6 Dec 2011

Blog - Being a Games Maker

Blog - Being a Games Maker news article image

Mikkel Larsen, a researcher at the Sport and Recreation Alliance, writes about his recent volunteering experience at the Olympic boxing test event in ExCel.

 Last week I did something I had never done before and chose to take a week off from my day job. Not to spend it relaxing next to a pool in some sunny country, but to spend it working at the Boxing test event inside ExCeL in London’s Docklands.

 You might be surprised to hear that now the week has passed, I still think I made the right decision!

I don’t have much of a background in volunteering, although when I was younger I helped out in the odd tournament at my local badminton club. My dad was treasurer of the club, so you could argue that it wasn’t always ‘volunteering’ in the strictest sense of the word! I would therefore say that signing up to be a London 2012 Games Maker is my first volunteering experience on such a large scale.

It has to be said that I’m one of these people who doesn’t need much encouragement to become truly excited about London 2012. I know that my passion, especially for the smaller sports, is at a level which most people might find a little obsessive. But at the test event I was lucky enough to meet people who were just as excited about the prospect of London 2012 being just around the corner as me.

I met people who, just like me, took a week out of their normal lives to treasure the fact they could one day say that however small their role, they played a part in making London 2012 happen.

Enthusiasm for volunteering

I am a true believer that London 2012 will be everything that it is being hyped up to be – not because we are being told so by billboards, but because every volunteer so far has made a real contribution to making it an outstanding success.

When the London 2012 Games move out of town and the Olympic and Paralympic Torches are passed on to Rio, the enthusiasm for volunteering might actually be the greatest legacy that London 2012 can leave.

London 2012 might be my first big volunteering experience, but I’m already contemplating volunteering for the Badminton National Championships next year.

If the Games Makers programme results in just some of the participants starting down a new path of volunteering in the future, then we have all at least gone some of the way to leaving a long-lasting and valuable legacy for sport in Britain.

Find out more about the London 2012 volunteering scheme

 

Latest News

31 Jul 2025

A United Voice for Sport and Recreation: Alliance launches new five-year strategy

The Sport and Recreation Alliance has today published its new five-year strategy, titled ‘A United Voice for Sport and Recreation’.

Read more Arrow Right
30 Jul 2025

Government announces support for women’s sport – but where will they play?

The Government recently announced new plans that aim to more than double the share of primetime slots dedicated to women’s and girls’ sports teams at Government-funded facilities across England, following the success of the Lionesses in Switzerland.

Read more Arrow Right
18 Jul 2025

Alliance showcases recent achievements with launch of Impact Report 2024/25

The Sport and Recreation Alliance has today released its 2024/25 Impact Report, highlighting some of the organisation’s key achievements from the last 12 months.

Read more Arrow Right

Become a member

Joining the Sport and Recreation Alliance is pretty simple, but worthwhile!

Register now

Our Partners

Admincontrol logoAir IT logoGateley Legal logoSport:80 logoZellar logo93FT logo