CSSC volunteer Sarah Newstead applied to be a volleyball officiator at the 2012 Olympics. She was recently called for a Games Maker interview, so we asked if she could tell us all about it. Here is her story:
My interview was held on Sunday 13 February 2011 at the Excel Centre in London. On our invites we were specifically told to turn up as close to our allocated times as possible, but I was still expecting there to be hoards of people milling around but it was all very quiet. I was welcomed into the building and asked to wait where there were only four or five other people waiting, although a few others turned up until there were about 15 of us at which point we had to register and were given blue wristbands to wear. We then had to go to another desk and provide our identification and have our photographs taken. These will be used on our official passes if we are successful in our interviews.
We all passed as a group to the next section which had a lot of information about The Games, including an interactive model of the Olympic village - the model buildings lit up when you pressed buttons for different events, posters about the mascots and a bit about Olympic history.
I spoke to a few of the others who were attending the interviews and there was a range of people there, some wanting to officiate the sailing, some were interested in the boxing. We then had to go into the 'cinema' when it was our 'blue wristband' allotted time. The film lasted for about 10 minutes with Seb Coe thanking us for volunteering and various other comedians and sports stars making us laugh. There was an advert for Cadbury's (official partners of The Games) explaining their spots and stripes initiative. You may have seen the Cadbury's adverts being shown now about playing games and being competitive in the run up to The Games. There was also a game of 'Scissors, paper, stone' against the spots and stripes hands on the screen. This was really good to watch before the interview as it was targeted to help us think a bit about why we were there and it was a bit of fun to relax a little.
We were all assigned a number when we registered and that was our 'pod' number for our interview. There was a slight mix-up in my pod and had to wait a short while for my interviewer, and then the interviewer's question sheet. As we were waiting I was talking to the interviewer, who was herself a volunteer, taking her free time to interview people. The interview itself was competency based, asking questions about other volunteering roles I have done and what I could bring to The Games. As this was a Technology interview, I had to explain the qualities and experiences I could bring with me to the FA. The interview only lasted about 20 minutes in total, and went very quickly.
After the interview we were encouraged to write on a big white board. This was only the second week of interviews and the boards were already full up with lots of messages wishing good luck, which was lovely.
Then there was an official shop with Olympic Game merchandise to buy. I bought a couple of 2012 pins, a volleyball (my sport!) and a note book with Wenlock (The Olympics' mascot) on the front.
Everyone was really friendly and helpful and everything went very smoothly, even though there was a mix up with my interviewer it was sorted out quickly. There were also lots of free Cadbury's (one of the official sponsors!) chocolates to eat everywhere - yum!
I am hoping to be selected to score the volleyball. The FIVB (International volleyball board) will be holding a test event at Earl's Court in July, at which the scorers and line judges will be selected for The Games. Everyone had to apply to be a Games Maker, even those (like me) who want to officiate a sport. I know of two other CSSC members who are hoping to be selected for officiating too. They had interviews on different days, but we will find out in October/November time if we have been successful at the interviews. Good luck everyone!
Sarah Newstead, Volleyball.
