Baku 2015: European Games - Field of Play: Diving!

Friday 24th April 2015

Back in October 2014 I submitted an application to volunteer at the First European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan! I'd heard nothing since my application - my invite to interview went astray into my spam folder - so I was surprised to see this email land in my inbox this week, alongside my RWC2015 news:

"Dear Aquatics Volunteers,  

Thank you for applying to volunteer in the sport of Aquatics at the Baku 2015 European Games. Aquatics is made up of four disciplines; Diving, Synchronised Swimming, Swimming and Water Polo the dates for each sport are listed below:

Synchronised Swimming:                             9^th – 16^th June

Water Polo:                                        9^th  – 21^st June

Diving:                                                  15^th – 21^st June

Swimming:                                          19^th – 27^th June

We are delighted to offer you a volunteer position for the European Games."

After a few emails back and forth today and a quick Skype chat, I received confirmation that I've been accepted to volunteer at Baku 2015! 

Best part is that for once a major event won't cost me a fortune as Baku 2015 are covering my expenses!! :-)

I've submitted my availability between the 13th - 22nd June so that I can volunteer at the diving competition as a Field of Play Assistant. I've been allocated the same role that I'll be doing for the Rugby World Cup 2015 - different sport, obviously. This isn't the first time I've volunteered with diving, after my experience with USA Diving back in 2012 it will be good to be back beside the pool!

Watch this space and I'll keep you up dated on my adventure.... Not long to go!

Thursday 28th May 2015
Today is the day. My pre-arrival visa arrived in Sheffield! It's sat on my desk here, right now, alongside the useful information on Baku and my Baku wrist band! Last week I received my plane tickets alongside my shift plan. After the disappointment of Sochi 2014, I can finally get excited! All I await now is details of my accommodation. 

Friday 5th June 2015

I've now my accommodation through - a nice 4* hotel with 4* TripAdvisor Reviews. I'll be in a shared room (mystery as to who my buddy is!) with air-conditioning. It's bed and breakfast with a sauna and gym also available - only slight improvement on my Glasgow 2014 tent :-) It's all getting pretty exciting - all that's left to do now is await my departure date and pack my bag!

Oh yeah - check out the weather comparison! 

Also, I've volunteered to be Team Leader for a few shifts! Can't wait to try my volunteer coordinating skills out in another country! Fingers crossed the radio calls are in English ;-)

**Note: As with previous games, I will NOT be blogging a day by day account whilst at the games!!**

Tour de France Le Grand Départ 2014: Tour of Yorkshire!

Date: 6th July 2014

Location: Sheffield

Mission: Le Grand Départ 2014

Role: Supervisor, Sector 20

One never forgets how to ride a bike :-)

13th February 2014 - Applied for a role with the Tour of Yorkshire!

Today I applied for one of the most exciting events to come to my university city of Sheffield - Le Tour de Yorkshire!!

With the excitement surrounding the events and my recently purchased road bike, I was more than definitely inspired to apply!

The application form its self was relatively straight forward, once I'd dug my driving license out to find the number for the ID section! The amount of times I need this for volunteer application forms, I should probably save it in my mobile or something!

With my previous experience of coordinating/supervising volunteers I applied to be considered for a supervisor role. When it came to actual role on the day, I'd pretty much do anything, anywhere to be involved!

Application submitted, now time to wait...

28th February 2014 - Interview Time!

I'd read on the website that anyone applying for a supervisor role would be asked to complete an online interview, or should I say virtual online interview! Having completed a Skype interview for Sochi 2014 I wasn't too nervous about talking into my computer. The nerves came from the fact there wasn't going to be a person on the other side of the screen so to speak!

So, I woke up early this morning, put on a smart top (jogging bottoms on the bottom half!) and loaded the software. Personally, I thought it was good way of doing interviews, it allowed me to complete it when I wanted without having to fork out travel expenses to and from the interview, along with needing time off uni. Perfect!

The interview was made up of 4 (or was it 5?) question, nothing unexpected. The interview seemed to be there to check I had the skills and experience to supervise/coordinator a team of volunteers. Fingers crossed I meet their criteria!

21st March 2014 - Congratulations!

Ahhhh the excitement! This email has just landed in my inbox!

"Congratulations Nicola

You have been selected to be a Tour Maker. This is the next step on your way to making the UK stages of the Tour de France 2014 an unforgettable experience for everyone involved. We are really excited to have you on board."

I'm going to be volunteering as a Tour Maker!! WOOOOOOOPPPP!!!!!

However..... I still don't know where I'll be or what I'll be doing! Eeekkk!!
I've offered to volunteer at any of the 3 stages so finding out where I am should be interesting :-)

[update: I got a real world job which means there's no way I could go to London on the 7th, therefore I've had to change me available to Stages 1 or 2, hope that doesn't affect my offer!]

16th April 2014 - Orientation booking opens!

Now the excitement is really starting. Today I received an invite to book my orientation training. Apparently at orientation I'll find out "what being a Tour Maker will involve, and see some very special guests."

Living in Sheffield I chose the Leeds orientation training, which just happens to be the day after my Glasgow 2014 Role Specific Training so it looks like I'll be flying up and down the country that weekend - I just can't get enough!

9th May 2014 - Stage and Sector Confirmation!

Today the excitement really really got going as I received an email detailing the stage and sector I'd be allocated!

I was so excited to find out that I'd be allocated Stage 2, Sector 20. Sector 20 is the final sector of Stage 2 in Sheffield! Being a regular volunteer around this area I was so so excited, nothing can beat me down.

Now just to wait for orientation to find out more about the event! :-D

25th May 2014 - Orientation Training!

This morning was the first in the series of Tour Maker Training! Off I went to Leeds, after returning to Sheffield from my trip up to Glasgow only this morning! It made for one very sleepy Tour Maker!

The adventure started with a very busy train to Leeds. Apparently the train company had put one less carriage on than usual, but never mind, 40 minutes later I arrived in Leeds ready to follow my map to the arena.

It would be wrong to write this post without mentioning one thing. That one thing being the rain! It poured and poured down, leaving those of us who had arrived early for the doors opening DRENCHED! However, it's fair to say that everyone I spoke to in the queue was very positive and excited for the event, so no Tour Makers spirits were dampened.... unless our feet...!!

Once in it was really busy, apparently there was stands and the opportunity to get our photos taken with the trophy, but because of the crowds this totally passed me by and I carried out straight into the seating expecting it to start soon.

After an hours wait the show began! As per usual with 'orientation trainings' no 'real' training occurs, that's saved for Role Specific training. It's all about motivating the volunteers and getting the buzz going about the event!

It was amazing to see the venue so busy, with loads of Tour Makers venturing out and braving the rain. Now doubt many Tour Makers will have travelled a lot further than myself - Well done to those!!

The 'show' itself was hosted by Rob Bonnet a BBC Sports Journalist and featured the following 'special guests':

• Gary Verity - Chief Exec of Welcome to Yorkshire! He went out of his way to confirm that the Yorkshire folk are more than welcomed to call people love and pet! 
• Brian Robinson - The first Briton to finish the Tour de France and the first to win a Tour Stage!
•  Jenny Brierley - A Games Maker with a volunteering addiction who spoke about her times as a Games Maker at London 2012 and how that inspired her future.
• Nicky Roche - Chief Exec of TdF Hub 2014!
• Nicola Adams, MBE - I really don't think I need to explain who she is! She was awesome!
• James Tibbetts - Events Operations Director at TdF Hub 2014
• Bob Brayshaw - Safety and Security Director at TdF Hub 2014
• Kate Fox - Poet
• Toby Cuthbertson 
• Alistair Griffin - Singer of the offical Tour of Yorkshire track 'On the Road'

Along side this excitement there was also a cheeky video with the star of Educating Yorkshire showing off a teaser of the lovely ASDA green Tour Maker Uniform!

I LOVE the fact the back says "TOUR MAKER.... Happy to Help :-)" Although it is ASDA's tag line, I think it's a brilliant representation of what volunteers are there to do.

Once the event was over, I took the scenic route back into the train station hoping to pick up a Tour of Yorkshire Pencil (I admit, I'm a geek, I collect pencils from different places!) but sadly the shop was very VERY busy... so much so there was a queue to get in!

All was not lost though! After a bit more wandering through the shopping centre I managed to find the count down clock. I literally spent a good 10 minutes looking at it! It's a very interesting piece of engineering!

Next up is Role Specific Training where I'll get to find out more about what my role involves and get to collect my uniform! Eeeekk!!! Not long to go now! :-)

6th June 2014 - On route or off route....!?!?

Having booked Role Specific Training early this month, the wait to find out whether I'd be allocated an on route or off route role had begun. With every event I volunteer at it's the being there that counts, so although I had my preference I was never going to be disappointed!

Email came through..... I'm an on route supervisor...Yipppeee!!! :-D 

15th June 2014 - Role Specific Training!
For Role Specific Training I headed up to Leeds with a fellow volunteer. The additional excitement of today is that today would be the day that uniforms were distributed!

 6th July 2014 - Race Day!!
Wow Race Day was finally here after many many many days of talking about the Tour coming to Sheffield, today was the day.... The tour was coming to Sheffield! My day started with a brisk walk up to Hillsborough Leisure Centre where all the Tour Makers for that area were meeting.

BUCS Gatorade Nationals: Sheffield

Date: 22nd to 24th February 2013

Location: English Institute of Sport Sheffield (EIS)
Mission: British Universities & Colleges Sport Gatorade Nationals
Role: Volunteer Coordinator

Volunteering for the BUCS Gatorade Nationals began on Wednesday 20th February 2012, with a volunteer training session held at the EIS. On arrival I was issued with my stylish BUCS t-shirt - although I was slightly confused as to why my small t-shirt was definitely not what you'd usual class as small! Apparently this is due to it being a Rugby Brand......!!! Anyway....At the same time as my t-shirt I was giving the volunteer bible, detailing how the weekend would run, what was going on where and who to call, if all else failed!

The training session began with a ice breaker quiz, not being from Sheffield I pretty much failed this as they asked you to identify the athletes from an obscure photographs! I did however get Jess Ennis correct and guessed at they were all from Sheffield! The next part of the quiz was a 'What happened next...?' style video section. Again, I was terrible at this and it's fair to say I was definitely not the the winner of the quiz! I was pretty glad I was hiding at the back of the room!

Next up in the training (now the ice was broken!) the BUCS team went through a background to what BUCS is all about and why it is such a successful event - being a university student I already knew about BUCS and what they stand for so this bit wasn't anything new! The session went onto talk about the sponsors and what Gatorade would be up to at the event. For many events there are not a sponsor present in the way that Gatorade would be, so I was interested to find out how their involvement would affect the mood of the event. The final session was an introduction the staff and volunteer coordinators for the event to the rest of the volunteers! This is where I had to stand up and give a wave....only to receive abuse about my Sooty and Sweep Jumper...hehe! At the end of the training I was given my shifts for the weekend....nice 24hrs of my life in 2 days would be spent volunteering here...is it sad that.....I just couldn't wait for the weekend! :D

Overall, it was a pretty standard training session, 30mins long, nothing out of the ordinary with regards to content. What would have been greatly beneficial at the training session was to have a walk around the venue to familiarise myself and the other volunteers of the positions volunteers would be covered, so that it wasn't such a mad dash at the weekend - but never mind!

My volunteering for BUCS started on the Friday night at the VIP Launch of the competition. This event was held in Sheffield's Winter Gardens and was a very chilled affair in more ways than one! I'd been told to prepare a 5minutes speech on my volunteering experience, how I got involved with sports volunteering and the 'other skills' gained from volunteering! All day in the office at Uni, I'd had my BUCS T-shirt and smart trousers hanging up to ensure I was smart and professional looking, only to be asked multiple question about what my latest volunteer event was about!

I had prepared my speech in the week leading up to the event and knew I was the first of 3 speakers for the evening. Following myself there was Isobel Pooley an high jumper from Nottingham University, and Toby Thie, an athletics coach from Cardiff Met University - all sharing their experience of what it's like to be at a BUCS event.

My speech was typical of me, having gave a few speeches in my time I was totally at ease in front of the small gathering there for the event. My speech ran through my volunteering to date, including my London 2012 involvement along side my regular netball volunteering at Sheffield Stormers. As per usual, there were the odd bits of humour which seemed to go down well, especially the fact that I must be from the north since I was only wearing my t-shirt in a some what baltic winter garden!. Luckily I'd checked with the compare Alex as to how he was going to introduce me, otherwise part of my speech would have been dead in the water! 

When ever I volunteer at these events, people always presume I'm doing sports at University and all this volunteering is just to add to my CV when I graduate. How wrong could they be!! As I highlighted in my speech - volunteering for me isn't about the experience for my CV.

I won't bore you with the whole things, just the more interesting bits.....

"From hearing my experiences, like most people I speak to at sports events you’ll have presumed I'm heading for a career in sports, or at least something along those lines. This couldn't be any further from the true. I'm actually a civil engineer, now studying a PhD at the University of Sheffield.

Many of my friends don’t understand why I choose to give up my weekends, pay to stay in London, travel all over the country volunteering, when it has nothing to do with my future career. All my friends see of my volunteering experiences is the range of t-shirts, pin badges and baton I now own, but volunteering is more than that.

What my friends who haven’t volunteered before don’t see is that, volunteering, allows you to develop transferable skills which are applicable to any career path you choose. Whether I’m volunteering on a Saturday morning with Sheffield Stormers Netball Club, or in the middle of the Olympic Park doing a song and dance, I’m gaining vital life experiences and developing skills applicable in my everyday life and my university course, whilst also having an amazing time!

Volunteering develops skills, without you really noticing, such as your customer service skills whilst selling programmes, organisational skills, whilst coordinating a team of 30 volunteers and time management when it comes to those early starts! One of the greatest skills developed through volunteering is the ability to work as a team. Basically, being part of a group of people, from all different walks of life, coming together as one team to make an event run like clockwork – where else do you get such an opportunity?

I must admit, for me, the thing that makes volunteering most addictive, is the people I meet, the friendships I make and the totally unforgettable experiences I have to tell my friends and family about!"

[[Sadly, being the one giving the speech and my parents not being present, I was unable to snap a stylish photo of myself at the lecture in front of the BUCS Gatorade sign-age.......sad times as it would have been ideal here!]]

Following my speech it was excellent to hear the views of Isobel and Toby, gaining an inside into what these events mean to them, representing the other people involved in a BUCS event! After the speeches were all done and dusted there was a final chance to network, munch on the delicious canapés and finish off a glass of wine before my none stop weekend!

I had been hoping a representative from Sports Sheffield would have been present at the event as I'd hoped to have a chat about how the university supports sports volunteering. During my time at Sheffield, I've noticed a massive difference in sports volunteering culture between my time at Newcastle University and my  time now at  the University of Sheffield, so was hoping to have a chat with them, but today wasn't going to be my day!

My weekend began with a 8:15am start.....which lead to me being stuck in traffic outside EISS for a good 20mins - I'll never learn that there is ALWAYS more traffic on a Saturday when there is an event on, compared to my normal Saturday mornings coaching netball!

I'm always amazed at how the same venue can be transformed to look totally different for every event I volunteer at. I love the way a bit of branding can totally change what is usual deemed as 'normal' training venue for many athletes into something a bit more special!

Having not volunteering that long in Sheffield (in comparison to the hardy regulars!) spotting the volunteers I was coordinating that day was a bit of a challenge and as per usual I seemed very rude not knowing their names! I normally like to be able to use peoples names and have something to relate to them about as I'm quite an open and friendly personality, so the first few hours felt a little awkward for me. Saying that, it wasn't long before I'd learn everyone's names and issued them with a lunch voucher and a rota detailing their volunteer positions and when their all important lunch breaks were!!

This weekend, the volunteers were different to the usual crowd! Mixed in with the usual bunch of the Sheffield Council Volunteering team were some students from Sheffield's Universities and some Games Makers from Sheffield. It was good to have some new faces around and some refresh volunteers ready to get going volunteering in their local area - strengthening the legacy from London 2012 of creating a volunteer work force!!!

Having previously volunteered at events with a different event management team (I'll name no names...hehe), it was a totally different experience (and a massive relief!) to be volunteering with the BUCS team! I've never know an event management team by so relaxed and chilled out, and yet put on a successful event! It was great to be giving more responsibility to be left to do my job without constant radio/telephone calls about trivial things!

By the end of the Saturday, looking at the rota, there was only myself plus 1 volunteer down to be volunteering from 7:00pm till 9:30pm - thinking this was a little strange and maybe unnecessary I double checked with the volunteer manager who to my delighted said my thinking was correct and they'd manage without us for the rest of the evening as G4S were also covering the event! This meant........ EARLY FINISH!! By the time I got finished up and into the car I was relieved at the early finish. Although  if I'd have been needed I'd have happily stayed, but once I'd stopped being on the go I was most definitely ready for bed!

After a few hours of sleep (no thanks to my silly noisy neighbours!!!) I was back at EIS for 8am the next morning, ready and raring to  go! Again, it was a mix of volunteers from a variety of backgrounds, adding a bit of interest to the day! On the Sunday I was kept on my toes as the day wound down and volunteer positions were no longer needed, as they'd been specified, meaning volunteers were reallocated to different roles, and to some of the team, the joys of an early finish!

By 5:30pm all athletics competition has finished, with just some badminton still going on at the EISS. At this point I was relieved to hear I wasn't going to be required until 7pm as I'd previously been told! My bed was definitely calling after the busy, but totally enjoyable weekend!

To sum up my weekend of BUCS, I'd have to say it was an event like no other -what with the over sized t-shirts, relaxed (but successful!!) event management and the student vibe about the event. Not even the volunteers were the same as usual! The only thing which was the same as previous events was the volunteer packed lunches - the delight of a high calorie treat for the middle of your shift ;)



Giving my speech on the Friday night gave me a nice reminder as to why I volunteer in sport and what makes it most addictive! I couldn't help but reflect on this over the weekend, thinking about the points I'd made to all those gathered at the Winter Gardens. It was true, it's all about the people you meet and share the experience with, along with the practical aspect of using the skills gained from other events.....I even collected a BUCS pin badge to add to the collection, so my friends could see I did take "something" away from the event!


Hopefully the BUCS Gatorade Nationals will return to Sheffield next year...Fingers cross it won't be when Sochi for the winter Olympics, meaning I can get involved again!

Diving with the USA: Pre-Games Maker Volunteering

So, in my previous blog The Road to London 2012 I mentioned I visited UDAC whilst on 'Other business'.....this is my 'other business'!!

Before I get into this, I'll just point out that I haven't covered everything in this blog - it would be wrong for me to write about some of the stuff as it was the teams personal experience not mine! I was just the one helping to make everything ran smoothly, so the team could make the most of their training in the run up to their time in London. So it begins....

Following my time volunteering for the UK School Games held in Sheffield and me starting my PhD at the University of Sheffield I decided to sign up to volunteer with Sheffield City Councils Major Events Unit (MEU).

In February 2012, I received an email from the MEU asking for people to volunteer with some London 2012 Pre-Games training camps being held in Sheffield. As the dates which volunteers were required was at a time when uni work was less demanding I thought why not - lets go for it!

Having already volunteered on a pre-games training camp with the USA Wrestling team, I was fully acquainted with the lovely Manchester Airport, so off I went on the coach, armed with my 'USA Diving' sign to collect the USA diving squad from the airport! 



We were running a little late and I was worried they would be in arrivals before me, so I jumped off the coach and dashed in, thankfully there was no sign of the team... although I didn't exactly know who I was looking for.....!! As I'd been told to dress slightly smarter for this adventure, I looked slightly professional, well I had a blazer, shift dress and boots on, complete with 'Yorkshire' Olympic pin attached. What I didn't realise was this 'professional' look, pin badge and sign attracted slightly more attention than the last time I was at the air port! This resulted in me having a little gathering of taxi drivers around me asking "so it is the real ones you're collecting, like the ones for the Olympics?"....This kept me entertained whilst I waited!

After waiting for about 20-30 minutes, I was worried that I'd missed them and they'd disappeared, as the passenger flow through arrivals had now died down. Thankfully I hadn't, and 5 minutes later I saw a group of  only what I can describe as astronauts coming through arrivals, with bright red 'Team USA' puffer jackets on! Aha! They'd arrived!

After a few quick introductions on the way to a bus, parked  where it probably shouldn't have been, everyone climbed aboard, destined for Sheffield! On the bus I'd been given some bottles of water and fruit to dish out to the team for the journey back.......with many jokes over my pronunciation of 'plums'...although I don't know what's wrong with the way I say it :( I did however find out that some of the team were well acquainted with Sheffield, having competed in the city in previous years! 

I'll leave it there with my February adventure there as I did the same role later in 2012....keep reading :)

After my time volunteering with the team in February, Tom Daley realised his autobiography. Classing myself now as a bit of a diving enthusiastic with a bit of love (haha!) for Tom, the autobiography was a must read. It was so strange to be lying on the grass outside of my flat, reading about Tom working with and competing against people, I'd just been having lunch and laughs with a few weeks ago! It was all a bit surreal being able to put faces and memories to these peoples names!!

Skipping on a few months, to May (ish) and I received an email asking if I'd like to volunteer with the USA diving team in their Pre-Olympic Training camp.......did I really need asking? Answer was obviously yes! By this time I'd found out that I'd been selected as a Games Maker at the Paralympics so had the time before and during the Olympics to lend a hand!

This time the team were checking into the Athletes Village down at the Olympic Park so there was sadly no trip to Manchester Airport........instead it was a first class train London bound! So, 19th July,  I found myself at Sheffield train station at 6am, waiting for the train company representatives and member of staff from the MEU to head to London. 

We were due to collect the team from the concourse of Stratford International, this meant a trip on the Javelin high speed rail connection between London St. Pancras and Stratford! Arriving in Stratford we headed for the escalator to track down the team, but just as we were about to step on the escalator, I spotted a familiar face......"There they are!"...The team had decided to wait for us on the platform instead, to save us the trip up to come back down! Thankfully I recognised them (as if I could forget!) from February as I was the only member of the welcoming party to have met them previously! After welcoming hugs from Team Leader Molly and Performance Director Steve along with "ahhh we've got you again!!" smiles from the team, we boarded the Javelin once again, this time, destined  for Sheffield!

Whilst in St. Pancras station, we stopped by the First Class Lounge to meet up with 2 lovely ladies from the Woolsack Inspired Project. The ladies had brought along lots of cushions which had been made by a whole host of volunteers across the country for Olympic and Paralympic Athletes! Click here for more details on the Project! Here's a photo of the team in St. Pancras station with their cushions!

So, you might be now wondering why I was involved and what my role with the team was... My official title was Pre-Games Volunteer...basically, the only way I can describe my role was as a Mam/tour guide/Sheffield Expert/suitcase returner....although I don't think I was majorly qualified for any of these roles, being 23 at the time, and having only lived in Sheffield for around 8 months, but never mind I had my trusty volunteer pack with maps and telephone numbers  along with my common sense and enthusiasm - what more did I need!

Basically, my role involved me meeting the team at their hotel, walking with them to and from Ponds Forge, translating English to American (via Geordie!!) and basically helping out with anything they might need, whilst watching them train - not a hard job, I promise :)


Some of the things I got up to where trips to the tailors to get clothes made smaller, trips into town to get those vital supplies (gummies?), a trip to the doctors and various water runs from the pool side to the kitchen of Ponds Forge, and comparing English to American words!

The most totally confusing moment of preparing to volunteer with the team was looking down at their planned training schedule before their arrival and seeing the words "dry diving". It's not first thing you think of when you think of diving....surely diving has to take part somewhere wet right... like maybe a pool?! Not to worry though - I was swiftly brought up to speed on what dry diving was before their arrival back in February!

One of the funniest moments I had was in Boots was when shopping for a 'neti pot'...!! This confused me big style.... as the word netty is old Geordie slag for toilet! So I was very confused as to how we'd find a toilet pot (guessing this meant potty!) in Boots! After asking what it was for, to be told it was to help get rid of a cold, I knew I was definitely on the wrong track! Ops!! Turns out a neti pot is used to flush out your sinuses by pouring water up one nostril! I learn something new every day!

I also learnt all about 'orange tang' or orange squash to us English! I can also now relate 'where is the bathroom?' to 'where is the toilet?' rather than 'where can I go to get washed?'. You'd think this is obvious, but it got slightly confusing with people who had just came out of the pool......

It was great to see USA Diving getting lots of coverage by the UK press, with a media afternoon held in Ponds Forge. There was a hole host of different people from BBC Yorkshire to students from the university papers there to chat to the team!

During the time I was volunteering with USA Diving I returned home to Gateshead to run the Bupa Great North 10k, whilst at home my granny had been asking me all about my adventures with the team....and the big question: "So Nicola, Who are going to support when it comes to diving in the Olympics?".....my answer to that had to be USA. Having met the team, spent so long watching them training and ate lunch with them, how could I not? My granny did not approve!!

Once Games time approached, the team then packed up in Sheffield to head back to the Olympic Park for training in the Aquatics Centre. I'll never forget the scenes navigating around Sheffield train station with trolleys of luggage, with the team dressed 'incognito' with bags covered in Team USA logos...not obvious at all - haha. I was telling a couple of the team about my Granny, and her disapproval at my choice in team to support. To help me out with further annoying my granny, I was given a mini stars and stripes flag to wave during the competition to show my support! 

Having been to the Olympic Park for the Olympic Park Run, I thought I knew what to expect getting off the Javelin at Stratford International, but how wrong could I be!!! It was like a scene from a holiday brochure. All the lamp posts and fences were branded up with the typical 'London 2012', Olympic Rings, Agitos' and the motto for London 2012 'Inspire a generation'. I was so excited! It was hard to believe where I was. Coming down with USA Diving made everything seem so real. After waiting so long to hear if I'd made the cut to be a Games Maker, it was hard to believe that in about a months time I'd be allowed the other side of the fence, dresses in the purple and poppy uniforms!

Now the team was back in London, my life went back to PhD work, with a mini-project due in before I was able to head home to pre-pare for my 'official' London 2012 adventure. With my diving TV schedule all planned out and the house TV booked for those time, off I returned to doing my real work. I've got very vivid memories of sitting on my sofa with my house mates cheering on the USA, only in diving - obviously!! 

Up until this point I've never been so proud of my volunteering - watching USA Diving compete was up there just under the Opening Ceremony with the best bits I watched of the Olympics! I was so excited when Abby and Kelci won the first medal in the first event for the USA. Following this we then had David and Nick winning their Bronze medal, with Kristian and Troy joining them as medallists.

Since both David and Nick were competing again, later in the diving schedule, I'd been asked to head to London to collect them from Stratford to come back for some extra training in Sheffield. I'd managed to coincide this trip with my visit to UDAC and headed off to London for a bit of a morning adventure before collecting the guys. After waiting for about 15 minutes at Stratford I was a bit worried as to where they had got to. With the organisation of the team, lead by Molly, I'd never known them EVER to be late! So I got called the training camp manager in Sheffield and asked if he knew what was going on and to check I was in the correct place! It turns out a bit of miss communication had occurred and they'd got an earlier train without me- how rude! haha! I'd been abandoned in London :'( So offer I went, back to Sheffield...without the team! Thankfully with my trip to collect my stylish uniform, all was not lost! I'd also had a chance to have a cheeky shopping trip around London, planning what I was going to buy when I returned for the Paralympics! 


On my return to Sheffield I headed to the team hotel to drop off a few bits and bobs including the train tickets for return journey, whilst also collecting my volunteer t-shirt I'd given to them, asking if they could sign it! There it is, my signed volunteer t-shirt signed by the team, minus David, Nick and Troy....pretty good going I'd say so myself! Another item to add to my Harry Potter Style trunk of memories! :)

A couple of days after this, I was back on a coach to London, this time with no Team USA in tow. I was off on my own adventure to London to watch some of the Olympic Games (blog to come soon!). Towards the end of my Olympic  Adventure as a spectator, I was in Windsor for some canoe sprinting, but made sure I was in the hotel when the diving was on, refusing to go out for dinner until I'd seen at least the first 2 dives! I even had my parents texting me the position that the USA and GB had finished in! Bit of a nerd, I know!

My greatest diving memory from the Olympics has to be David Boudia exceeding Tom Daley to the Gold medal position! After all the hyper that had been built up in the UK for Tom, a lot of people just presumed Tom would take the gold. I don't think the tension in my living room has ever been so high when I watched it with 2 of my house mates!! When I came to the final dive I was on the edge of my seat, the order was David, Tom, Bo. So David dived and went 1st, Tom dived but only managed to achieve the silver position, I could barely watch when it came to Bo diving.....What was going to happen!! By this point, I knew both David and Tom would finish with a medal, but what colour would they be??? Bo dived and that was it! David had won Gold! At this point I was getting told off for supporting David and the USA, over Tom and Team GB. I even had my mam call me asking if I was proud of myself since Team GB had lost a medal.....and yes I was! This photo (from www.zimbio.com - Source: Clive Rose/Getty Images Europe) pretty much sums it all up!

Throughout my time volunteering, I learnt so much about diving, a sport that I'd honestly only previously know for the speedo's and the crazy height of 10m! One of the key people who taught me a lot of my diving knowledge was team physio Terry, who would sit pool side and answer my stupid diving questions.  Questions like "should there really be a splash when they're diving?", "Why are they going in feet first?" and "Why are they jumping off the 5/7m board when there's not competition at that height?".........I'm sure you get the idea!

To sum up my time volunteering with USA Diving, I can honestly say it was pretty epically amazing  ........that doesn't really make sense, but that's exactly what it was! I met some truly inspirational extraordinary people who were so down to earth, and as I'd put it, just really 'canny' people, who were passionate about their sport. It was amazing to see a true insight into what life is like training to compete at the Olympics.....and it definitely motivated me go to the gym A LOT more!

If you've read this far, you'll notice I've been pretty brief in some area, as I mentioned at the beginning, it wasn't my Olympic storey to tell - I'm a professional volunteer remember! A very proud one these days too! hehe! :)

Finally - check out this video - it brings back so many memories for me, and puts a massive smile on my face! It even feature Clive, but sadly no Special Agent Sam! :(