Volunteers to play a vital part in running of Commonwealth Games

The 70,000 "Games Makers", as they became known, were a major part of the Games, contributing eight million hours of voluntary work behind the scenes, with roles spanning everything from welcome desk staff to ticket checkers to drivers and event stewards.

Their enthusiasm throughout the fortnight of the Games helped to make the 2012 Olympics a success and reinforced the importance of volunteering at major sporting events.

Subsequent international sporting events held in the United Kingdom such as the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, 2015 Rugby Union World Cup and the 2019 Cricket World Cup saw thousands of people apply to be volunteers to be part of the action.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games will continue that spirit of participation with its Commonwealth Collective, a group of 14,000 spirited, dynamic and diverse volunteers who organisers have said will be the heart and soul of the Games experience.

The process for recruiting members of the Collective started in June last year when applications opened for the different roles, ranging from drivers to first aiders to meet and greeters, kit carriers and courtside assistants, to name but a few.

It saw thousands of people from all over the world apply to be part of the Collective, including people from Australia, New Zealand, India and even Finland, with those who were successful invited to attend interviews at Birmingham Metropolitan College (BMet).

Birmingham 2022 training manager Hayley Roache said the role of the volunteer was vital to the success of the Games and spoke about how well the recruitment process had been so far.

She said: "The attendance rate has been incredible and we have had volunteers that have travelled from literally all over the world and we have already trained 10,000 volunteers out of 14,000 so far.

"I think volunteering was really boosted by being involved in such a high profile event at the Olympics in 2012 as it really catapulted the volunteer experience at major sporting events and that's boosted us in terms of people from the local area and further afield to take part.

"We've been recruiting for around 250 roles, everything from being a doping volunteer to welcoming spectators to looking after dignitaries and working in the media centre."

BMet college, which is the Further Education sponsor for the Commonwealth Games, has been the hub for all voluntary activity, from interviews to training to finding out what they would be doing and which venue they would be based at.

BMet vice principal Ben Gamble said it had been a great honour for the college to be the host for all voluntary action and spoke about the benefits of volunteering.

He said: "It's a real opportunity for the college, the community and our students to host the volunteer centre and we've already seen more than 10,000 people come through the training here.

"Volunteering is a real opportunity for our students to give something back and be a part of the Commonwealth Games, something which is really special for the area.

"Our students volunteer on a regular basis and we've had plenty from here engaging in the programme, as well as seeing a rise in sporting activity, so it's really helped people to get interested in volunteering and the Games."

Hundreds of people have been going through the doors of the college each day to take their induction, then move onto the training stage.

Among those taking the training were Phil Green from Solihull and Piyesh Goel from Edgbaston, with both men speaking of their excitement at playing a part in the Games.

The 72-year-old Phil said he had enjoyed his experience as a volunteer at the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup and wanted to play any part he could in a Games on his doorstep.

He said: "It's absolutely great to be part of this as I've been a Brummie for 65 of my 72 years, so know the area really well, and I think I'll be able to bring the enthusiasm that I and other people will have for the Games.

"From my experiences in 2015, I think anyone volunteering needs to have an extremely outgoing personality as without that, I don't think you could any of the jobs as you need to enjoy life and ensure people have the best time.

"I know I will be in team information and support at Smithfield, so I will be welcoming spectators to the venue and making sure they know where to go and have a good time."

The 56-year-old Piyesh said he had not missed a Commonwealth Games since he saw the 1974 Games in Christchurch in New Zealand and said he jumped at the chance to be involved in the Games in his home city.

He said: "I have never missed a Games in my life and since this is the one which is happening in my city, I needed to be part of it and I wanted to give something back to the community and be a role model to the younger generation.

"I don't know what I will be doing yet at the Games, but whatever it is, I will put my flavour into it and this is the next best thing to competing in something that I watched as a boy with my father, so I'm hugely excited."

The training team at the college have been ably assisted by volunteers who have completed their training and been designated roles, with Bipin Patel one of the volunteers manning the reception desk at the centre.

The 62-year-old from Walsall said he would be working in event services at Arena Birmingham, where the Gymnastics would be taking place, and said it was great to be able to represent his region at the Games.

He said: "It was a great incentive to say I will be representing Walsall in an international Games when I applied to be a volunteer and I think this is a great chance to showcase everything that we have in this region.

"I think volunteering at an event like this has a lot of benefits as it will help build up your confidence and you'll meet people from lots of different cultures, which is something I'm looking forward to doing.

"I'm really excited about being at the Games and getting started at the Arena and I will commit myself to the role I'm in and look forward to welcoming people to the Games."

Hayley Roache said the role of the volunteer was vital for the Games, stating that without volunteers, there would be no Games.

She said: "Without volunteers, there's no way we'd be able to recruit 14,000 people in such a short space of time for an 11-day games.

"I would like the long-term legacy to be that it inspires other people to do volunteering because there are lots of local events that people can get involved with, so I hope this experience opens up peoples eyes to the opportunities post-Games."