Four Seasons in One Day

Saturday brought sunshine, showers, thunderstorms, wind and a lot of questions from the Colombian team about the weather in a British summer! I spent most of the morning at the International Paralympic Hotel near St. Pauls with Senora Sonia, Secretary General of the Colombian Paralympic Association making arrangements for the Colombian Honorary Guests for the opening ceremony.
I am working to support Chepe and his Cycling team as they prepare for races in both the Velodrome (Pista) and Brands Hatch (Ruta).

Angela with fellow Gamesmakers Juan and Keith taking coffee outside the Colombian office

                    Inside the team office with Chef de Mission Juan Pablo Salazar on the right

Paralympic Village Life

We now have almost all of our team of 70 installed in the village and all the work to put up the team flags and sort out the rooms is complete. Now we are focusing on delivering support to the Chef de Mission and his team. The 5 of us are sharing out the roles well and now getting into a routine to spread the shifts and the workload. Cycling at Brands Hatch and logistical support to the wheelchair basketball team are where we are interacting most with the athletes and as Nicola knows too well, there is a lot of paperwork to make things happen. Without the proper authorisation - nothing happens as I found out yesterday when I met the lady in charge of Brands Hatch.

The Colombian Wheelchair Basketball Team



Flags identify the Colombian team office and rooms

 

Proud Chepe with the certificate for being the first team to complete registration in the Velodrome 

Day 1 of the Paras is very busy!

After meeting the Colombian Chef de Mission and his team when they arrived yesterday, today was the first full day as a Gamesmaker. A long and exciting day which involved a lot of persuading other people to do things for us ahead of other teams. We were certainly working well together and are fortunate to be working with a well organised Latin team. After checking 70 rooms were ready in every detail and that over 200 door keys worked, we were rewarded with the job of putting up the Colombian flags so that the athletes would feel welcome. Finally we welcomed the first group of athletes and their support teams, followed later by the wheelchair basketball team with the rest of the athletes arriving tomorrow.

 

Rob and Colombian Flag

The Director General and the NPC Assistants

The Basketball team arrives

And now for the Paralympics.....

Saturday 18th and Rob spent a very hot afternoon in his Village Orientation session. In fact the last ever Training Session run by the NOC/NPC team who have been fantastic leaders and trainers over the last few months.

It is amazing how quickly the village is being rebranded and adapted from Olympics to Paralympics. I am sure I will eventually find my way round. Thanks to Dan who worked as an NOC Assistant with the Thai Olympic Team for all the little tips.

Five of the Colombian Assistants were able to meet each other during the day, we are going to make a fantastic team, that's for sure and started off by celebrating in the nearest pub!!!

Tuesday is when it all starts to happen!!!

Introductory Tour of the Paralympic Village

Last Ever Training Session in the Athletes Dining Room which seats 5000

My final thoughts ..........

Unfortunately the fine weather that we had enjoyed for the Olympics deserted us on Monday and we had a very wet visit to Stonehenge.  4 NOC assistants and 10 Costa Ricans drove to Stonehenge via a very dodgy Little Chef at the beginning of the A303.  I had suggested that Leeds Castle may have been easier to get to but since almost every Olympian seems to have visited Stonehenge at some time I can only assume their publicity was better and they were very happy to give us a group discount.  I can now see why they have been trying to build a Visitor Centre since the current facilities are distinctly 'quaint'.  After a wet viewing of 'The Stones' we managed to find a traditional English Pub in Amesbury who were very welcoming and opened the cavery especially for us.


A wet and windy Stonehenge

Outing to Amesbury

Monday: The Day after the Closing Ceremony

So it's all over and the teams are getting ready to depart. The role of the NOC assistant continues until everyone has left.  The athletes would like to have a final trip to Stonehenge and Bath which will be great provided the first day back at work for everyone else does not mean jams on the M25 and everyone is awake when I arrive at 8.30! Apart from driving our final jobs will be checking out the apartments and washing the BMW's to pass over to our Paralympian colleagues.

Athletes Entrance to the Village

Sunday: The Mountain Bike Race

Finally the mountain biking took place yesterday - and it was a great spectacle to watch with 19,000 other people. It was fabulously organised and we got there really early since I wanted to ensure our athlete got there without mishap (rules say never drive an athlete to a competition).  Amongst the medal winners there was a sprint for the line after one and a half hours of cycling. Paulo came in 37th but as he told the press - giving an interview on the way home - he was proud to have represented Costa Rica and it was a great experience to ride with the best people in the world. The crowd was fabulous and cheered everyone home which made his day.

Hadleigh Country Park on race day 

Paolo Montoya before the race

The Costa Rican Cycle Team