Match point

August 13th 2012

After the excitement of meeting David Beckham on Wednesday it was a quick turnaround ready for the men’s bronze and gold medal matches on Thursday.

The bronze medal match between the Latvian and Dutch teams was a tense three setter and the Latvians -most definitely the underdogs - eventually clinched a well earned victory. First through the mixed zone were the Dutch team, who were absolutely crushed by their defeat. They are both due to retire, and their pain in exiting successful careers with this loss on their scorecard was palpable. It was a sobering moment and even the more experienced journalists ran dry with questions in the face of such obvious disappointment.

We had to quickly recover and switch our attention to the victors, and as we waited for the Latvians to move through the zone I scanned the medal table on my phone and realised that this was their first medal at London 2012.  This gave me a great opportunity for a good opening question that in this stage of the competition I wasn’t expecting to be able to ask: “How does it feel to win the first medal of the Games for your country?”. Bronze, was clearly a huge deal for the Latvian players, and also for Latvia as a nation, as I learned half way through my interview with Janis Smedins when his coach reached over me and thrust a phone into his hand saying “it’s the Latvian President for you”. A brilliant moment that highlighted the differing journeys of the nations represented at the games.

After a quick turnaround on the Latvian’s quotes I was back into the stands for the final showdown between Brazil and Germany. It was a corker of a match, with dramatic twists and turns throughout, countless set points saved and a controversial final point that meant that the Germans had to pause slightly before celebrating their eventual victory. This time the stands were exploding with life, with German and Brazilian flags aplenty and enough noise to keep Cameron awake just over the wall in Downing Street. Heading down into the mixed zone, I interviewed Brazilian’s gentle giant Alison Cerutti, and then one of my favourite players of all, Athens gold medallist and beach volleyball veteran Emanuel Rego. The pens were a feeding frenzy of sharp elbows, shouting and shoving, but when Emanuel began to speak you could hear a pin drop across the mixed zone. The man has humility, gravitas and shows all the credentials of a great team player. It was a great honour to shake his hand, congratulate him on his silver medal and hear his hopes for Rio 2016.

I then interviewed the German gold medallists Jonas Reckermann and Julius Brink, who had played a great competition and were characteristically low key about their victory. And then, as those last players exited the mixed zone and the journalists thinned out, I faced the fact that my Olympic volunteering journey had come to an end. I filed my quotes and then headed back to the court, hoping to get one last look at the stadium before I caught the last tube home. There was not a security guard in sight, so I walked out onto the sand with two other Games Makers and posed for silly photos – diving for a ball, sitting in the players booth and lying in front of the London 2012 sign. With the stands empty and the pack-down operation already in progress around me, it seemed difficult to believe that this amazing venue - the site of sporting triumphs and disappointment, singing, dancing and music would be a patch of dust in a matter of days.

It has been a truly amazing experience to be part of the action, and I am proof of the fact that if you put your name in the hat and volunteer your time, then great things can happen to you. It was a challenge learning the ropes and working with a new team under pressure, it was tricky to hold down the day job around all my shifts but it was pure joy to be a part of London 2012. To sit in the stands and hear the energy and enthusiasm of the fans; to try on a journalist’s hat for a fortnight; to have an opportunity to show the world what’s great about the city I have been proud to call home for 15 years; to meet the players and ponder their inspirational journeys through personal sacrifice, injuries, crushing defeat and triumph.

I, like many Londoners, am very sad today that it’s all over. But this sadness is just a product of the amazing high we’ve all been on for the last few weeks. The Games have totally exceeded my expectations, and the athletes have given me so much inspiration to try harder, think positive and be gracious both in victory and in defeat.

I wouldn’t have missed it for anything, and any time I walk across horse guards in the future I’ll hear the echoes of the cheesy music, the thundering cheers of the fans and remember how London 2012  inspired me, inspired the nation and wowed the world.

I'm a natural!

Over and out London 2012

Losing my cool in the face of celebrity

9th August 2012

Last night’s shift was a biggy. Women’s bronze and gold medal matches. When I arrived at Horse Guards the landscape had changed yet again. The media centre was bursting at the seams, and when I headed up into the tribunes, every single seat was full and I had to walk up 6 or 7 rows before I found a seat with a partially obstructed view to settle down in. Every screen was on, and legions of Brazilians and Chinese correspondents were sitting with their headphones and microphones on broadcasting straight from the stands.

Whilst the atmosphere in the tribunes was electric, the atmosphere in the stadium was strangely flat. In the stand opposite me I could see a sea of blue and white shirt sleeves – a very obvious sign that in the latter stages of the tournament the balance of regular punters to corporate guests had been tipped. Gone were the endless Mexican waves, chanting, beer swilling, dancing and flag waving; to be replaced by polite clapping and cheering.

That didn’t seem to bother the players and it was a gripping bronze medal match between Brazil and China, watched by Prince Harry who had been hotly anticipated at the beach volleyball from the very first day. Near the end of the second set it seemed so certain that China were going to clinch their second consecutive bronze medal that I headed down to the mixed zone to grab a spot in my pen. But in the time it took me to walk down the stairs, the balance of the match tipped and the Brazilian team fought tooth and nail to clinch a victory in the third set. I interviewed Brazil’s Larissa Franca who was absolutely ecstatic to win bronze. She said “It is not gold, but to us it is gold.” It was truly fantastic to finally interview a medal winner!

With a short break to file our quotes we headed back up to the stands for the USA v USA head to head match. If I’d thought the tribunes were busy before, then I was wrong. There so many journalists packed in that I had to share a seat with a cardboard box and if I looked behind me there was a wall of photographers in matching beige gillets against the backdrop of the Olympic flags, training their telescopic lenses onto the players. It was a great match but it was clear from the start that Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh were going to let nothing get in their way of clinching their third consecutive gold medal and it was all over in just two sets.

But the excitement was not over. At the end of the match, I headed to the front of the tribunes to watch the medal ceremony and saw a wall of people snapping away on their phones. But they weren’t aiming their cameras at the athletes, they were directing them to the row of people just in front of me. I spotted Laura Trott and Jason Kenny smooching in the stands and assumed they were drawing the crowds, but then as the crowds parted slightly I spied an even more extraordinary sight – a rather familiar tattooed arm and neck. David Beckham!

A few moments later I was swept up in one of those lucky moments that I’ll never forget. As David left the stands with his three sons, his bodyguard guided him towards me and said “a photo with the volunteers David?” and he reached up and shook my hand and posed for a photo with me and a crowd of Gamesmakers (attached). I would love to say I played it cool and acted like he was just any other human being. But that is not the case. I leaned over the railings screaming “Daaaavid” and made a total idiot of myself. Thankfully he seemed to have the same effect on everyone around me so I blended in with the other wobbly-kneed female Gamesmakers. It was a very cool moment that took me only moments to share with the world on facebook.

After the excitement of Beckhamania, I headed straight to a press conference with the two American teams. Kerri Walsh was extremely emotional about the fact that this was Misty’s last ever competitive match and silver medallists Jen Kessy and April Ross were gracious in defeat, so we gathered some fantastic quotes.

It was a very late night by the time I filed my report, but I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. I’m now off to tie a plastic bag around my right hand because obviously I am never going to wash it ever again. Then I’ve got to regroup and calm down ready for tonight’s showdown between Brazil and Germany.

Keep sand out of pants

6th August 2012

It’s been a busy few days in the media centre at the beach volleyball, and my shifts have all run into each other in a blur of match-interview-sprint-file-sprint-repeat.

I’m really getting the hang of it now, although I don’t think I’ll ever really enjoy interviewing the athletes that have just lost, particularly as we advance through the competition to the knockout stages, and the losses mean so much more to the players. As the competition has advanced, the questions have shifted away from “what do you think of London?” and on to more technical questions about the way they played and strategies they employed, but I’m happy to say that my understanding of beach volleyball has developed to an extent that occasionally I am able to ask questions that almost sound like I know what I am talking about.

A highlight of the past few days was an invitation to the Federation of International Volleyball players lounge for a ‘meet and greet’ with Australian beach volleyball hero Nat Cook, who has been at every Olympics since beach volleyball was added to the Games in 1996, and won a gold and a bronze medal along the way. It was a slightly surreal experience chomping on posh open sandwiches in the white leather-furnished players lounge overlooking the practice courts. We were joined by Reuters, PA and some independent journalists for an intimate interview with Nat where we were able to quiz her on what makes a successful team, her memories of winning a gold medal on Bondai beach in Sydney and her thoughts on how Britain can capitalise on the enormous attention given to beach volleyball during the games in order to leave a legacy of strong players to head in to Rio 2016.

We also won ‘quote of the day’ across the whole of the Olympic News Service for the following (written in the house style)

Nat COOK (AUS)

On whether fans leave the beach volleyball with an understanding of the game:

“The sport is very simple to understand: ball over net; don’t touch net; three hits each side; keep sand out of pants. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past 20 years, and I still haven’t mastered it.”

Another highlight of this week was on Saturday night when I interviewed Misty May-Treanor, former gold medallist, and the American men’s team Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal who were bouncing off the walls after a big win. Jake wouldn’t let me interview him until I’d given him a big high five and his enthusiasm was a fantastic way to round off a long shift at 11.30pm at night.

There have been a few changes in the Horse Guards Parade flash quote team so I’ve been drafted in for a few extra shifts and will now get to cover the men’s and women’s finals on Wednesday and Thursday evening. I really can’t wait.

Nat Cook

Kofi Annan's coke zero

29th July 2012

After staying up late to watch the Opening Ceremony, it was an early start for me on Saturday, but the lack of sleep was the last thing on my mind as I arrived at the buzzing Horse Guards venue at 7am. There was a line of volunteers snaking out of the door to check in, and the crowds were already starting to gather on the Mall. A services brass band were chilling under the trees, helmet plumes blowing in the breeze, ready to entertain the crowds.

After a quick briefing I was despatched to the ‘Tribunes’ (the press area in the stands with rows of desks and screens) to watch the first match between Russia and Chinas’ women’s teams. While I watched, I researched their previous form in my players handbooks, and googled them to find any hooks for questions – a recent injury, a nickname, how far they are from retirement. I also had to closely watch the development of the game and swot up on my blocking, digging and setting.

It was amazing to see the stands full of spectators and the cheerleaders in costumes entertaining the crowds. There is a lot of audience participation at the volleyball and a DJ to drive everything from Mexican waves to shouts of “Ole!”

Ten minutes before the end of the match I left the stands to head down to the ‘mixed zone’ the long corridor under the stands that the players have to walk down to be interviewed - broadcast first, then print journalists and agencies in a series of pens, all managed by the mixed zone managers, whose job it is to keep everyone in the right place and not cross the line. There is a lot of hustling to manoeuvre into the top spot, and sharp elbows are absolutely part of the turf. This is a job I have the right skills for after years of London commuting.

The Chinese bronze medallists from Beijing were eventually defeated in a tense three set match. Heading into the mixed zone was nerve wracking in the extreme. Rob, the ‘paid’ member of the my team, a rugby writer for the Mail on Sunday, had told me to just listen in for the first interview, but he got wedged behind one of the cameras and couldn’t make it to the front, and as the Chinese athletes walked by, I acted on my instincts and stopped them for an interview, with no questions prepared. Suddenly, it was my moment, with the journalists from Reuters and other agencies reaching over my head to record our conversation on their dictaphones. My stomach dropped about eight floors!

It was actually quite difficult interviewing people when they had lost. The bubbly athletes I had met the day before were clearly crestfallen and it felt cruel to be delving into the depths of what went wrong. But that is their job – and mine for the next fortnight. After gathering my quotes, I had to sprint the 200m back to the media centre, write and edit the quotes and then sprint back to the stands again to watch the next match.

And so it went on for six consecutive matches. Each interview posed its own challenges. In some cases I had to use an interpreter, and that automatically dilutes the quality and character of the quotes, and in other cases the athletes don’t have anything new to say.

There was a moment of excitement in the afternoon, where two burly bodyguards came into the tribunes, scoped out the scene and then ushered a man and two women into the row in front of me. It was Kofi Annan! Clearly taking a break from peacekeeping in Syria. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, he was shortly followed into the stands by Seb Coe, and then not ten minutes later, I bumped into Colin Jackson in the mixed zone. I could hardly contain my excitement. Kofi left his bottle of coke zero behind and it is now sitting in the media centre as a trophy!

The day culminated for me with the GB men’s team’s match against Canada. Sadly they narrowly lost, but I was delighted to be given the opportunity to interview one half of the pair John Garcia-Thompson, who was absolutely lovely and truly gracious in defeat.

I left the grounds after a  long shift and wandered back, somewhat dazed, through London’s sun filled streets, packed with revellers. I was a novice to beach volleyball, but now I am hooked. It is a fantastic game to watch – dynamic and tactical with a fantastic atmosphere and I am looking forward to my next shift.

Kofi's coke zero

Down in the sand - warming up for the big event

27th July 2012

Yesterday morning I set off for my shift wearing my attractive nylon uniform and feeling every bit the Olympics geek. I am going to be based at Horse Guards for the duration of the Games, as a Flash Quote Reporter in the Olympic News Service. My role is to interview athletes as they come off the field of play, and write and load up their quotes to the Olympic News Service database for news agencies all over the world to use.

When I arrived at Horse Guards it was a hive of activity in the early morning sun. Teams of security guards were on their orientation tour, and workmen were putting the finishing touches to the venues, fixing up the hoarding and sweeping the paths. It was quite a surreal experience – having interviewed for this role well over eighteen months ago, to be finally arriving at the venue was really a great moment.

I reported to the media centre – an airy portacabin in St James Park and met the rest of my team – a mixture of retired hacks, journalism students and people like me with a bit of PR experience. After a quick talk I was despatched with another volunteer to the training courts to interview the Chinese women’s and Japanese men’s teams. Walking out to the training experience was amazing – with the white sand sparkling in the bright sunshine, it looked like a little slice of Brazilian beach life had been transported into London’s historic centre.

The one thing I am going to have to get used to on this job is the amount of hanging about involved. I stood around in the baking sun waiting for over an hour for the Chinese athletes to finish (they were the priority as they won bronze at Beijing). Suddenly, however, the Japanese men’s team strolled by. We’d already had a chat in the media centre about the issues with collecting quotes from the Japanese teams as they are quite shy. As I speak a bit of Japanese we agreed that I would try greeting them in their own language as a hook to engage them in conversation. It worked – but then their expectation was that I would continue the interview in Japanese, which was quite a clunky affair! Still, it was good experience of being put on the spot and having to come up with the right questions.

Patience paid off and we soon walked on to the court to interview Zhang Xi and Xue Chen. They were absolutely lovely. Despite being current world champions they didn’t have any sort of attitude and humoured our attempts at an interview, answering questions on everything to their thoughts on London, to their hopes for the Olympics (to win Gold, obviously). Then we rushed back to the office to type up the quotes and file them for the sub editor. All of this has to be done within thirty minutes and there is a very specific house writing style that I have to learn to work to. The big challenge for me however, is writing everything down whilst interviewing people, as many of the volunteers have shorthand, and I unfortunately don’t.

After lunch I had to interview Jake Gibb, one half of the men’s team from the USA and he was quite forthcoming about his irritation with the British media’s obsession with the women’s uniforms (or lack thereof) and said that this really isn’t such an issue in the rest of the world. He also expressed his frustration that this level of scrutiny doesn’t apply to the athletics, where the outfits are similarly skimpy. The distracting sight of about 40 cheerleaders rehearsing their routines in their bikinis on the sand behind Jake made the conversation slightly amusing for me. Beach volleyball is a strange old world!

Having filed Jake’s quotes, the final hour of the day was spent exploring the facilities – which included climbing to the top of the grandstand to take some photos of the stunning backdrop of London against a cloudless sky. This was going to be my last chance to have the facilities all to myself before the crowds descend on Saturday when I start at 7am, ready to gather quotes from the very first match of the competition.

Ready for the off

Cheerleader warm-up