3. Size matters...

Wow, what an exciting almost-2 weeks!  It's been so refreshing to do something so different, and yet I've also had the opportunity to use many of my existing skills.  I've been helping on various different tasks, and my brain is being stuffed full learning about our venue and its complexities, the different types of transport involved, the huge machine that is LOCOG and the different teams that work to put on what will undoubtedly be an amazing event. 

So far I have visited the venue twice and I tell you, it is HUGE.  The building itself is around 600m long and takes 10 minutes to walk from end to end, at a brisk walk.  There will be five arenas, all operating at the same time.  If you can then imagine the number of spectators, athletes and coaches/team members, officials and VIPs, media and broadcast and workforce that will be coming to and from the venue through the day, it is frankly mindblowing.  Oh yes and each of these "client types" comes to the venue via a different method of transport, (e.g., bus), some of them with several different transport systems (e.g., 5 different bus systems).   

Our hotdesk area is next to some of the sports functions that are coordinating what exactly goes on for their competitions and events.  If you are a fencing or weightlifting or table tennis fan, I am working next to the people who run that competition and determine exactly how the weapons will be checked, the weights transported and how many table tennis balls will be needed for the entire competition.  I've also been in contingency planning meetings where it is clear that the experts from each field really know their stuff and are working hard to coordinate their efforts.  It's inspiring to be in such a buzzing environment and as we count down towards Games Time, the great "immovable deadline", that feeling is only going to intensify.  

A bit of Olympic "sport" stuff that I have learnt:
"Sport" = All the events that are sanctioned by one international sport federation.  Example: wrestling
"Discipline" = One sport may be divided into several disciplines, which are often regarded as separate sports in common language.  Examples:  freestyle or greco-roman wrestling
"Event" = An event is a competition that leads to the award of medals.  Examples: mens freestyle is broken down into weight categories, from bantamweight to super heavyweight (up to 120kg!)

*Note: not actual representations of bantamweight or super heavyweight wrestlers


I'll finish this post with a random fact: Before point scoring was introduced, wrestling matches continued until one wrestler was forced to the ground. At Stockholm 1912, Russia's Max Klein and Finland's Alfred Asikainen set an Olympic Games record with a match that lasted 11 hours.