Why I'm Volunteering: The Interview

When I first heard that applications for Games Makers would be open back in 2010, I felt like it was a no-brainer. Up till then, I've been doing all sorts of work for the University, from helping on buses, to directing people on Open Days, to giving tour guides for UCAS Days. Granted, I've been paid for all of these gigs, but I just felt that volunteering for the Olympics was a natural thing to do.

If people were to ask me why would I want to do all these things without payment, I guess that's where I struggle to make people understand. To me, I feel that taking part in the Olympics and being a small cog in the big LOCOG machine is well worth the effort, time and money. It's a sense of national pride, funnily enough. I remember when I went to the interviews for Games Makers, we all had a chance to write on these massive blank whiteboards whatever we wanted to say. It was sort of like being given the opportunity to leave our mark about what it means to be a Games Maker. These whiteboards were going to be preserved and hung somewhere in public where people could see it. You know what I wrote on it? A big sunny smiley face with the words "Malaysia Boleh!" (Malaysia Can) :D

I actually don't know what's happened to those whiteboards actually.. It's entirely plausible that they've just wiped out the boards when we weren't looking, and presented blank slates to the incoming recruits everyday :P

I only got the call up for my interview almost 2 years after I had submitted my application. By that point, I had absolutely no hope of getting in, so I was really psyched. I found out that I've been allocated to the Venue Entry Team. Great! The website didn't have much info on what the role involved, so I just assumed that it's the standard ticket checking, 'hello how are you please sit there' kind of thing. So off I went to ExCeL London for my interview and collected my documents, and that's when I was given a further leaflet on what the Venue Entry Team was supposed to be doing: welcoming people into venues and advising them to get their bags open and ready for inspection.


They wanted me to be an unpaid airport security guard :-O


Anyways, I went into my interview 'pod' - one of the partitioned sections in the big massive room - and met this really lovely lady who was a Games Maker herself. Apparently at that stage, all the interviews were being done by Games Makers themselves, which was quite interesting.


It was like a standard job interview, and then she asked about examples of where I've shown teamwork, leadership, cooperation, etc. All of which I answered with stints from my Unilink bus duties :D I said that I've been helping out with the buses for years and I've been told that I'm really good at it and I love doing it :) She wondered why I wasn't allocated into the Transport team, which has a Bus Team as well. I just shrugged. She continued scribbling away on her pieces of paper while I continued to ramble away about why I want to volunteer.

I left the interview feeling quite upbeat with my chances. 250,000 people applied to become a Games Maker, but after the good buzz I got from my interviewer, I felt like I had a good chance of getting in. So I started to psych myself up for being the friendliest security guard I could possibly be.

Then a month later, I received my Games Maker Offer:

Paralympic Games Transport Bus Team Member at the Athletes Village.

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE :D :D :D (cartwheels!)

N.B.: Apparently the Venue Entry Team allocation I had was for the Olympics, and even up until now, my Games Maker dashboard online says it's 'under review'. I think it's safe to say that I won't be doing it after all :P

Hello World :P

Hi, I'm Dayah, and I'm a Games Maker :)

I'm a volunteer for the London Paralympics 2012, and I'm part of a 70000-strong team of Games Makers who will be spending our time and money to be part of the greatest show on Earth :)

I've been contemplating about starting this blog for a while now, seeing how other fellow GMs have made their own for quite some time. Yet I've always thought against it because I didn't feel like there were enough happenings to warrant a blog.

Now that the Olympics is TOMORROW (well, the Opening Ceremony anyway, I know football's already started!) I can't help but start writing away. There's so much that's happened in the last few weeks, now I'm regretting I didn't start earlier!

The other reason why I wanna write is because I'm so full of pumped up energy and excitement about the Olympics and being a GM that I've probably exhausted my resources of people willing to listen to me gush about it. Especially since the majority of people around me don't like having the Olympics in London :P

Since I've now left it a bit late, I'll have to narrate my journey with a mix of things happening in the present with things that have happened in the past. I hope that'll make sense!

First and foremost, an overview of what's happened so far:

Early 2010 - Signed up to a newsletter to express my interest to become a Games Maker.
Sept 2010 - Submitted my application to become a Games Maker.
Apr 2011 - Applied for Olympic tickets via the ballot system.
Jun 2011 - Got Badminton men's final tickets - woohoo!
Jan 2012 - Got interviewed at ExCeL for my Games Maker role.
Feb 2012 - Offered a role for Paralympics - woohoo!!
Mar 2012 - Attended Role Specific Training at Hackney
Apr 2012 - Received my shifts for duty
Jul 2012 - Attended the Opening Ceremony technical rehearsal as part of a Games Maker thank you - woohoo!!!

Sooooo.. lots *has* happened, and I'll most likely talk about one or two of those events, but for now, I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE OLYMPICS TO START!