I've just about caught up on sleep and am re-establishing my social life, both of which lost out to the planning and delivery of the Gymnastics test event last month. This was a major event and one we really had to get right: not only was it a part of the London Prepares series, it was also the last chance for gymnasts to qualify for London 2012.
The test event featured all three gymnastics disciplines: Artistic (that's the floor, beam, bars, pommel horse etc), Trampoline and Rhythmic (in which gymnasts compete perform routines with ribbons, balls, hoops and clubs). Thousands of tickets were sold meaning the event had an amazing atmosphere – a real taste for what to expect over the summer.
Spectacular setting
The
North Greenwich Arena, as it will be known during the Games, (also known as the O2) was transformed, with the field of play and the arena floor looking a
striking purple and pink. With all the gymnasts and the technical officials, plus the media in their tribunes and spectators in the seats, it looked really impressive and the atmosphere was brilliant. A glimpse of how good it could be at Games time!
I think everyone came away with a new-found respect for the level of skill that the gymnasts have. After all, throwing a ball backwards while doing a backflip, and have it landing in exactly the right place for your teammate to catch it between her legs after she has also done a backflip is not something the average person can do! I also now fully understand why we had to host the event in an arena with a high roof...the trampolinists really do jump that high!
A team effort
Of course, none of this would have happened without the serious hard work of the volunteers and workforce. One of the major highlights for me was at 6am on the second Sunday of the event, just before the Rhythmic Gymnastics competition was due to start. There was lots of dust all over on the arena floor from the overnight transition from Artistic Gymnastics. With less than an hour before the athletes arrived, an army of us grabbed all the vacuum cleaners we could find and took to the floor to clean it up.
As well as the comedy of the situation, it was the point when I realised that we had become a great team. Everyone pitched in and worked together, regardless of their role, to do what needed to be done to get things ready – and I think that is one of the most positive things that I have taken away.
So now we are all back to our desks. I'm sad not to be on site but am even more excited about the Games than I was before. I hope that everyone who visited the Gymnastics test event had a great time!
