Call center agents usually possess commendable verbal prowess, the ability to keep their tolerance compass from going haywire, and their knack for making their way out of long-winded and exasperating converstaions with customers. have you ever thought about what kind of abilities they would flaunt when unleashed from their cubicles to the athletic arena? Wonder no more, for the 4th Call Center Olympics is now here to supply you with answers. 

A fun-filled battle of the brawn exclusively designed for call center agents, the Call Center Olympics was first launched by the Popcorn Events in 2009. The "Colympics" is the bainchild of Arvee Salazar-Cruz, Popcorn's event manger, and it is known as the biggest sports event in the Philippines that aids call center employees in achieveing a fuller and healthier lifestyle. 2012 marks its fourth year.

The idea of a sports event for call center agents was born when it became apparent that despite the number of financial perks an agent may get , he often loses a big chunk of a more important wealth: his health. the Department of Heath (DOH) attested to this, as they recently disclosed that agents who work graveyard shifts face alarming lifestyle-related illnesses such as stroke, heart disease, and cancer. It is no secret that many people consider call center jobs as the epitome of easily earned high compensations and incentives. 

Popcorn Events teamed up with Chris Sports and the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) for a bigger, longer, and more exciting experience in the combat zones this year.

The 4th Call Center Olympics will feature fourteen sports and events: men's basketball, volleyball (men and women), mixed bowling, badminton doubles (men, women, and mixed), table tennis mixed doubles, 9-ball billiards (men and women), 3-kilometer and 5-kilometer fun run, darts, airsoft, ad cheerleading competition. The games are going to be held every weekend in Meralco Fitness Center and will culminate on July 29, 2012. Trophies, certificates, cash and other special prizes will be awarded to the winning companies and outstanding players. 

This inter-call center tournmanet is just a part of a three-part fitness program organized in Metro manila that will run the whole year. the two other events are the Call Center Fitness Caravan, which involves the establishment of mini fitness and sports expos in various BPO facilities, and the Epic Relay 250, which is basically an overnight running relay party cum competition for the agents. 

The fitness program's objective is to provide the BPO sector with opportunities and options to engage in a healthier lifestyle through sports while developing camaraderie and sportsmanship among all the participating players, it's also a chance for the agents to flaunt their physical flairs that they cannot show while going on their sedentary jobs inside their cubicles. These aims were successfully met in the previous competitions.

This year's Colympics is expected to draw over 2,000 employees from at least 20 different call center companies in the country . 

Source: Gala Magazine; Page 30; 4 April 2012