So..... similar to my The Road to London 2012...and The Road to Sochi 2014.....I've decided to blog about the journey along the path to getting to Glasgow 2014...... The length of this blog will depend on how far along the journey I get! *Fingers crossed*
20th January 2013 - Application Submitted!
Monday 4th November 2014 - Accepted!!
8th March 2014 - 10:30am - Excited much? :-D
Monday 6th January 2014 - Accommodation = Booked!
I'd been pondering for a while about camping during Glasgow. I have to admit I was a little gutted during London 2012 to be coming back to my hotel room with no one to share the buzz with (although I pretty much arrived back and passed out!).
Camping seemed ideal to me. Designated area just for volunteers, a bar, mobile phone charging points - what more did I really need? The only point that didn't really sell it to me was the communal showers, but I've decided this is just a life lesson I need to learn... where do I put my eyes?! haha.
So for £238 I have booked a pitch for 14nights via Camping Ninja (http://campinginglasgow.com/volunteer-special/). I'm going to pack up my £17 bargain tent, my camping stove and sleeping bags! Destination: GLASGOW!
I'm not going to lie, booking to camp has made my adventure seem even more exciting!! I will report back on just how exciting it turns out to be! :D
20th January 2013 - Application Submitted!
"Hi Nicola,
Your volunteer application is now complete. You could be part of the biggest sporting and cultural event that Scotland has ever seen.
The next stage of our process, the interview of candidates, begins in April and continues until December 2013. This will be Scotland’s biggest ever peace-time recruitment drive. We hope you understand that it may take us some time to let you know the outcome of your application......"
This would have been submitted earlier! I got up bright an early to complete it on the 14th January - but had problems with email system! Never mind - the hard part is done, now all I have to do is sit back and see if I get the offer of an interview!
20th March 2013 - Invited to Interview!
"Hi Nicola
We're delighted to invite you to join us for the next stage of our volunteer journey, an informal interview for a role within our Sport Competition team.
We have made every effort to accommodate your preferences but this hasn't been possible in every case. Don't worry if Sport Competition wasn't one of your original choices, you'll find out lots more about this team when we meet........."
After logging onto the portal I find that my sport is NETBALL!! WOoop!! Being a netball coach/umpire/player and having volunteers at the Netball World Series, this didn't really come as a surprise!
I'm also on the Pass on Your Passion Volunteer Programme but I forgot to mention that!
Now just to get the interview booked and work out how I'm going to get there!!
20th March 2013 - Interview Booked!
After attempting to book my interview last night, and not receiving a confirmation email, I called the Glasgow 2014 hotline this morning to confirm it had gone through correctly.....didn't want to be booking my trains without it!!
So I had it confirmed to me this morning, Interview booked - Date: 29th April 2013.... Just over a month to go!! Eeeekkk!!
29th April 2013 - Interview time!!
29th April 2013 - Interview time!!
Alarm goes off at 5:45am.....15mins of snooze later I'm out of bed dashing to get ready to catch the 7:41am train from Newcastle Central Station!
I arrived in Glasgow slightly ahead of schedule and made my way to the volunteer centre.
I had my trusted map - I try not to rely on my mobile for maps, purely because it eats up all the battery!! After walking along the road saying "it must be down here somewhere" aha! I found it - Common Wealth House was in sight!
Since I was early I had a little bit of hanging around inside but finally I was called to the desk and given my lanyard, detailing my interview booth! I was very excited when I was told I would meet Clyde... sadly he was just a cardboard cut out, not an all singing all dancing Clyde!
I had my trusted map - I try not to rely on my mobile for maps, purely because it eats up all the battery!! After walking along the road saying "it must be down here somewhere" aha! I found it - Common Wealth House was in sight!
Since I was early I had a little bit of hanging around inside but finally I was called to the desk and given my lanyard, detailing my interview booth! I was very excited when I was told I would meet Clyde... sadly he was just a cardboard cut out, not an all singing all dancing Clyde!
After 'check-in' next was passport control! This is where my ID was checked (apparently passport is all you need as it's the one stop shop for checking your ID!) and I had my wonderful photo taken - which will hopefully make it's way onto my accreditation!
After passport control was the Glasgow 2014 Experience where I got to complete my very own smile as to why I wanted to be a Glasgow 2014 volunteer. Once I'd read the leaflets and guides on what volunteering at the Games entailed we were off into the cinema to watch a short video and presentation on what the Games were all about and what the role we were being interviewed for would entail! I must add, it was hard to hold back the tears when Seb Coe appeared on the video - he is my idol! It was good to see the purple and poppy represented on the video too!
Now all that was left was the interview itself. When it comes to the interview questions - I'm not going to list them here, as I think that's massively unfair! What I will say is, anyone who has the right motivation and passion for volunteering will be able to draw upon experiences and answer the questions fine!
On leaving my interview booth I was very hopefully that I'd done a good job and answered all the questions the best I could. Off I went to track down some Glasgow 2014 Pencil (I'm a bit of a pencil collecting nerd!) only to find there wasn't actually a memorabilia shop - I did get a 10% off online voucher though - I'll just have to keep my eyes open!
Now it's just time to wait....and wait.... and wait....!!
After passport control was the Glasgow 2014 Experience where I got to complete my very own smile as to why I wanted to be a Glasgow 2014 volunteer. Once I'd read the leaflets and guides on what volunteering at the Games entailed we were off into the cinema to watch a short video and presentation on what the Games were all about and what the role we were being interviewed for would entail! I must add, it was hard to hold back the tears when Seb Coe appeared on the video - he is my idol! It was good to see the purple and poppy represented on the video too!
Now all that was left was the interview itself. When it comes to the interview questions - I'm not going to list them here, as I think that's massively unfair! What I will say is, anyone who has the right motivation and passion for volunteering will be able to draw upon experiences and answer the questions fine!
On leaving my interview booth I was very hopefully that I'd done a good job and answered all the questions the best I could. Off I went to track down some Glasgow 2014 Pencil (I'm a bit of a pencil collecting nerd!) only to find there wasn't actually a memorabilia shop - I did get a 10% off online voucher though - I'll just have to keep my eyes open!
Now it's just time to wait....and wait.... and wait....!!
It's my birthday in October so I have my fingers crossed for a Glasgow 2014 birthday present, just like my (apparent) Sochi 2014 Christmas present!!
Monday 4th November 2014 - Accepted!!
A few days ago I'd had the 'Accepting Your Role' news on my portal. Many people had said this is part of the route to receiving your a acceptance, but I really didn't want to count on it.
I was delighted this morning (whilst demonstrating for a Geotechnics Tutorial) to receive this emails:
"Hi Nicola,
Congratulations - you're a Clyde-sider!
Exciting news!
Glasgow 2014 volunteers will be known as Clyde-siders and we'd love you to be one of the friendly faces who make Scotland's biggest ever sporting and cultural event happen!
Based on your application form, your availability and your excellent interview, we'd like to offer you a role in our Netball Team."
Yippeeee!!! Only 2 weeks after offers have been rolling out, I have received mine! Based on this, I am now a member of the Netball Athletes Services Team based at the SECC!
Friday 13th December 2014 - Orientation Training Invite!
This morning I received my email inviting me to attend Orientation Training. I'm so excited about this it's unbelievable! For London, I was allocated my role too late, so did my Orientation Training online.... not quite the same as being in Wembley Arena!
Booked Session - DONE!
Booked Train - DONE!
Told Parents I'll be home - DONE!
8th March 2014 - 10:30am - Excited much? :-D
Now just to wait 12 weeks for it to come around - I might also be able to buy my cuddly Clyde I've been waiting patiently for!! :)
Monday 6th January 2014 - Accommodation = Booked!
I'd been pondering for a while about camping during Glasgow. I have to admit I was a little gutted during London 2012 to be coming back to my hotel room with no one to share the buzz with (although I pretty much arrived back and passed out!).
Camping seemed ideal to me. Designated area just for volunteers, a bar, mobile phone charging points - what more did I really need? The only point that didn't really sell it to me was the communal showers, but I've decided this is just a life lesson I need to learn... where do I put my eyes?! haha.
So for £238 I have booked a pitch for 14nights via Camping Ninja (http://campinginglasgow.com/volunteer-special/). I'm going to pack up my £17 bargain tent, my camping stove and sleeping bags! Destination: GLASGOW!
I'm not going to lie, booking to camp has made my adventure seem even more exciting!! I will report back on just how exciting it turns out to be! :D
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