Week 3 – Monday 30th July
The first full week of competition began with me driving some of the delegation and the Chef de Mission to The Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich to see Giorgios Achilleos and Antoni Andreou competing in the Men’s Skeet Shooting. I was lucky enough to be able to watch the action and the standard of shooting was very high. Despite never having previously seen any shooting of this kind in a competition, I found the proceedings very absorbing. In the afternoon, there was another drive for me to Wimbledon to take the officials to see Baghdatis complete his first round match, and everyone concerned was very happy that he made it through to the next round. A couple of small administrative tasks back in the village finished the day off for me.
Tuesday 31st July
Yet another day driving round many of London’s roads! I took some of the delegation back to The Royal Artillery Barracks for the completion of the Skeet Shooting. Both of our athletes did very well, but just could not claw back the deficit from day one. From there, we once again drove to Wimbledon. All the driving I’m doing is being combined with a tourist guide, as I seem to spend half the time pointing out some of the tourist sites. The Olympic Route Network seems to conveniently go past many landmarks, perhaps to show off the best of London for our foreign dignitaries. Already these last two weeks, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve driven past Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Marble Arch, Tower of London, Big Ben, London Eye, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, Monument to name but a few. I could get a job working for the London Tourist Board after this!
Happily, on arriving at Wimbledon, we see Baghdatis win comfortably against the talented French player Richard Gasquet, and the delegation are in good spirits as we return to the village. With competition fully up and running now, you can see athletes around the village looking pensive, but also excited as they ready themselves for their event.
Wednesday 1st August
For the fifth consecutive day, I found myself driving delegates to Wimbledon. I’m going to be visualising this route in my sleep at this rate! The team are really excited but also anxious as Baghdatis has the bad luck to be playing home favourite Andy Murray. For the first time really in my volunteering work, I’ve felt the limitations of my accreditation, as the stewards on Centre Court do not allow me to enter the arena with the team to watch the match, so I slope off to watch it on the big screen on Henman Hill. Despite a great start, Baghdatis performance drops off and he loses in three sets. The journey back to the Village in Stratford is a quiet one as the officials and Chef de Mission ponder what went wrong.
With five days of competition gone, five of Cyprus’ thirteen athletes are out, but the Sailing guys are doing well. Knowing my luck, I’ll be asked to drive the team down to Weymouth to cheer them on. That would be a very long day…
