Over fifty Young Leaders from a variety of clubs from across the North East Region volunteered to help contribute to the success of the Aquatics GB Summer Swimming Championships which took place at Ponds Forge, Sheffield from the 21st to the 26th July 2024.
The volunteers did a range of roles including kit carrying, medal bearing and supporting the event staff.
Th Young Leaders said that they learnt the following from the experience:
I learned what went on behind the scenes of a big competition and how much organisation it.
It is great to meet new people.
I learnt that it is an amazing experience and opportunity to learn new skills.
Event volunteering can sometimes not be visually seen but without it competitions would not run smoothly.
I now understood more about disabilities and what people can achieve.
Being able to volunteer gives you an insight of what my swimming career could look like.
They said that they learnt the following about themselves while doing the volunteering role:
I am able to follow instructions whilst still having a good time
That I am able to push my comfort zone and do things that I’m not comfortable with at first.
I learnt how to work with a new team of people who I have never worked with before to form an effective team. Also how I enjoyed being at the higher level meets seeing many world class swimmers who inspire me and my love of the sport.
Resilience- it felt like a long evening but there was fun and I got involved.
In addition, they added:
I loved every minute it was such a fun experience getting to meet Olympians and get the whole experience of being at British championships.
Volunteering helped my confidence and team work skills grow massively. Along with having the privilege to attend a national meet was amazing, seeing many top swimmers gave it an unique and inspiring reason to get involved. And over all I had such a fun time!
The staff looked after us really well, the swimmers were engaging and I had some conversation with some older swimmers. The whole experience was amazing. You dont get many opportunities to present medals to superstars.
I had a great time .. I want to swim there one day!
The GB Aquatics event organiser commented “They did an absolutely amazing job and were great to work with! They played an integral part in the success of the Championships and really got stuck in. Their enthusiasm was clear to see and were an asset to their clubs”.
