My London 2012 Games Maker Adventure - Summary!

The GREATEST 12 days of my life in words...... 

On Wednesday 29^th August 2012, I departed from Newcastle Central Station – destination  London for the Paralympic Games!!!

I was lucky enough to have a ticket for the Opening ceremony, so with a quick check into my hotel it was time to get myself to the Olympic Park! This wasn’t the first time I’d been into the Olympic Park, having run in the National Lottery Olympic Park Run earlier in the year – it was amazing to see how much the park had changed since then!

The opening ceremony was outstanding and really set the scene for the days ahead and my 1^st Games Maker shift the next day. Although I’d sat at home watching the Olympic Opening Ceremony and thought I’d prepared myself for the watching the ceremony, emotions still ran ran high as the countdown began and the realisation set in that I was actually at the Paralympic Games, something I’d only dared to dream about previously!

The morning after the opening ceremony, I woke to an amazing view from my hotel room across London, making me even more excited for the day ahead!

Upon arrival at the Olympic Park I simply couldn’t believe I was actually going to be part of the games, it was a total goose pimple moment.

My role for the Games was as a Mascot Team member within the Spectator Experience Team. Even though I’d attended all the training sessions prior to the games, I don’t quite think I understood what my role entailed! As a member of the spectator experience team I was involved in a variety of areas within the team. One role I was given was as a mascot chaperoning, this involved attending the mascot appearances around the park, ensuring Mandeville was not attacked by young children or even the older children. Another role was taking part in the Mascot Buggy. The serious side of this role was to ensure that no one was injured whilst the buggy drove around the park, but in reality this was one of the most enjoyable roles on the park as it involved singing and dancing to the mascot song ‘On a rainbow’.

When I wasn’t singing and dancing or chaperoning Mandeville, the other side of my role was to chaperone various talents around the park. These talents were brought onto the park to entertain the spectators and try to minimise queues around the park. The acts which I chaperoned around the park included comedy acts, dance troops, musicians, professional yoyo players and carnival group!

Being a Games Maker was more than just the role we were there to carry out and by no means was all work and no play! Even though my shifts finished at 9pm, many nights I found myself still on the park in my uniform at midnight! As a Games Maker we were given various opportunities, these included a pass to go up the Orbit to see the views across the park and London at night, and attend some events. I was delighted to be given a ticket to the final athletics event in the stadium to witness Oscar Pistorius win his gold medal!

Alongside the Spectator Experience team, Coca Cola also ran their own entertainment around the park. I spent 1 day chaperoning coca cola, and got myself involved in a marching umbrella troop with them. One of the most outstanding talents on the park was the No Limits Street Band, who were playing whilst the giant conga line went around the spotty bridge on the park which was reported by the BBC – this was a total unforgettable experience!

During the Games I had 2 days off where I decided to explore the park as a spectator, visiting the various sponsors sited around the park. Coca Cola had installed a beat box where you could create music with samples taken from various Paralympic sports, Samsung showed off their technology allowing you to send a photo of yourself home as a postcard and create personalised t-shirts! BP on the other hand allowed you to register for them to offset your carbon footprint for your travel to the games. This was something I was particularly interested in due to study for a  PhD in renewable energy and sustainability. Being a civil engineering graduate I was also interested in the construction of the park. Having read so much about the sustainability targets for the park and following the construction I was interested to see more of the park.

My Games Maker adventure finished the day before the closing ceremony. I was lucky enough to have a ticket for the closing ceremony, which was the perfect way to end the experience. Like the opening ceremony, emotions ran high during the event, as I thought back through just have much of an amazing experience I’d had and the people I’d met whilst at the Games. I felt I could very much relate to the line in Coldplay’s song “every tear drop is a waterfall” as the tears set in and the realisation it was all over properly set in.

Thank you to
@MichaelWeadock  for the photo!

On Monday 10^th September I checked out of my hotel, left my luggage at Kings Cross and donned my Games Maker uniform for the final time to go to the athlete’s parade through London. I got up bright and early to secure a good spot on the route. I found a sport in Trafalgar Square alongside some fellow Games Makers positioned behind the press area. Even though I was there early, the time flew over waiting for the parade to begin as we all share stories of our Games Maker experiences. The parade itself was the perfect ending to my time in London, the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of Team GB and the experience of a truly unforgettable experience of London 2012.

My thanks must go to the Community Foundation for the Play your Part bursary I was awarded, as without this, my experience would not have been so memorable. The bursary allowed me to enjoy my Games Maker experience without totally depending on my student savings which would only have allowed me to stay on the outskirts of London for the minimum duration possible, meaning longer commutes and being out of the buzz of London 2012.

I cannot thank the Community Foundation enough for helping make my Games Maker experience event more magical and memorable. I can certainly say this was a truly unforgettable experience!!