By Haydn Cobb
“Just put ‘Wow’ when you write it up.” Mike said when we headed for the exit. He was right. Wow.
Michelle Page and Mike Fisher of Sport Brighton took eight student volunteers from its Parklife programme to the London Olympic Park on 8th August. The catch was there were no tickets guaranteed as we were required to fill the empty VIP seats which had in the previous week been the main bone of contention from the potential ticket buying public and national press. The tickets were made available through Podium the further and higher education unit for the 2012 games and were given to universities to hopefully help to 'inspire a generation'. What we got in return was certainly inspirational.
At 7:30AM we met weary eyed but humming with excitement outside Eton Manor Gate. After brief introductions to each other the first steps were taken into the park. Climbing up the steps to get our first view of a 7-year-old promise felt like a day well spent already. And none of the day’s events had started yet.
We were instructed that the day may involve a lot of waiting around for ‘the call’ – where a Games Maker would call our leaders to tell us what tickets were available. So the first couple of hours consisted of waiting – mostly because we had to be in so early none of the events started until midday.
It didn’t matter, we had a whole Olympic park to explore!
Then ‘the call’ came in. Men’s Handball. We murmured with anticipation. After a wait we were led to our seats in the Basketball arena for Iceland vs. Hungary. The match was a tight affair that went into double overtime, such a thing that only exists in Handball, Hungary narrowly edged it.
For the volunteers the experience was amazing and the Olympic atmosphere lived up to the hype even if it was staged by a man in questionable shorts and Union Jack long socks.
Another pause after the Handball gave us all time to refresh ourselves – many of us choosing to use the largest McDonalds in the world (when in Rome) and have a good rummage through the Olympic stores for souvenirs. It gave us time to soak in the Olympic Park’s own atmosphere on the banks of the river surrounded by supporters from all nations. The sun even shone.
By 3:00PM ‘the call’ rang again this time for Women’s Hockey Semi-Final between the Netherlands and New Zealand. Darting from one sport to another gave the volunteers a great variety. Regardless, Holland scraped victory in the shootout 3-1 which made for terrific drama.
In both matches our group didn’t support a particular team but the sport itself as each volunteer specialised in their own individual sports, from Netball to Ultimate Frisbee. After all, sport as a collective and brought the Olympics and all of us together.
During the hockey match the final ‘call’ came in. Athletics, evening session, in the Olympic Stadium. The big one. Our group had laughed and dreamed that we might be able to get into the Stadium tonight but nobody really believed it would happen.
Along with other Universities and Service men and women we filled up the VIP section which was such an honour. Everyone held their breath in sure amazement, not quite believing it all, slowly trying to take it in.
The highlight of the night was who else but Mr Usain St. Leo Bolt who comfortably won his 200m Semi-Final. The crowd erupted to the sight of the legend, his cool charisma telling us all he had this. Our seats were adjacent to the start line of the 100m and his speed in the flesh is something that takes the breath away.
For a day that started very early for all of us, tiredness and fatigue were setting in but it was all worth it. Worth it for the event, worth it for the moments and memories, worth it for the friendships and the volunteering.
Our group thanked the organisers and thanked Michelle and Mike for making the day possible, knowing that we had seen the world’s best sport just for volunteering our time. Giving goes a long way. Wow.
Sport Brighton offer a range of internal volunteer opportunities, giving you the chance to get involved in a range of areas within its programmes from student sports clubs to the recreational Parklife programme. You can volunteer in a broad range of roles, ranging from the delivery of activities to the promotion and marketing of them. Not only can volunteering be fun it can also help to increase your chances of future employability through gaining skills and potential qualifications.
If you’d like to get involved in volunteering with Sport Brighton then just contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.