Rugby World Cup 2015 Volunteer: The Pack Training

Work Force Kick Off

Date: Saturday 16th May, 2015

Location: Stadium MK

Last Saturday was the first of many training sessions for what Rugby World Cup 2015 are calling.... THE PACK!  Off we all went to Stadium MK, via many many roundabouts. 6,000 volunteers have been recruited for the games; I'm very lucky to be one of those! After the application process, it was exciting to be starting the journey to RWC 2015 arriving in England & Cardiff! On entry to the ground everyone received a #thepack 16th May Kick Off t-shirt, and a goodie bag! I was pretty excited by the pen at first being a bit of a stationary geek! It wasn't until after lunch I really had a look to see what else was hidden in there. I love the retro touch of issuing a special The Pack Sticker Book! Rumour has it, at each training session we will receive another pack to complete the book, with no swapping required. Woop!

Whilst finding my seat in the stadium it was nice to see some of the guys I'd worked with as a Try Out Vip issuing the goodie bags and helping people find their seats. Once seated, the morning kicked off with Laurence Dallaglio introducing us to Stadium MK and giving us a flavour of what was to come. First off we were to be snapped by the in stadium drone cam, this is where the bottle of Coca-Cola came in, as we were asked to hold these in the air - maybe we'll feature on the Coca-Cola adverts come games time, who knows!

After posing for photos, next it was over to England Rugby's Official Singer, Laura Wright, who took us through a physical and vocal warm up. After a few moves and a bit of 'lalala' we found ourselves learning the words to Jerusalem....which was amazing to sing along to as a group later in the afternoon *goose-pimple moment*.

Next up John Inverdale came on stage as Master of Ceremonies and lead out an inspirational speech about what the day was all about. John then introduced Jason Leonard which brought about a good standing ovation from the crowd for the World Cup Winner. There was a really excitement and appreciation across the crowd. This excitement was further amplified when Shane Williams, Maggie Alphionsi and Serge Betsen took to the stage alongside Will Greenwood. Here they answered some of the questions which The Pack has posted earlier in the morning. Sadly Price Harry couldn't be with us on Saturday as he's currently touring New Zealand but it was great to see him on the screen with his video recorded message!

During the break in proceedings it was time to go and collect our 'The Pack Lunch' and explore the exhibition space.

There was a chance to 'Kick to Win' tickets to the Opening Ceremony alongside Land Rover stalls showing what the transport team drivers will be zooming around in.

 

Whilst wandering around the exhibition space it was nice to bump into some old familiar faces, whilst also meeting lots of new volunteers! There was also the odd celebrity (man-type rugby players) hanging around for photos.

After chatting with friends (and new friends!) I made my way to the St. James Park area of the exhibition where I found a familiar face from the RWC Staff who ran the VIP training session back in Leeds. The stalls were a really good idea, they gave people from the venue a chance to mingle and ask any questions they had regarding the specifics of what they'd be doing and where. I was curious to know exactly how many people made up the 'Sports Presentation: Field of Play' team given the 3 empty seats beside me in the stadium - rumour has it, there's only 4 of us and it's a VERY exciting role - this just added to my whole excitement about the day. At the stall I chatted to a couple of first time volunteers who were travelling to volunteer in Newcastle from Cumbria and Germany! It was amazing to hear the dedication of the guy from Germany travelling across just for the Kick Off event!

The afternoon session began with more signing and the introduction to 'The Paka'...

"It's 2015 and it's rugby time

There's 13 venues to have a good time

This World Cup's going to be the best

From the grounds in the north, south, east and west.

You won't forget us we're called the pack

Because of us you'll wanna come back

The rugby world will all be here

We're the pack we'll make you cheer.

Rugby 

World Cup

2015

The Pack"

Remember the *step*clap*step*clap*

The conclusion of the afternoon was the big uniform reveal! From what we could tell (and rumours!) it consists of trainers, sock, trousers, rugby top, polo top, 'proper' jacket, the yellow cap and a back-pack. I can't say I fell in love with it instantly like I did my Purple London 2012 coat, or the distinctive Glasgow 2014 jacket, but lets wait and see! Time will tell when I get my hands on it at the 'Home Turf' training sessions. Apparently it's made by Musto, so I've no doubt it will be able to keep us warm and dry up north. Chances are I won't actually wear the majority of it, as from what I gather, most of my role will be carried out indoors!

Next on my Rugby World Cup adventure is training for my role as a Training Operations Programme (TOP) following on from my time on the Volunteer Interview Programme (VIP). That's just before my trip to Baku 2015! It's going to be one awesome summer!

Inaugural Tour de Yorkshire: Tour Maker!

Date: Saturday 2nd May 2015
Role: Deputy-Supervisor Sector F2 aka. York Finish line!

After volunteering last year at Le Grand Départ I couldn't resist applying to be a Tour Maker once again!

At 4am my phone alarm buzzed. It was time to get up! A nice early morning drive from Sheffield to York to kick start my day. We arrive at York Racecourse at 6:25am, perfect timing for Supervisor Check-In at 6:30am! After half an hour to catch my breath it was Supervisor Briefing time!

After Supervisor briefing, it was time to try and gather up the rest of Team F2 and break the ice between the team! It was amazing how much the excitement grew and grew throughout the morning, as we waited for the overall briefing and departure off onto the route!

We were lucky to be within walking distance of our location so more chatter and getting to know one another happened on the short walk up to the finish line. On route we sussed out where our nearest Porter-Loo's (oh the joy!) and crossing points were. On arrival at the furthest point on the route - aka. the finish line! - we stopped to take some photos to get those out of the way before we began our Tour Maker Roles!

Here's the wonderful Team F2 at the beginning of the day!

The day passed without any issues, and it was good to see such as amazing turn out for the Women's Race too! I was so lucky to be in the location I was, we got to see 4 passes of the Women's Race followed by 3 passes of the mens - last one being the finish of the mens race!

Throughout the day it was really inspiring to see so many spectators on their bikes! I've been contemplating giving road cycling a go since I volunteered on the Le Grand Départ, but this weekend really did cement it in my mind - I'm doing to give it a serious go!

The end of the day finished with the team forming a bit of a fence to prevent cyclists heading into the finishing area. This wasn't because we were spoil sports, this was for the health and safety of the cyclists and the work force taking down the finishing line to move onto Stage 3! 

Just as we were about to retire back to the racecourse, we were delighted to see Gary Verity and Christian Prudhomme walking their way back down the route. The perfect end to the day was a cheeky team photo with the pair of them and a chat about the day. Let's not mention the fact I wasn't exactly sure who one of these guys was when speaking to him, but I know now OK :-P

What an awesome day.... even if it took me a drive back to the North East, Mam's cooking and a hot bath to finally defrost!

Well done Yorkshire. Well Done Tour Makers..... Bring on Tour de Yorkshire 2016!!!