Part 5 - 28th August 2016

On the 8th of September, Join In https://www.facebook.com/pg/joininuk/posts/ posted a Highlights of all of us Legacy Volunteers - not sure if they included any of my Part 5 email as I had not returned to the UK as I was still in Brazil, awaiting the Paralympics.

As the #Paralympics kick off, here's the highlights from the Join In Legacy Volunteers during the Rio 2016 Olympics: https://www.joininuk.org/london-2012-rio-2016-legacy-volunteers-return

Days 15-19.

Despite mainly clearing up spilled fizzy drinks from the not fit for purpose Golden bottles (nine out of ten Olympians agree, the only thing coke is good for is to polish floor tiles!), the Entertainment centre is still a lot of fun.

New residents are finding it everyday, happy to have a building where (nearly) everything works, and it's nice to see the regulars coming back. We must be doing something right.

We've installed an extra table tennis table, two table fussball tables (albeit with pointy sticks at a 'sensitive' height, so I wrapped tape around them and sharpied an X) and the Panasonic techies have wired up the music room and cinema room so the athletes can connect their MP3 players to make their own soundtracks or jam on the electro acoustic guitar.

Opening ceremony night I stayed around after my shift ended at 3 to see the buses fill up and convoy out of the village from the second floor cinema room. Then I helped move chairs in the plaza so volunteers and athletes who did not make the trek could watch it on the big screen.

Days 20-26.

I had a day off to move Airbnb apartments away from the Olympic Park, to Recreio, now with the new BRT station open at Olof Palme, my journey to the village was 3km longer, but usually fifteen minutes quicker. Because of this, I was able to change my working shifts from 9-3 to 5-midnight, get some variety, free up my mornings for sightseeing/exercise, and help out Aaron and James at the hectic pre and post dinner games surges and closing time.

Sunday afternoon I went to watch the women's road race on Grumari hills. Similar to the Tour De France when I supervised volunteers at the 5km sprint stage into Epping, the residents took full advantage of the closed roads to have street parties, barbeques, children writing on the road. Even I got some cheers in my uniform and walking back I was hugged and nearly diverted into a garden booze up.

After nearly four weeks, Aaron returned to the UK for a family 'summer' holiday to be replaced by American Isobel and fellow Essex boy Lee from Basildon. They were a little shocked at the working set up, still under the impression there were supposed to be eight volunteers on shift, not just Arthur in the mornings, Tarique floating, and me at night, but they soon adjusted to the Brazilian way, bartering their fast food vouchers and pins for favours.

With the unnerving sight of so many empty seats at venues, and stories of some volunteers dropping out, the organisers started giving out free tickets at check in (sod's law the first day with a range of choice was the one day in 12 I was off!). I managed to get Handball tickets in the Olympic Park, had a walk around and ended up in the Tennis arena watching the QF between Rafa Nadal and Brazilian Bellucci. Some noise!

Back at work, the main five screens in the fizzy drink bar were not showing the track cycling, so I went into the Headshot waiting area/chill out space to see Wiggins et al smash their own World Record and beat Australia in the Team Pursuit for another Gold for Team GB. I cheered very loudly from my bean bag. As the Aussies once said, we are good at the sitting down sports!

Days 27-33.

I was starting to get annoyed with other volunteers, paid staff and security contractors bothering the athletes asking for pins, selfies or just being voyeuristic and snapping from afar. Some athletes, understandably, get self conscious when laughing their heads off wearing a Sonic hat, throwing a virtual javelin, so to then be confronted by somebody invited into their home taking a sneaky picture can be unnerving and, frankly, creepy.

This doesn't seem to have been mentioned at all in training. Even one of my managers asked me why I told guys in military gear to put their phones away after I had had to ask them to stop playing table tennis so athletes waiting could play. I definitely noticed a lot of grumpy athletes, unable to get a moment of peace in what was supposed to be their safe place, avoiding anyone in yellow shirts, only asking for help from people in other uniforms.

To mark myself out as different I pimped up my accreditation with the GBR sticker from the powerade engraving girls, and started bringing my 2012 Paralympic hat instead of the bland, beige Rio one. I then received a lot more reciprocated smiles instead of grumpy faces, and sparked up more conversations from English speaking countries. It's not about showing favouritism or one-upsmanship but about making it obvious I have volunteering experience so can be of more help to an English speaking resident trying to find out something such as where to walk to the Boxing pavilion in Riocentro, how to register for the WiFi or just handing over a couple of spare table tennis balls to the Team GB medallist wanting to play beer pong!

My lucky hat also saw an upsurge for Team GB medals, even allowing Mo Farah to fall over and get back up to win 10k Gold and I watched Andy Murray win Gold vs Del Potro with three dudes in Argentina kit. At least three people paused their xbox/playstation games for 9.80 seconds to see Bolt win the 100m. He really does draw a crowd!

One of our jobs in the Entertainment centre is to offer advice on the arcade machines, so when a famous sprinter wanted to do something fun but "no running", I was able to tell her about the archery, swimming and gymnastics games. She got a world record in gymnastics.

We get a lot of lost property in the Entertainment Centre. The athlete's sponsors spend so much on clothing, drinks, food, phones, that they forget to add zips. One clever guy from Belize had taken a picture of his accreditation as a screensaver, so I was able to go to the NOC tent to the Belize assistant to return the lost phone.

Another was not so easy. Me and fizzy drinks boss Daryl tried connecting to Bluetooth for a name. The camera worked without unlocking the password, so we made a sign saying "your phone is lost in the Entertainment centre" in case the owner was checking their Cloud. Luckily, it received a whatsapp call, Daryl answered and asked if the caller had another way of contacting the phone's owner and to come collect it. Turned out it was a South African guy I had earlier shown how to play the hurdles, including removing his phone from his unzipped pocket so it didn't fall out. I am such a troublemaker!

After reading this blog and thankful for Facebook advice, some fellow volunteers brought me supplies from the UK. I exchanged some powerade sachets and a free ticket to the wrestling for Katy's bottle of Hot Nando's, and Legacy Ann brought me crunchy peanut butter. Lifesavers!

Days 34-37.

Thanks to Dawn and Join In, us Legacy volunteers got a last minute invite to GB house in Parque Lage, looking up at Christ the Redeemer. I was able to watch the BBC vidiprinter to see Wycombe get an exciting 0-0 draw at Blackpool and had some roast beef and a tiny Yorkshire pudding for the first time in two months. Then watched Nicola Adams win Gold. Strange to not be the only person cheering on a Brit. 

Lee managed to secure athletics tickets for Bolt's triple treble and we took in the atmosphere in the warm up track. Interesting to see the long distance Ethiopians jogging in a pack in hoodies chanting to keep warm, whereas the Scandinavian and Eastern European relay sprinters were glowing with perspiration. Only when the men's relay came around for their lap of honour did I recognise DJ Mike, an American Entertainment centre regular spinning the decks.

Back to the village after midnight, different drop off point as Time Brasil were having a big party celebrating the football penalties gold so the bus could not go round, then had a security woman give me a lost key from a hedge. Knowing most help places were closed, I just took the key to the building, tenth floor where three American dudes had been celebrating and all they could say was "thanks maaan". Walked past a lot of people carrying dark plastic bags clinking and a few buildings were having a drunken sing off. Not exactly Pitch Perfect but acca-scuse me.

Lee also managed to get closing ceremony tickets in the IOC family freebie hospitality. Open bar! You can take the boy out of Essex... Saw Chaerhee, the IOC social media interviewer who had been in the Entertainment centre giving out free Olympic rings glasses and met her colleague who went to the school opposite mine in Chelmsford. Small world!

The last couple of days in the village were fairly quiet, no more fizzy drinks spillages to clean up! Running repairs to table tennis bats, air hockey goals and leg screws and did some running around to get names and numbers of managers for UK volunteers coming for the Paralympics but who had not yet had any direct contact.

I left my whatsapp number with Team GB in case they want me to donate a shirt to the British school in Rio that they had been visiting,  and maybe go along myself to  answer any questions the kids have about volunteering.

It was a little bit of a last day at school vibe, with volunteers and athletes exchanging souvenirs. I, swapped a shirt with a Bosnia and Herzegovina coach, and the light, volunteer  jacket with a Swaziland athlete's thick fleece. Either he was very happy with the volunteers, or he just wanted to reduce his baggage weight allowance for his flight home!

One reason I never get starstruck around sports stars is I see myself as a sportsman (cricket up to just below professional), so they are my peers, albeit at a much higher level of performance, we are in the same ballpark. Two American rowers needed me to give them a leg up onto the wet, cracked, metal rings for a souvenir picture. Why I thought I had a better chance of climbing it alone, than two Olympians at their physical peak, I don't know. I slipped and cut my elbow, wrist and shin. That'll teach me!

Felt a tinge of sadness saying goodbye to colleagues and leaving the village for the last time. London 2012 village was great, the first time in my life I had ever enjoyed "work", but here it's been more of a home.

I've just had four days in the Pantanal, able to tell lots of Olympics stories to Spanish, French, Dutch and British safari trekkers. Now in Iguassu and figuring out how to hike Ilha Grande on the way back to Rio for the first half of the Paralympics, volunteering in the Park, hopefully the Velodrome.

Tchau!