London 2012 volunteer games maker zone

UK, remember your settings and improve government services. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services. You can change your cookie settings at any time. This was published under the to Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government.

For the London games to succeed up to 70, volunteers are required. From today until midnight on 27 October you can now apply to be a generalist volunteer. The Olympics symbolises a lot for me. P Feeling very patriotic and proud to be British and of my forthcoming role. The qualities of pride and excitement were therefore also present in the London volunteering data. It is possible to find evidence of each of the serious leisure qualities within the data.

The findings also have implications for managing volunteers. The various aspects of the quality of perseverance fit well and the suggestion that boredom makes the experience more akin to casual leisure is refuted. Lessons for managers are particularly strong here: volunteers want to feel needed and useful, keep their costs to a minimum where possible, and be kept well informed of developments in their application to be a volunteer.

It is suggested that the career volunteering quality of serious leisure should be modified to acknowledge that many volunteers are serial volunteers, although not necessarily in the same role each time. They could therefore be said to be career volunteers in that sense, particularly when re-using skill sets gained from other volunteering duties or from paid work.

The moral career shows links to the qualities of pride in an event and to belonging to a social world. Volunteer managers should also take account of the existing skills of volunteers and ensure that they are fully utilised. Account could be taken within the theoretical framework to acknowledge this. Many of the participants mentioned that they wanted to get to know fellow volunteers, but that that was not always possible.

Others spoke of not getting on with volunteer colleagues. The belonging to a social world quality could therefore be extended to acknowledge that there can sometimes be a downside to social interaction within communities. Managers should ensure that socialising time and the chance for volunteers to interact in consistent teams are given.

Stebbins suggests that self-interestedness is more important than altruism as a motivator for volunteering: the data from this study confirms that it is overwhelmingly more important. However it does not seem to be the link with gaining knowledge and skills which elevates self-interestedness, according to this study. Rather it is the link with the qualities of durable benefits, and with pride and excitement with the event and contributing to showing off Britain in a positive light, which are key factors in the case of the London Olympics and Paralympics volunteers.

It should also be noted that taking tickets at the Games was one of the busiest and most challenging roles, so could not be defined as casual volunteering, as Stebbins suggests in his framework. This puts it more suitably in the career volunteering category. An emotional pride in being part of an event which showed off Britain was particularly noticeable. It is suggested that further research expands on one or more of these qualities.

The belonging to a social world quality shows particular promise. Managers of volunteers also have much to learn from the adjusted theoretical framework. References Baldwin, C. Exploring the dimensions of serious leisure: "Love me - Love my dog! Journal of Leisure Research, 31 1 , Baum, T. Volunteers and mega sporting events: developing a research framework International Journal of Event Management Research, 3 1 , Bolger, N.

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Motivation and satisfaction among polyclinic volunteers at the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 39, Serious leisure: a conceptual statement. The Pacific Sociological Review, 25 2 , Volunteering: a serious leisure perspective. Nonprofit and voluntary sector quarterly, 25, Stebbins, R. Project-based leisure: theoretical neglect of a common use of free time. Leisure Studies, 24 1 , Serious leisure: a perspective for our time.

Unpaid work of love: defining the work—leisure axis of volunteering. Leisure Studies, The nature of social worlds. Pacific Sociological Review, 23, Wamsley, K. Tradition, modernity, and the construction of civic identity: the Calgary Olympics.

Olympika, 5. London Olympic and Paralympic Games: Including volunteers with disabilites. A podium performance? By Angela M Benson. By Angela Benson. Everyone who has applied for a role will be contacted by 31 December , whether that is to be offered a post, asked for interview or turned down, Locog said.

Locog chair Seb Coe said: "'It has been a privilege for my team to meet and interview so many enthusiastic and dedicated people from right across the UK who would like to volunteer with us and make the Games a success for athletes, media and spectators alike.

Unsuccessful applicants will be told from November In addition, there will be more than 2, 16 to year-old volunteers. Applications for those roles open on Thursday. Up to , people applied to be Games Makers and up to people a day have had minute interviews. To be part of something that we got so right — and then our lot keep bloody winning, too. Also," — with a grin — "when you're wearing this uniform, people are really nice to you. Ezra, from Hampshire, is "semi-retired, I do this and that"; his fellow team members include a telemarketer from Essex, an Italian student based in Rainham, Essex, and a part-time exam invigilator and full-time mum from Guildford, Surrey.

Now no longer easily identifiable, they and the rest of London's 70,strong volunteer army will vanish back into their other lives. This article is more than 9 years old. Tens of thousands of volunteers wear their distinctive purple outfits for the last time at parade.