The profile of Games Makers was raised a few days into the Olympics thanks to this hit You Tube video. Stories about the army of 70,000 volunteers filled many newspaper pages along with hours of TV and radio airtime. Katie Gates from Caerleon used to work in Cwmbran until a few months ago. An offer of a latte in Cwmbran Starbucks was all it took to persuade Katie to come back to the town and talk about her three weeks in London as a Games Maker.
In her spare time she is a showjumping course builder. Bob Ellis, who was in charge of the whole design of the course, picked her for the job in Greenwich Park where she worked on the showjumping courses and dressage areas. Katie was also part of the team that got the arena ready for every medal ceremony. Team GB had an excellent Olympics that included the first show jumping gold meal for 60 years and Katie was right up close to all the action.. Other jobs included working on the modern pentathlon course on the final day of the games.
Clck on the audioboo link below or click here to hear Katie talk about why she gave up three weeks of her time and how one of her highlights was gatecrashing a live TV broadcast by Clare Balding. She bought a copy of Horse and Hounds last week and was surprised to see herself feature in the pages of this famous magazine. The pin featured in the photos below was given to her by Team GB eventer Tina Cook after Katie cheekily asked her for it.
Games Makers were encouraged to keep a daily diary. Have a look at the photo below of her diary on 6 August, a day she describes as ‘THE day of my Olympic experience’.
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Here are some of Katie’s photos from London.
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