“There’s too many volunteers and not enough seats,” says Farrall. Unless volunteers were lucky enough to be assigned a job inside a sport venue, Olympic perks don’t include seeing competitions. He says that most of the people volunteering as first responders are nurses, physicians, physiotherapists and even dentists who were eager to be involved with the Olympics, even if that involvement doesn’t include attending events.
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“But the camaraderie is amazing.” Farrall is one of 5,000 volunteers working the games as first responders, aiding anyone with a medical issue. “It’s hard work, it’s tiring,” says retired paramedic Robin Farrall, referring to the 10-hour shifts. For some, that meant bunking with friends or family, while others slept in tents at a nearby campsite for £10 (roughly $15) a night or slightly more at a remote caravan park.Īnd then there are the long hours. Many of the workers live outside London and were responsible for finding and funding their own accommodation. That’s not to say that working the Olympics as a volunteer is all fun and games. The volunteers have been so integral to the Olympics they’ve been named the “Games makers” by organizers. Along with the paid and contracted workers at venues - mostly recognizable by their black uniforms and a less enthused demeanor - the hoards of volunteers are managing everything from ticket scanning to queue control to directing lost spectators. But perhaps the biggest reason behind the continuing cheer of the games is the 70,000 volunteers who have been assigned to keeping events running smoothly. London 2012 has so far been celebrated throughout the UK as a huge success, with everything from Team GB’s medal count to the not-bad-for-London weather inspiring glee from Olympic fans. The Pritchards’ enthusiasm is wonderful, but it’s not a unique attitude at the Park. Val nods as she pulls out a sheet of paper, with columns of countries printed on it. The Pritchards have been tasked with helping out whenever and wherever needed in Olympic Park, which has allowed them plenty of time to meet people. Kath says they now have their sights on their own Olympic goal: posing for a photo with a person from every country.
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They applied for positions last year simply because they wanted to be “part of things.” Once through the application process, they received general and venue-specific training. “Normally we go away together, but we’re doing this instead this year.” “This is our holiday this year,” says Kath, dressed in the purple and orange shirt and tan trousers that make up the standard volunteer uniform.
#LONDON OLYMPIC VOLUNTEERS FREE#
The 40-something sisters both work as schoolteachers during the year and have their summer free to work at Olympic Park. Volunteers like Kath and Val Pritchard are a case in point.
![london olympic volunteers london olympic volunteers](https://images.theconversation.com/files/13389/original/9n7d3g45-1343192105.jpg)
Particular attention is paid to highlighting how the findings might contribute to recent debates around whether sporting mega-event volunteering is best explained by the serious leisure quality of career volunteering, or by the serious leisure associated concept of project-based leisure, or alternatively by the competing term of episodic volunteering.Follow athletes have long inspired admiration, but the London Games have introduced the world to a new set of heroes: volunteers. Recommendations are also made, in the light of the findings, for the further refinement of the serious leisure perspective. This finding will help Olympic and other sporting mega-event managers to understand and improve the experiences of their volunteers. It is concluded that all of the qualities of serious leisure are identifiable to various extents within the experiences of the London 2012 volunteers. The data are drawn from the reflective diaries of 20 participants who volunteered in a variety of roles during London 2012. This study, therefore, uses a qualitative study of the lived experience of London 2012 volunteers to test the relevance of the serious leisure framework to Olympic volunteering. Stebbins’ theoretical perspective of serious leisure includes consideration of volunteering and there are calls for its further empirical evaluation. The 70,000 London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic volunteers, for example, played a vital role in the delivery of the event. Along with other sporting mega-events, the Olympic Games, in all its versions, makes extensive use of volunteers.