Volunteers are an important part of any event, and the success of Battle of the Nations depends on these hard-working people. HMBIA News asked Anastasia Bundur from Ukraine to share her memories about the BotN volunteer experience  with us. 

Anastasia became part of the Battle of the Nations team in 2014 in the Croatian city of Trogir. She learned about the BotN from volunteer friends and decided to take part here. Her candidacy was approved and she got the position of media support.

“At first, I wasn’t so happy. I thought that it would be boring work at the computer, but everything turned out to be much more interesting and the trip was remembered for a long time. It was lucky that everything happened in a beautiful country and wonderful conditions were created for volunteers – accommodation and meals. I remember the tight schedule during the day, so we only had a rest at night, but it didn’t stop us from making new friends and go sightseeing, although I had to get up before dawn to swim in the sea.”

Before the BotN started, the responsibilities of the young volunteer included the promotion of the tournament, putting up banners and distributing invitations to the Championship. Thanks to this, Anastasia and her colleagues visited several cities in Croatia.

Further, she was completely immersed in working with the media. It was a big deal – the press gathered a lot: registration, accompaniment, help and advice to photographers, journalists, videographers. When there were breaks in the work, Anastasia grabbed the camera and ran to photograph the battles: 

“This became part of my responsibilities. I was delighted when several of my photos adorned the pages of news about the Battle of the Nations. My curator from the organisation team at the beginning seemed very strict, but she helped a lot with work and with all tasks explaining everything. And I really tried not to let her down. As a result, I got an unforgettable experience, which later came in very handy.”

Anastasia recalls all her BotN adventures and it seems to her that it was all yesterday. She is still friends with many who then took part in the project – with volunteers and organizers. And she remembers in detail her feelings during the Battle of the Nations -2014:

“Fights! Of course, fights, I saw for the first time live how knights in armor compete, the historical  costumes, the excitement of fighters and the support of the audience, food at the tents in which the participants lived, everything played a role! Everything that happened there was unforgettable! I also remember that the volunteers worked until night and tried to help each other, how they had lunch together and, standing in line for food, discussed the victories of their favorite teams and going to the beach at night. I remember how I didn’t want to leave!”

It was tough and fun at the same time, but the team of volunteers did an excellent job,for which the organizers of the tournament and the teams have remained infinitely grateful.

HMBIA News