Hundreds of volunteers get ready for 2022 Women’s Final Four in Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The NCAA Women’s Final Four tournament is happening at the Target Center in Minneapolis April 1 through the April 3 and hundreds of volunteers are getting ready to welcome thousands of fans to the Twin Cities.
"I was here for Super Bowl, I was here for men’s NCAA, and now I’m here for the women to represent my three daughters and my five sisters," said volunteer Denise Loving.
Loving, like many of the nearly 600 volunteers signed up for this event, has volunteered for other major sporting events in the Twin Cities.
"It’s just a great way to give back to the community and the state," volunteer David Dominick, who also volunteered for the Super Bowl and Men’s Final Four, said.
Volunteers will greet visitors in Minneapolis skyways, work at free fan experience events throughout the city and help show off the Twin Cities.
"It’s about the community. It’s about humanity. It’s about being able to have Minnesota pride," said "super volunteer" Tashonda Williamson.
"I think it’s a great opportunity to reopen the city and welcome people back to Minneapolis," said volunteer director with Minnesota Spots and Events Kathy Gullickson said.
Gullickson says so many people volunteered and signed up for multiple shifts, that they didn’t need to secure as many volunteers as they had originally thought. A testament, she says, to the spirit of volunteering in Minnesota.
This Final Four is also significant because it’s the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the milestone legislation that paved the way for women to compete in college sports.
"That is a very special milestone and I think people have forgotten that we haven’t always had women athletes able to compete at the collegiate level," Gullickson said.
"I played basketball in college, and it was nothing like how women play basketball today," volunteer Jill Vecoli said.
Women’s Final Four kicks off in Minneapolis on Friday, April 1st. The event includes free concerts and activities at the Minneapolis Convention Center. For more information click here.