Olympic Games Maker test event update

After yet another Olympic tickets debacle, LOGOC continued its rather expertly timed email campaign over the weekend.

Whilst still slightly depressed at the ‘computer says no’ farce of the second round of sales, shortly after lunch on Friday I received an email with more details of my Games Maker test event in August.

They do love their Friday emails do LOCOG.

And so it transpires that I will be taking on the role of a Flash Quote Reporter at the BMX test event on the Olympic Park come August. Having done some collaboration with my old mate Google, this appears to be interviewing athletes after they have competed and uploading the quotes onto a news wire computer system. Nice – just hope I bag that one for the main event.

The only slight downside is the sport – BMX. Now, I am a big cycling fan – I ride both road and MTB bikes and am an avid follower of the Grand Tours (can’t wait for the TdF which starts this week). But of all the cycling disciplines, BMX is the one I know the least about. Perhaps that will be a good thing?

In fact, my only real knowledge of the sport is a rather painful – but inevitable – example of a British odds-on favourite doing what they do best. Yep, Shanaze Reade taking a tumble at the Beijing Games with the gold almost round her neck.

Other things worth noting so far include the fact that there is a ‘shuttle’ bus to take volunteers and spectators to the track. Clearly the Olympic Park is still not quite there yet. And I will also be going to a training day about a week before the event – follow the blog for details of that.

It is all getting very exciting. Stay tuned for updates as the event gets closer.

Olympic tickets – computer says no

Olympic tickets. Two words that can bring the fiercest vitriol from even the most sedate of personalities.

Unless you got lucky, of course. Then they are two words that equal unbridled joy and excitement.

Me? I fall somewhere in the middle. I always thought bagging tickets to the popular events – athletics, cycling, swimming et al – was gonna be tough. Have you ever tried to get tickets in the lottery that is Wimbledon? Or tried to get a place in the London Marathon? I have, and failed on all occasions. Perhaps I have been unlucky, or perhaps I am a realist.

Even so, I always thought I would get to see one session of the popular events. Perhaps it was wishful thinking, but every athletics event I’ve ever watched has always had streams of empty seats for the morning sessions. How wrong I was.

Now I’m not about blow a load of hot air about the whole process. Far from it. The mainstream media have done plenty of that already, playing into the hands of LOCOG who must (secretly) be lapping up how we have all been whipped into a frenzy.

I foresaw all this and that was why I applied to be a Games Maker. Not just to get to the Games, but to be a real part of it and actually take something away from the experience that wasn’t a piece of over-priced merchandise.

In fact, I think the ticket process – despite some minor gripes – has been about as good as it could be. To go with a ‘first come, first served’ system from the off would have been a bigger disaster, as popular events would have got snapped up by touts. To do a lottery was fair.

The real issue for me was around the limits people could order. Surely it would have made sense to restrict how many tickets people could order based on popularity and then to one session per application?

LOCOG would have had an idea of the level of interest in each sport as those who had signed up to the tickets website last year had to specify what they were interested in buying. You can’t help but wonder if that data influenced the process chosen, with LOCOG realising there was not much interest outside of the big events.

I am disappointed not to have got anything and feel for people not even registered. My Dad is one. ‘There’s always seats for morning athletics,’ I think was his line to me. He may still be right, with 1m tickets on sale later in the year and the re-sale site.

Ah, the re-sale site – something I was pinning my hopes on. But now we have found out that people will be able to sell unwanted tickets to family and friends, so now I’m not convinced.

I have no axe to grind with the ticket process – it’s the same for everyone at the end of the day. All I know is I want people to stop going on about it now.

There are so many great stories behind the Olympics – like this rather wonderful piece by Dave Hill on the The Guardian website – that aren’t getting much air time or comment. So, please, can we stop talking about tickets now. Pretty please.

Olympic tickets = FAIL

Got to be in it to win it. You snooze you lose. Both mantras dragged me out of my bed at 05:30.

Yes, like up to 1.2m other early risers, I chanced my arm on the second phase of Olympic tickets. I had already decided what I wanted – two athletics tickets and, assuming I wouldn’t get those, two tickets to the prelims of the beach volleyball.

The back-up was a rather pathetic attempt to get my girlfriend along to watch some scantily clad women jumping around Horse Guards Parade – the sell being that it was all I could get. I needn’t have bothered.

I was already logged in come 05:50 and refreshed dead on 06:00. I quickly searched both events and added them to the basket. I entered my payment details and watched the ‘processing payment’ screen whirl around incessantly for three minutes. I have had this before on Ticketmaster so knew that the inevitable ‘time-out’ was coming. It did.

On second attempt I wasn’t allowed to put tickets into the basket at all, getting instead the rather lovely message posted in this blog post.

That was it for me – I was more than happy to give up, mainly because come December I should know the outcome of my Games Maker application and will be in a better position to go after tickets on days I (hopefully) won’t be working. There is also the ‘re-sale’ site, remember?

Even so, it is such a shame that the tickets has been handled so poorly, as this is the first real crisis LOGOC has faced and it is the one thing that sets the tempo for the Games. I am still excited, but I know of many others that aren’t anymore.

A Games for all? It sure doesn’t feel like it right now.

Games Maker - selection event

Wow, what an Olympic-tastic day today – Games Maker selection event and (finally) some more ticket news.

Let’s forget the ticket stuff – I’m sure most of you will be following the BBC’s James Pearce, who is fast becoming an Olympic ticket guru. Don’t know who I mean? Well check him out on Twitter.

But back to my Games Maker selection event. In true over-eager fashion I was fashionable early – 45 mins early, in fact. A good thing, sure, but not when you are wondering around a deathly quiet ExCeL centre with only a Costa Coffee and newsagents as entertainment. The rather nifty Dyson hand dryers in the toilets were about as exciting as that three quarter of an hour got.

Finally, it was time. On arrival there were two burly security guys on the door. Is this some kind of nightclub, I thought? An Olympic Movida, perhaps? Unfortunately not. But after ascertaining that I was there at the right time, I was allowed into the ‘holding area’.

When I say ‘holding area’, I mean a rather uncomfortable looking couch and about 30 people looking at each other, nervously sussing the competition.

I had clearly pitched my attire correctly – most people were in very casual outfits. In fact, there was so much faded denim and backpacks on show that it felt a bit like a ramblers convention. Still, my shirt and dark jean combo made me one of the more smarter candidates.

We then had to register and were given a name badge, a coloured rubber wristband (cool, man) and an information sheet.

You are then pushed through to another section where they scan your identification document and take your photo. Beware, if you are tall you will have trouble having your picture taken. Being 6’ 5” I was that person.

Cue a cute little stool to perch on in front of everyone queuing up behind. I felt a bit of a plumb – like a member of Boyzone about to launch into a power ballad.

You are then whisked through to an ‘exhibition’ area, which is very small. As one of the first through, I had a few minutes waiting around. Then some of the team – in this case Press Operations – gave a run-down of the roles on offer.

It certainly sounds fantastic, with Russ (the Press Ops guy) saying that some roles would involve escorting athletes through a ‘mixed’ zone of journalists, and others actually interviewing them for an Olympic news service. All sounds good to me.

We then moved into the ‘cinema’. Again, quite small but we then watched a short film fronted by Lord Coe and Eddie Izzard (very funny).

And then – the interview.

You are pre-assigned a booth number (it is on your name badge) and I made my way to booth seven (lucky?) where I was met by a very friendly chap called Hugh. There he went through the questions, making notes of my answers.

As promised, here is what I was asked:

What are your favourite Olympic/Paralympic events and why?

What attracts you to being a volunteer?

Volunteering is about going the extra mile. Can you give me an example of when you have done this?

Volunteering is all about teamwork – can you give me an example when you have had to work effectively in a team?

Often you will be working in a busy environment and you will have to deal with lots of requests – can you give me an example of when you have done this?

Can you talk me through a challenge you have overcome in your personal/work life?

I must point out that he skipped a couple of sections, saying that they related to skills which I already had so he didn’t need to ask me them. If you do go to an event, expect more questions than these, just in case.

There was then a brief conversation about whether I would be willing to be a team leader and to confirm the time I was prepared to give up. And that was it, I was done.

Hugh then walked me out, showed me where to get my free chocolate (only Bourneville’s left – boo), invited me to write on a big white board (never one to miss an opportunity I put my blog address on there!) and then off I went.

I have to say it was a positive experience and very well organised. Most interesting point was that several members of staff seemed surprised that I had been asked to work a test event before I had attended the selection event. One said it was a good sign, so fingers crossed.

I will be working the BMX event in August and then shortly after that will find out about the main event itself.

Do let me know your experiences and thoughts, as I would love this blog to become a place where Games Makers share their experiences.

Until next time.

Blatter, Gaddafi – so that’s where the tickets went

And so the ticket stories rumble on. It’s all getting a bit boring, isn’t it?

Only this morning we have had reports that Colonel Gaddafi’s son will be getting tickets. A sure-fire way to stoke the fire of the 1m who got no tickets in the first ticket ballot.

Only a few weeks ago – when FIFA was in the midst of its own crisis – the press tried the same trick with Sepp Blatter. The public didn’t bite – and I’m not surprised. While no angel, why single Blatter out when MPs were getting 9,000 tickets, anyway?

The expenses scandal may be today’s chip paper, but we haven’t forgotten and we all know there will be controversial figures aplenty lapping up the luxury at the expense of the general public come next July.

However, while the Gaddafi story hasn’t resulted in too much criticism, we have already had a statement retracting his tickets. This makes me think two things:

Is this another piece of spin to keep a positive angle in the media as we go through a vital week in the ticketing process? Don’t forget – this time next week we will all be 24 hours from discovering our ticket fate.

Great – can I have his tickets, then?

It’s a big week for the ticket bods at LOGOC and they are playing the game well. First 10,000 tickets for the armed forces and now the public flogging of the son of a dictator.

They clearly know what’s coming next week. It doesn’t look good.

At last – good Olympic ticket PR

Finally.

After weeks of moaning and groaning we have some positive Olympic ticket news. Today, Seb Coe announced that 10,000 tickets will be made available for the armed forces.

Hooray to that.

Given the media frenzy over a ticketing process getting more column inches than anything else, LOGOC have pulled a rabbit from the hat.

Whatever the motive, announcing details of this scheme at this moment is brilliant PR timing – falling as it does between the ballot for the first round closing and the frenzy-to-come of part two.

Of course the cynics will say the whole process has been a PR stunt in itself, the absurdity of the process meaning that it has stayed at the top of the news agenda for weeks.

All the coverage has ramped up desperation for tickets to an unprecedented level that has seen people going to other countries to get hold of tickets. Some would sell their own mother, if you believe some posts on websites.

I myself applied into the first round. I went for six ‘low profile’ events (or so I thought) and got nothing. I was disappointed, but not seething. As someone who has tried to get tickets to Wimbledon and Six Nations Rugby matches in the past, I am fully aware that big events face huge demand.

Seeing the vitriol that has gone the way of the French ticket exchange over the past 24 hours – where thousands of Brits tried to get tickets only for the website to crash – only confirms that the initial approach was right.

Can you imagine the free-for-all if it had been first come, first served? Check out stage two (which I myself will be a part of) in a few weeks for confirmation of that.

I also believe that if people want to go that badly they will find a way – either through other countries’ allocations or through the much-mooted ticket exchange website that is coming early next year. Now is not the time to panic.

Me? I am still pinning all my hopes on volunteering. How many people would apply to do that now given the ticket fiasco? I’m glad I’m in the hat already.

Games Maker: the opening ceremony

So, it is now only four days until this journey begins in earnest with my Games Maker selection event in London this Friday.

I have had my email reminder from London 2012, not that I leant that much – except the selection event is in the same part of ExCeL as some exams I did once. Not sure if that’s a good omen or not.

Here’s what I know thanks to the wonderful people who have blogged their experiences of previous selection events online already:

I will have my picture taken before I enter. What? Is this a prison? Will I have to be stripped and de-loused too? And will this photo be on my ID next Summer should I get picked? I have had a short back and sides just to be on the safe side.

I will have time to wander around an exhibition and chat to fellow candidates and staff. I am looking forward to this bit – I am genuinely interested in what each role entails. But is this bit part of the selection process? I’ll try to act normal, but will treat it as such.

I will watch a motivational video. I hope this is the stirring stuff I would imagine it to be, and not the sort David Brent would gladly put his name to. I shall act impressed either way (in case I am being watched – see point above).

I will have a 30 minute interview. Generally, bloggers have said the questions are ‘what you would expect at an interview’. I hope by that they mean ‘talk me through your experience’ and not the dreaded ‘what is your weakness’. Or are they being cute and masking what is in fact an Alan Sugar style grilling? I’ll keep you posted on that one.

And that’s it. Sounds harmless enough, right? I am looking forward to it, but I have devised a crib sheet of possible questions and answers, just so I am briefed. And don’t worry – I will be making notes on the day and posting exactly what happens and, more importantly, what I am asked in the interview.

Final issue? What to wear, of course. The invite says ‘informal’, but I’m gonna pitch my attire somewhere between that and suited and booted.

As this is a PR team I’m going for that ‘PR look’, I think. Dark jeans, tan brogues and a stripy shirt (tucked in, of course). If I wore glasses I would put on my trendiest pair. But I don’t, so I won’t.

Until next time.

Welcome

Welcome to Capital Gains – the blog which will be tracking my journey from Games Maker wannabe, Games Maker test event and (hopefully) on to the Games themselves.

So, a little context. I have my initial selection event next week at the ExCeL Centre in London. I am being interviewed for the Press Operations team – admittedly my third choice of role, but one which ultimately fits my experience and skills well.

Oddly, I have also been asked to work at the Press Operations test event this Summer, where I will be interviewing athletes (BMX riders, to be exact) and uploading their quotes onto a press service computer system.

Not one to be presumptuous, but I am thinking I have a strong chance of making the 2012 team given that I have been asked to work at the test event before they’ve actually seen me in the flesh.

You can also follow my journey as I embark on trying to obtain Olympic tickets. Yep, I – like 1m others apparently – bombed out at the first stage of the process, so stay tuned for my experiences of the second, third, fourth (and God knows however many more) stages of the ticketing process.

Do feel free to comment, start debate etc. I would also be interested to hear your experiences of becoming a Games Maker.