"I was very proud to tell all my friends I'm going to the Olympics as a volunteer," Komatsu said. "The first thing they asked was if I would get paid for such a job, but I told them money is not a volunteer's purpose."

Komatsu is working toward her master's degree in sport management at Ball State. For her internship she is working at the beach volleyball venue at Bondi Beach. She is assisting spectators at the venue.

Ball State physical education professor Jae Park advised Komatsu to become involved in the Olympics for her internship. At a party hosted by Park, Komatsu met Etsuko Ogasawara, the executive producer of the Japanese Association for Women in Sports (JWS). Komatsu explained why she wanted to be a volunteer at the Olympics to Ogasawara and a few weeks later Komatsu was notified that JWS would be able to help finance her trip to Sydney.

In exchange for working as a student reporter for the JWS Web site, JWS paid for Komatsu's plane ticket to and from Sydney. Her reports appear on JWS is a non-profit organization that promotes women's participation in sports and strives to increase the number of leadership opportunities for women in society.

"The Web site is for everybody who is interested in the improvement of women's work and sports," Komatsu said.

Twice a week Komatsu also serves as a volunteer for the "Green Games," an event sponsored by the Landcare Group, a non-profit Australian organization. This program is part of a three-year effort to plant at least 4 million trees at more than 500 sites in Australia.

Komatsu will graduate in December 2001. She is originally from Fujisawa City, Japan, which is close to Yokohama.

After the Sydney Olympics, she will serve as a volunteer for the Paralympics before returning to Ball State. Komatsu also plans to be involved in the Salt Lake Winter Olympics in 2002 and the 2002 Japan/Korea World Cup Soccer Games.

"Everything is new for me," said Komatsu. "I love the challenge of learning about new things during my time in Australia."

By Kortney Reinitz, Graduate Assistant

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Komatsu by email aikomatsu@hotmail.com.)