The event was the 18th FINA Visa Diving World Cup 2012. This competition is of great importance, as it's a qualifying event for the Olympic Games. With countries competing from all over the world, the expected attendance for this event was 20,000 approx!
So my training begins........
The alarm bell sounded at 4.30am and I thought to myself what am I doing? Regardless of the time, the anticipation of what lay ahead, made me spring out of bed. With my Adidas volunteer uniform on, accreditation at hand, I made my way to the tube station at 5.30am. To my astonishment I thought the tube would be empty but how wrong was I. There were several other commuters also catching the tube at this ridiculous hour. I guess London town never sleeps!!!
I arrived at the Olympic Park at 6.30am and made my way via the airport style security towards the Aquatics Centre. There was an airy darkness at this time of the morning, with only the wind howling across the park, quite spooky but nice and calm at the same time. I took advantage of this by snapping some pics, although dark, the silhouette's could still be visible.
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| 6.30am - the Aquatics Centre visible before sunrise |
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| The Orbit structure visible before sunrise |
I arrived at my debrief with mixed feelings, excited, anxious and nervous. The excitement could be felt from all parts, all the volunteers eagerly chatting away of what lay ahead, nobody would have thought it was only 7.00am! The team of volunteers had been split into several various roles, ranging from checking and collecting tickets, to manning the information point and access control areas. I spent the day moving between all the various tasks. Once the team had been deployed the gates to the Olympic Park opened.
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| The calm before the storm |
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| Evidence that I was there as a volunteer! |
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| A small part of the volunteering team - nice bloke on the right! |
In the distance we could see the spectators being security checked before they rushed towards ticket checking. Half an hour into the job and a message was conveyed that Nick Clegg had entered the Olympic Park - the first VIP of the day! His entourage was visible from the distance, fast approaching I could just about make him out, as he was surrounded by his own security team. He was the first of many, so the volunteers decided to see how many VIPs/celebs we could spot. Throughout the three days we managed to spot Princess Anne, comedian Jimmy Carr and Tom Daley.
As the spectators flowed in, so too did the number of pushchairs, children's scooters and bikes. I'd never seen so many in my life, there must have been the same ratio of scooters to pushchair's! The crowds began to fill the Aquatics Centre and the atmosphere was intensifying. Everyone waited in anticipation for the event to begin.
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| Action time! |
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| Spectators waiting anxiously |
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| The roof of mammoth whale like structure is clearly visible! |
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| Synchronised diving is underway |
The music began and so did the event. The cheering and applause could be heard from within the arena outside. I managed to catch some of the competition on my break and so did the remainder of the volunteers. Once the competition ended, it was time to assist in helping to vacate the venue and the Olympic Park. The Park did not take long to empty and once all the spectators had gone, we had a debrief and headed our separate ways.
It was a long and gruelling day, a 10 hour shift in all! It did not seem this long, the excitement and movement from role to role helped make the day go quicker. This was pretty much the routine for the remainder of the week. As as the days passed, the tasks became easier and so to did the journey to and from the Olympic Park. All in all, the event had been hailed a great success, lots of positive feedback being received from many of the spectators, with gate receipts exceeded 20,000! This trial run gave not only me, but all the volunteers and organises a flavour of what it'll actually be like at games time. Exciting times ahead for the greatest show on earth!
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