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Games Maker: Bob Willis Gets a "Real" Job
September 4, 2012 |Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Being a Games Maker for the London 2012 Olympics is completely different from my day job, and some may say it’s the first real work I have done in years! It all started when I signed up to volunteer years ago--not knowing what job I would get or be qualified to do. No one needed my consultancy skills, there were no printed circuit failures to investigate, and no assembly processes to optimise. After battling through snow drifts to attend my first day of training, I was told I would be a driver with a brand new BMW, and I may even be asked to drive a WAV. What is a WAV? Along with hundreds of other abbreviations for locations around the UK a driver must remember, WAV stands for wheelchair accessible vehicle.
Custom BMW (left) and the WAV (right).
The first thing everyone asks me about my job is: “What famous people did you meet?” Sorry, but they are all famous when you consider athletes have often worked all of their lives for what could be a 10-second sprint.
My first job before the games began was working for one of the management teams on the Paralympics locating and delivering wheelchair ramps to help people negotiate the varying step heights around many of London’s historic buildings. It’s fine to specify drop curves or standard curb heights, but ripping up and modifying historic locations? Not everyone understands the term “white van man,” but for three days that was me holding up traffic around London while installing my ramps. It was great to see my ramps being used at different locations during the games and made all the traffic jams worthwhile. Before the Games began, the torch relay visited the birthplace of radio, Chelmsford, where the Marconi factory still stands and where I served my apprenticeship. My home city hosted one of the hundreds of ceremonies where the country got to see the flame and torch up close. Later, I got to hold a real torch for just few seconds.
Fortunately, working on ramps gave me the opportunity to see one of the practice events for the opening ceremony, an incredible experience of emotion, light, and sound. Being smack-bang in front of the Olympic rings joining was a highlight. What the world watched on TV did not do it justice. One of the many unique things about the Olympic experience was the badge collectors. A special shop was set up for swapping badges in the park. Many of my driver colleagues were really into it and I did not know that pin badges were an institution so, like many, I was pleased to get a few from grateful clients. Pin badges from Guatemala and Sri Lanka.
Everyone I worked with or met had a smile on their face which was truly genuine. A three-shift pattern for Games Makers was tiring but whether it was 6:00 a.m. or midnight, the fun of being involved with the greatest show on earth was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Another highlight for me: The troops supporting the security activity for the Games were first-class. Professional in all they did, but ready for a good bit of banter and a laugh, many of them were just back from duty. They were a credit to their different regiments and to the country. The Olympic stadium, day or night, was also spectacular. The ever-changing lights in the evening when the park closed and people were leaving were an amazing sight to see. So, was giving up three weeks of work worthwhile? Without a doubt I will never experience something like this again and, to be honest, I found the whole experience very relaxing--even driving a across London to Wembley Stadium with a client from Guatemala.