Sainsburys Anniversary Games 2014

On Sunday 20th July 2014 I had the pleasure of volunteering at the
Sainsburys Anniversary Games organised by British Athletics. It had
been the end of a busy day for me having ran round the Olympic Park in
the morning. My volunteer role was a stand officer at Horse Guards
Parade at the evening session.

It was great to see all the athletes up close and I came across some
fellow Games Makers too. Some were volunteering at the event, many
were in the crowd. Another nice thing for me was wearing the 'uniform'
: orange t-shirt with the accreditation. I still am and always have
been an avid fan of watching Athletics on telly and quite used to
seeing others wear that uniform. That day was my turn to wear it
having organised to volunteer at it via the Team London website.

Of course, the Anniversary Games celebrated the London 2012 Games
which I also volunteered at. Would love to do it again in future and
at other events organised by British Athletics.

The Sainsburys Anniversary Games 2014 was also broadcast live on Channel 4 so its possible I may have even been spotted on telly.

Awards given to the London 2012 Games Makers 2012/2013

To my surprise over this past year since the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games all 70,000 of the official London 2012 Games Makers have won 4 National Awards. As 1 of the official 70,000 Games Makers it makes me a co-recipient of these awards. I definitely didnt expect to receive a national award and i’m sure many of my fellow Games Makers didnt either. Thanks to all those institutions who gave us the awards.

They are (in order):

Communicators of the Year 2012

This was awarded to the Games Makers by the Institute of Internal Communication at a ceremony in London on November 21st 2012

 

 

 

 

Big Society Award 2012

 

 

 

 

 

The Big Society Award 2012 was presented to all the London 2012 Games Makers on November 28th 2012 by Prime Minister David Cameron.

2nd link to the Big Society Award 2012

Queens Diamond Jubilee Volunteering Award 2012

On December 12th 2012 all the Games Makers were awarded with the Queens Diamond Jubilee Volunteering Award 2012

 

 

 

 

Nomination for Team of the Year at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards 2012

BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2012 Live Coverage (as it happened) by the Guardian – 500 lucky Games Makers were in the audience who had been in a ballot conducted by LOCOG. The Team of the Year award was eventually won by Team GB and ParalympicsGB.

Games Makers in the audience were not only mentioned in the commentary but by athletes. When Lord Coe was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Duchess of Cambridge he also thanked the Games Makers.

Outstanding Contribution to Tourism 2013 (May 2013)

The Oustanding Contribution to Tourism award was given to all the Games Makers at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2013. Follow the links below for more info:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the places this award was referenced: Lincolnshire Sports Partnership, Daily Mirror, Travelbite

Why I still wear my Games Maker uniform

Since the London 2012 Games finished on 9th September 2012 with the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games, unlike many of my fellow official Games Makers, I have been wearing my Games Maker uniform very frequently. Some people think I shouldn’t carry on wearing it with the Games finished. A point of view I understand and they are entitled to their opinion.

Thought I should put down why I still wear my Games Maker uniform, not as an apology but more so people can understand my point of view. On the whole it still gets a positive reaction from people who think I should be proud to still wear it because of what the Games Makers accomplished at London 2012:

At the conclusion of the Games my uniform, which had been the property of London 2012 throughout the Games, became my property and owned by me.

Technically we were not supposed to wear it again but put it away. To me, that seemed such a waste to just wear it for 2 and a half weeks. After all, us Games Makers along with the athletes, police and officials, had made history at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. I had just been a Games Maker at the most successful Olympic Games ever.

So I thought that as I owned the uniform I might as well do something constructive with it. It was at that point I decided to wear it when doing any sports volunteering such as marshalling at races, being a marksman on the track or stewarding at Clee Town FC matches.

Volunteering is just one of the things the Olympic Legacy is all about. After the Games, London 2012 (now Sport England) had been trying to inspire us Games Makers to volunteer in our local community. Wearing the uniform not only puts it to good use after the London 2012 Games but represents the Olympic Legacy. My volunteering is also a part of the Olympic Legacy the country is trying to build.

It should be noted that I also wear the uniform as I was also inspired by London 2012 and by my fellow Games Makers and what many of them have done since the end of the Games. I also wear it in the hope of inspiring others to do their best and to inspire them to volunteer too.

Many of my fellow Games Makers put their uniforms away after the athletes parade on 10th September 2012. At the end of the day it is the personal choice of each individual Games Maker.

Apparently it will take 10 years to build the London 2012 Olympic Legacy. I shall continue to wear my uniform when doing Sports Volunteering for the foreseeable future, and possibly far into it, while the legacy is being built and while the uniform still stays in one piece :)

Stephen Lyons Games Maker Memories Display

Following on from my previous post about fellow Games Maker Stephen Lyons who has a display at Grimsby Central Library at the moment, there are a few photos of his display below. A full gallery of photos of his display can be found at: http://www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/pictures/Stephen-Lyons-Games-Maker-Display-Grimsby-Central/pictures-17349048-detail/pictures.html

In addition to which he has posted hundreds of his own photos online on Flickr from both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. His Flickr feed can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21903142@N00/sets/72157632008218469/

Meet the Local Games Makers...1. Stephen Lyons

Recently I have had the pleasure of meeting another Local Games Maker. He volunteered at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. During the Olympics he was on the Accreditation Team at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane, London.

For several weeks now he has put on a display of his Games Maker memories at Grimsby Central Library, where we are both pictured above, until December 4th. Please drop in and take a look. I will be posting some photos of it here in the next few days.

2012 Olympics Memories Warm-Up

Before I begin sharing my photos and memories of the London 2012 Olympics and Torch Relay – which was also part of it – I thought i’d start with one of the Olympics Trailers. The Olympics and Paralympics were such an amazing thing and a positive thing for the whole nation due to the effect they had on people all over the World.