Volunteering in Taekwondo offers some amazing opportunities both at home and abroad. Just ask Douglas Messias, a coach at Musa Taekwondo in Sydney, NSW, whose vast experience in the sport and impressive volunteering history at international events has seen him selected and trained as a Taekwondo Sport Specific Volunteer for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

For Messias, originally from Brazil where he competed as a Taekwondo athlete from the age of 11, volunteering in Paris will fulfil a lifelong ambition. “This is a dream coming true, as I couldn't make it with the Brazil national team, now I have the chance to be an Olympian in a different way in green and gold,” he says. “I can't describe in words how I'm feeling before I get there.”

When the Olympic Taekwondo program begins in August, Messias will be there to perform an important operations role as a Training and Warm Up Team Member at Auguste Delaune Sports Park and Grand Palais, as well as a Ceremony Team Member – Operations Rehearsal.

At the training venue, his responsibilities will include: welcoming the national teams on their arrival for a training session; checking if all team members hold the valid accreditation to be at the venue; making sure all athletes have everything in order for a smooth training session; and, when each session ends, organising the transition before the next national team arrives. Every country has one hour of training per day prior to competition.

At the competition venue, his responsibilities will include calling the athletes before the fight, keeping the area tidy with enough space between national teams, and checking the athletes before they get to the final inspection.

Honing skills from Brazil to Australia

Based on a medical recommendation when he was 10 years’ old, Messias started taking Taekwondo classes in his hometown of Pindamonhangaba in São Paulo. “I didn't have enough calcium in my bones, and I was advised that a sport with some impact would help the bones to get stronger,” he explains.

Not long later, Messias was competing – with genuine success – at Taekwondo events. “With a bit of talent my development was quite fast, winning a few competitions. I got to state and national level where I could keep myself training at a high level and competing for 15 years,” he says. 

Unfortunately, a lack of available financial support in the small town meant the Taekwondo team could no longer afford to continue, forcing members to look for careers in other fields. 

But in 2009, Messias was invited by the local council to become a manager of Taekwondo for the city. His mission was to build a new team and win the state games in São Paulo. The team acquitted itself well in 2009, then claimed first place for females in 2010, and finally became male/female champions in 2011/12. At that point, struggling to balance training with work commitments, Messias stopped competing as an athlete.

However, his close connection with Taekwondo continued, albeit in a different capacity on the other side of the world. After arriving in Australia as an international student in 2015, Messias found himself missing Taekwondo deeply. Aware of this, his English teacher introduced him to the Taekwondo team at Sydney University, and soon enough he was helping the coach at the Sydney Taekwondo Festival in Liverpool, where he was introduced to Master Alex Sootho from Musa Taekwondo. Master Sootho invited Messias to join the club where he has now spent the last eight years – a club that plays an “incredibly important” role in his life.

The path to Olympic volunteering

Messias did not become an Olympic Games volunteer overnight. His impressive volunteering record stretches over a number of years across major sporting events, including the 2014 FIFA World Cup (São Paulo, Brazil) and the 2019 World Taekwondo Championships (Manchester, England).

“My first volunteering event was the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where I could watch four international football games including the big final where Brazil won against Spain. I made so many good friends that I still have today. I then decided to go to other international events,” he says.
“Taekwondo has opened a lot of doors for me, and volunteering in sport has always been a good way to participate in international events that back in time I couldn't afford to attend. Being a volunteer has given me the opportunity to experience new places and meet interesting people,” he says.

Following the 2024 Summer Olympics, Messias plans to volunteer at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy. While he has given a lot to Taekwondo over the years, his favourite sport has given back plenty in return.