Ballyculter woman ‘would do it all again next week’

Ballyculter woman ‘would do it all again next week’

12 September 2012

BEING the oldest volunteer from Northern Ireland, and the thought of 11 hour shifts on her feet, was not enough to put Margaret Orr off the Olympics.

The Ballyculter woman was one of the thousands of volunteers of all ages who helped make the London 2012 games such a special experience for ticket-holders, viewers and athletes.

“I have always been interested in sport and wanted to volunteer in the Olympics elsewhere but the cost was prohibitive,” Margaret explained. “I’ve been an enthusiastic viewer and my four sons have all played different kinds of sports.

“It was mostly younger people who were interviewed with me

but when I arrived it was mostly older people volunteering. Perhaps the young people could not afford it. We weren’t being given accommodation or training fares and I had to go over there four times before the games.”

As a team leader, Margaret was placed in the Excel Centre at the Docklands where there were five arenas incorporating boxing, taekwondo, weightlifting, table tennis, fencing and judo.

As a tennis fan, Margaret admits her ideal posting would have been to Wimbledon or to the track, but she says she was “very happy” with her placement in the Excel Centre.

“I did not know an awful lot about these sports but it was really, really worthwhile,” she said.

A semi-retired primary school teacher, Margaret had to manage a team of 10 looking after ticketing, stewarding, lost and found, and generally helping people in the arena, as well as getting each of these jobs done during meal breaks.

On her first day Margaret, who recently gave a talk on her experiences Ballyculter and Kilclief Parochial Hall, wondered if she had bitten off more than she could chew.

“I wondered if I would be able to cope with all of it,” she said. “We were supposed to not be seen sitting. I found it no problem, however, and I really enjoyed the whole experience.

“The location is like an airport, it was a long walk to get anywhere but nobody minded.”

Margaret also confirmed that the happy atmosphere which came across on screen was true to life.

“The atmosphere was magnificent all the time,” she said. “Nobody ever had a cross word.”

If she doesn’t make it to Rio in four years time, Margaret hopes to be back volunteering at the World Police and Fire Games in Belfast and perhaps the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

“I wish I had applied to the Paralympics but I did not know at the time how I would cope with it all,” she said. “I would do it all again next week.”