Olympic Games Maker; Venue Specific Training

 

Olympic Rings

 

The Orbit

 

Olympic Skyline

 

Olympic Stadium

A shot of caffeine is just what the doctor ordered to kick-start Saturday morning. I had to resort to ‘shank’s pony’ to get down to Hertford, since it was too early for the local bus service. I had been ordered by email to report to the Olympic Stadium, Stratford for venue specific training (VST) at 10am. I had brought my ticket the day before, since you can never rely on the ticket office being open. The ticket machine is so complicated that you need a degree to operate it. That is assuming they have what you want and you have the right change. Doing my homework was like being back at school again. With all this talk about reinstating O-levels, I paid particular attention to the online instructions and A-Z. I had read the section on prohibited & restricted Items, checked the size of my rucksack, made a sandwich and packed a drink. Keeping well hydrated was a condition of being an Olympic Games Maker.

Journey
Things went according to plan. The train left Hertford East on time. Some kind train scheduler had rerouted the train to Liverpool Street via Stratford, which meant I did not have to change at Tottenham Hale. The clouds over the marshes looking threatening but there was no sign of any precipitation. My grandma always used to say “keep your hand on your ha’penny”, so I kept my accreditation out of sight during my journey. The train pulled into Stratford station ahead of time but that’s when it all started to go wrong… Having done my  homework the day before, I knew I could turn right in to the M&S store in order to get to ’The Street’. However, at the end of the underpass was some ‘jobs worth’ blocking my path. As a result I had to perform a government sponsored ‘U’-turn, exit Stratford Station concourse and cross over the link bridge. The day before there had been a fatal stabbing during a gang fight at Westfield, Stratford. The police had classified part of the shopping centre as a ‘scene of crime’, so they had roped off an area with ‘Police; Do Not Cross’ tape. Of course, this just happened to be my route to the Olympic Stadium. I was told to look out for ‘pink-bibbed’ marshals who would direct me to the stadium.

Olympic park
At the entrance to the Olympic Park we were separated into ‘workers’ and ‘trainees’. Since I was classified as trainees, I was subjected to an airport-style search; anybody would have thought I was a terrorist. All metal objects had to be placed in plastic trays to they could be passed through scanner. I set off the alarm as I passed through the arch. I informed them that this was most probably due to the metal buckle on my trouser belt. This fell on deaf ears which resulted in an invasive body search. Having passed muster, I was told to make my way forward to the stadium. Every 50 metres or so, I was routed by a ‘pink-bibbed’ individual waving their arm towards the check- in area. Firstly, I passed the Aquatic Centre, looking like a giant closed oyster. Secondly, I passed along Stratford Way towards Stratford Gate and the bridge over troubled water. Thirdly, I made my way past the distinctive ArcelorMittall Orbit structure. It looked rather forlorn and lonely in its current form, just waiting for the influx of visitors wanting to ascend to its viewing platform. The stadium itself is built on an island, with the River Lea flowing either side of it. The vast raked seating towered skywards, which can hold 80,000 people in one sitting. Finally, I reached the check-in area via a series of raised walkways, ramps and steps. I found out that I was part of ‘The Workforce’. Inside this prefabricated structure were three (3) tables. The first table was where I reported in order to get my name crossed off. The second table I was given a number, a map of the Olympic Park and a couple of inserts for your Olympic Games Maker; Pocket Guide. The third and final table was where I collected my organic fruit bar …sponsored by a commercial company.

Assembly room
On leaving the check-in area, I was directed to a pathway that went to the bowls of the stadium. They were in the process of rehearsing the opening event, so there was a strict ‘no photography’ rule in operation. I was sworn to secrecy not to divulge anything I saw as I walked along. As before, there were ‘pink-bibbed’ marshals waving their arm every 50 metres or so, routing me towards my destination. At the top of the escalators, I was greeted by a friendly smile, secure in the knowledge that I had passed the endurance test …but there was more to follow. Luckily, I had left plenty of time to allow for any transport eventualities, so I arrived in the large assembly room with a half an hour to spare. The room was furnished with ‘loadsa’ chairs, a screen, some PCs and some intermediate monitors.  My fellow volunteers were busily opening coffee sachets, filling their cups with hot water and trying to open those milk cartons with varying degrees of success. The venue specific training was broken down into three (3) sessions; a general introduction, the stadium tour and then splitting off into our various functional areas. The presenters were the stadium general operations manager, competition director and communications manager. Being professionals, they were accustomed to addressing large audiences; each had their own relaxed style of delivery and some even found time to throw in a joke or two.

Introduction
The first session kicked off with a series of facts about the amount of cabling, the proportion of toilet facilities per spectator and how to spot the Olympic Family members from the hoi polio,  I was told what to expect when I turned up for each shift. First I would be screened and searched to make sure I did not have any prohibited or restricted items. Second, I would be directed onto the island (away from the spectators) to the workforce check-in marquee. After check-in I would be given a meal vouchers and a newsletter. Finally , I would have to report to my functional area for a daily briefing. It was very important that I attended the briefing at the start of my shift and the debriefings at the end of my shift to make me aware of any lessons learned. It was impressed on me that I should make myself aware of the various modes of transport to and from the Olympic Stadium; punctuality is very important.  I would only have one chance to get it right. Then he took us through the layout of the stadium; where the dignitaries, family members, athletes, officials and spectators were located. I was shown the various maps with designated areas and levels throughout the stadium. They were just about to embark on putting up the pink signage, the purpose of which was to direct us to the various parts of the stadium.

Competion rules OK
The competition director filled us in with some of the background information about the athletes and their mannerisms. They are a strange bunch of characters who were not to be disturbed during the build up to their events. Each had their own ritual to go through and the request for an autograph or photograph may be off-putting. The competitors were due to arrive from the middle of July onwards and were going to use local athletic facilities to train. From the beginning of August, the broadcasters, newscasters, announcers, journalist and photographers would be on-site testing out their respective camera positions, microphones, communication equipment, etc. There was even a sexist remark thrown in. We were asked why there were an odd number of athletics events, even though the Olympic Games was an equal opportunity event. The answer…women could not be bothered to walk 50km! The morning sessions would be limited to heats of the various races; the evening sessions would feature the finals where the medals were won …and lost. A full schedule of events could be found on the London 2012 Olympic Games website.

Communications
The original bid for the London 2012 Olympic Games was back in 2005, since then everybody has been working towards delivering the ‘best ever’ Games. There are 43 different functional areas (FA) which all contribute to make it a successful experience. It was impressed on us that everybody has something to offer. Each contributes their own peculiar forte to the games as a whole. Without each person providing their unique skill the Games would not be a success. We were shown an example of incident alert terminology. For this exercise a yellow state was used, which meant that the internal area of the venue needed to be evacuated. The six (6) incident levels were listed and we were told what we were expected to do. The importance of full information entered on the Incident Reporting Card (IRC) could not be emphasized enough. During the test events, the organisers had learned lessons by cards not being filled in correctly or not at all. It was impressed on us that all incidents, however small needed to be recorded.

Stadium tour
The next part of the training was the most memorable …the stadium tour. We were split into five (5) groups and we all trooped off to follow our respective leaders. The purpose of the stadium tour was to make us aware of the main features of the Olympic Stadium.  We started in the Olympic Family room. This was a long thin room that had a fantastic view of the field of play. During our tour they were rehearsing for the opening ceremony. We were sworn to secrecy to what we were witnessing. At the end of the opening ceremony they had 82 hours to transform the arena into an athletics stadium. Next stop on the tour was the VIP lounge. This is where the Queen, members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and other dignitaries from around the world would be entertained. Next it was down to the bowels of the stadium where the journalist and photographers would have to file their copy. Next were the athletes, themselves. After preparing on the warm-up tack, they would cross to the stadium via a tunnel and into the final preparation room prior to their races. After their race they would have to make themselves available for questions, interviews and photo-shoots. Also they may be unlucky and have to supply a sample for a drugs test. After that it was a 360o tour of the outer perimeter of the stadium pointing out the signage, the bridges onto the island, the landscaping (which had been in position for over a year) and the concession stands. We finally ended up at the most important places to us …the workforce check-in and rest areas. This is where we had to report to at the start of every shift and where we were allowed to take a break.

Functional area
Then it was back to where it all started early that morning. Here we were split into our respective functional area; ticketing, transport, event management, entertainment …and technology. The final session of the day about our indivdual functional areas was the most disappointing. Whereas the early speakers had been precise, informative and authoritative, the presenter allocated to deliver the function area information was hesitative and imprecise. He was suffering with what I call excusitis! He obviously knew his stuff but was unable to put it across. I did find out that the duties of the Print Distribution Team were to circulate printed sheets containing start lists, race results and victory ceremonies. There were two (2) print rooms: PRD1 & PRD2. The first print room was situated on the low ground floor; whereas the second print room was up in the air …somewhere. The session was very ‘lite’, which was not much good to me. It started with a slide presentation. The bullet points were rattled off at express-train speed; with barely time having to absorb their contents. It would seem that most people had been on a test event before at the stadium and therefore knew what was expected of them. To me the session was a blur of dark corridors, the inside of lifts, up and down escalators and the insides of nebulous rooms. The thing that was missing was a map showing the places we had to visit and the locations of the blue tray. Volunteers recounted their personal experience that had occurred during test events. It may have had some relevance to people who had attended such events but to others (like me) they were meaningless. There were also reports of clients who considered themselves ‘too important’ or ‘too busy’ to sign the cover sheets but what action was taken …none!

The end…
…and with that the Venue Specific Training was at an end. I had to make my own way out of the stadium back to the Stratford Station. At one point I was mistaken for an extra involved in the rehearsal of the opening ceremony. I had been impressed by what I had seen. If everything goes to plan the London 2012 Olympic Games will be a spectacle to be remembered.

Legacy
During my initial walk to the stadium, I was able to appreciate the enormity of the task to build such an Olympic venue. However, I learned a couple of days later that only just over a half workforce were local workers. In the Olympic village, there was even a sign in Polish, which roughly translated means ‘Keep door closed at all times’. In these times of economic restraint, what sort of legacy is this for the United Kingdom!