As a talented athlete, Rosemary emigrated from the UK to Australia in 1955. The following year she was lucky enough to attend the Melbourne Games.
She was inspired by triple jump gold medallist Adhemar Ferreira da Silva from Brazil, who allowed the young Rosemary to hold his gold medal. From that day, she became a self-confessed Olympic ‘addict’. She dreamed of being part of an Olympic Games. Sadly, as with the majority of aspiring athletes, very few reach their ultimate goal.
So when Sydney won the bid to host the first Games of the new millennium, Rosemary did not hesitate to put her name forward as a volunteer. She told us so many interesting anecdotes about both her pre-Games and Games-time volunteering experience.
She enjoyed working with a group of like-minded people who desperately wanted to play a small but significant part in making the Sydney Games the success that they were.
She had us on the edge of our seats with a story about a VIP she had been asked to escort around the Olympic Village but whose name she was not allowed to know until the moment the car door opened. We waited with baited breath to find out who this person was.
We were not disappointed; it was Nelson Mandela. He was visiting the South African team. Rosemary told us how word of his visit very quickly spread around the Village and people flocked to get a glimpse of this inspirational man. Some members of the South African team burst into tears when they realised that Nelson Mandela had come to speak to them and inspire them to perform for their country to the best of their abilities.
Rosemary’s involvement in the Olympic movement did not end after the Sydney Games. She has been involved in many ventures since. She helped the island nation of Kiribati gain Olympic status in 2003 and she brought with her a team t-shirt to show us. She has been fundraising for the British Virgin Islands.
Her current voluntary role is as an advisor on volunteering to the Rio de Janeiro bid committee. She still meets up with other Sydney volunteers who keep in regular contact with each other. The stories she shared with us were captivating and inspiring.
The most important message that came across was that playing a part in the Games, however small, is so important to their overall success.
Volunteers are like pieces of a very large jigsaw. If one piece is missing, the picture is not complete. Not everyone can escort Nelson Mandela around the Olympic Village, but programmes will need to be sold and tickets will need to be checked. Members of the public will welcome a friendly face to give them help and directions. Games-time volunteers will be an integral part of London 2012 and I really hope to be one of them.
