London 2012

Charlotte Francis: Games Maker

Published 26 September 2012

I applied to be a Games Maker in the event services team as I wanted to be a part of such a historic event within my lifetime.

It was a pleasure to be a Games Maker and be part of the BBA team at the Paralympics. Without a doubt, I couldn't have wished for a better group of people to work with over the past 11 days. It was great to work with so many people focused on making the experience for our guests as good as possible, which in turn made it so much fun to work with everyone.

It was a fantastic experience which I cannot ever forget, and I also celebrated a birthday during this time which I won't be able to forget in a hurry!

Away from the venue, the whole Paralympic experience was awesome. Getting to meet and mingle with athletes, coaches, guests as well as fellow volunteers and organisers was brilliant. The athletes really are the super-humans as Channel 4 promoted them, both in terms of their sporting abilities, but also as people. Getting to hang out with some of them was something I will treasure forever.

If we can all act like Games Makers in our normal lives, then the world we be a much nicer, happier place.

The facilities that will be left after the Games will be a testament to the UK and Great Britain, not only as a memory of our success in organising and hosting the Games, but also in promoting the health and well-being of the nation for years to come.

Charlotte (second left) with her Games Makers colleagues outside the Basketball Arena for the paralympic games which hosted the wheelchair basketball and rugby.