Further, he said it’s a sense of community.
“They look forward to this every year,” he said. “They have friends that they developed over all these years, and they’re so excited to all comeback.”
The games will be hosted all over the Salt Lake Valley. Registration forms for volunteering at the event can be found on NVGAG’s website.
Contributing: Mary Culbertson, KSL TV
