A place to talk about the build up to London 2012, find out how you can get involved and share what you're looking forward to (or not) the most.
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Work for the London 2012 Student Recruitment Team
Podium, the London 2012 newsletter are currently looking to pay 10 great people to help recruit 100,000 students for Games-related summer jobs of a lifetime next year.
Read the podium newsletter to find out how ot apply for these fantastic opportuities.
Podium, the London 2012 newsletter are currently looking to pay 10 great people to help recruit 100,000 students for Games-related summer jobs of a lifetime next year. Read the podium newsletter to find out how ot apply for these fantastic opportuities. 2 Average: 2 (2 votes)
Perform at the Opening and Closing ceremony
London 2012 are searching for 10,000 students to volunteer to work as dancers, percussionists and general all-round performers at the Opening and Closing ceremonies. To find out more about this exciting opportunity see the Podium newsletter.
London 2012 are searching for 10,000 students to volunteer to work as dancers, percussionists and general all-round performers at the Opening and Closing ceremonies. To find out more about this exciting opportunity see the Podium newsletter. 2 Average: 2 (2 votes)
Students: Do you want to be an Olympics 2012 Live Site Interactivator at Open Weekend 2011?
London 2012 is searching for 60 students from around the UK to take on the exciting voluntary roles of ‘Live Site Interactivators’ at this year’s Open Weekend in July and you have one week to apply. The closing date is 14 June 2011.
The roles are based throughout the country and successful applicants will lead their town/city in a number of exciting interactive London 2012 themed games and challenges on the Live Site screens, including the likes of Swim Wenlock Swim.
The Live Site interaction team roles are part of the one year to go celebrations on Open Weekend, which takes place from 10am to 5pm on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 July.
The Interactivators' key function is to have fun playing the games whilst encouraging others to join in.
London 2012 is searching for 60 students from around the UK to take on the exciting voluntary roles of ‘Live Site Interactivators’ at this year’s Open Weekend in July and you have one week to apply. The closing date is 14 June 2011. The roles are based throughout the country and successful applicants will lead their town/city in a number of exciting interactive London 2012 ...
Ben Hunt-Davis: ‘Will it make the boat go faster?'
During the Learning At Work week, Olympic gold medallist rower Ben Hunt-Davis (MBE) came to the OU campus in Milton Keynes to deliver a talk entitled ‘Will it make the boat go faster?’. Here we offer you the thrust of his talk...
The question was always ‘Will it make the boat go faster?’ if the answer was no then it didn’t happen. The strategy was simple and used by the mens-8 rowing team as part of their two-year training plan in the run up to the Sydney 2000 Olympics. It meant personal sacrifice and missing spectacular events, including taking part in the Opening Ceremony.
Ben Hunt-Davis spent seven years rowing and competing for team GB without achieving a win. But in 1998 something clicked for the team and instead of just going back and working harder, they decided they would "learn faster than anyone else". Ben suggests businesses can employ the same strategy to help motivate staff and work towards a shared goal.
The preparation for a task is different for everyone. Just before the final of the Olympics the men’s 8 team had a 90-minute wait. One paced up and down, one listened to a song over and over again, and some just lay on the floor.
Every time the men trained or raced their strategy was to change one thing. The aim was to improve and develop every day. After each race the team discussed if it worked and what they learned: good or bad. If it was a bad, for example they hadn’t won a race, then they would look at what could be changed next ‘to make the boat go faster’.
In the two-year build up to the Olympic Games there were 16 rowers competing for the final eight places. The final team was only chosen 12 weeks in advance of the games. This meant not only were the team competing against each other for their place on the boat but they also had to support each other during all the training. In a squad this size there will always be someone you don’t get on with so well, but the key is to always keep the overall objective in mind.
The team were important to Ben. He said “there were good days and bad days.” On the good days you would bring your ‘colleagues’ up and on bad days your colleagues would improve your performance by pushing you.
Ben says he now lives by a phrase to make success happen: “today is going to be a good day because I’m going to make it a good day.” With a gold medal from the Olympics as proof, it is definitely a motto to adopt.
Listen to Ben talk about the importance of continuous development...
During the Learning At Work week, Olympic gold medallist rower Ben Hunt-Davis (MBE) came to the OU campus in Milton Keynes to deliver a talk entitled ‘Will it make the boat go faster?’. Here we offer you the thrust of his talk... The question was always ‘Will it make the boat go faster?’ if the answer was no then it didn’t happen. The strategy was simple and ...
Olympic gold medallist offers motivation tips for you!
He revealed how he and the 2002 coxed eights Great Britain Olympic team were able to raise their game and focus on achieving their gold-winning goal in Sydney, and how we can all use similar lessons to succeed.
Ben is now a speaker and performance coach, having worked with sports teams including the British Olympic Association, the England Women's Rugby Team, individual sportsmen and women, and wider businesses. He is currently designing a programme to help members of Team GB perform on the most pressurised sporting stage of all, the London Olympic Games.
Here he talks to Platform on how to stay motivated during difficult study periods...
Image:Telestar Logistics
As part of the Learning At Work week, Olympic gold medallist rower Ben Hunt-Davis (MBE) visited the OU campus to deliver a talk entitled ‘Will it make the boat go faster?’. He revealed how he and the 2002 coxed eights Great Britain Olympic team were able to raise their game and focus on achieving their gold-winning goal in Sydney, and how we can all use similar ...
NUS launches 2012 Games scheme to engage students
The NUS has launched a scheme called 'Be a Champion' aimed at encouraging students across the UK’s universities and colleges to participate in activities related to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The programme, which has been funded by Coca-Cola and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, is working with students’ unions across the country to appoint student ambassadors for the 2012 Games.
The ambassadors will encourage engagement with London 2012 among students by highlighting the many opportunities ranging from sport and volunteering, to culture and community involvement available to them.
More than 100 students’ unions are expected to appoint a student ambassador and it is hoped at least 20,000 students will be engaged by the programme.
Visit the NUS website to find out more.
The NUS has launched a scheme called 'Be a Champion' aimed at encouraging students across the UK’s universities and colleges to participate in activities related to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The programme, which has been funded by Coca-Cola and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, is working with students’ unions across the country to appoint ...
How to... exercise at your desk
Members of the Platform team demonstrate how to exercise at your desk...
Members of the Platform team demonstrate how to exercise at your desk... 2.75 Average: 2.8 (4 votes)
OU student and English triathlete Hollie Avil on training
With London 2012 fast approaching triathlete champion Hollie Avil is training hard and has now added studying for an OU degree in social sciences to her to do list...
Hollie, 21, was the European and world junior triathlon champion in 2007. She was recently interviewed by 220 Triathlete magazine about her current training regime in the run up to the Olympics....
Following a recent move to Leeds, Hollie says “My training’s changed quite a bit – I have a whole new focus and different challenges. Though my lifestyle hasn’t changed that much to be honest. I’m still a coffee shop lover and shopaholic as well as a triathlete!”
After her early success in 2007 Hollie suffered with illness and injury during subsequent races which in 2010 meant she dropped from 46th to the world 84th. “I’ve tried to put it behind me because there’s no point dwelling on the past. But I had a change of coach, change of location – lots of things one after another. I’ve learnt from some of my mistakes and am looking forward to 2011.”
As any OU student will know it can sometimes be a challenge to fit studies into your daily life. For Hollie this means studying around weeks packed with training. Even on race-season weeks when her training tapers her schedule is hectic “I’ll back off on mileage but keep my basic structure the same, and train around 20-24 hours each week. I’ll swim bike and run everyday apart from the weekend.”
Recovery after a race can be just as important as the preparation and build up so how does Hollie recover? “For me the most important things are sleep and nutrition. I always drink Lucozade Recovery Powder after training and sometimes I add the powder to some milk and chuck in some raspberries. It makes a yummy smoothie!”
Platform will be catching up on Hollie's progress again in the run up to the Olympics.
With London 2012 fast approaching triathlete champion Hollie Avil is training hard and has now added studying for an OU degree in social sciences to her to do list... Hollie, 21, was the European and world junior triathlon champion in 2007. She was recently interviewed by 220 Triathlete magazine about her current training regime in the run up to the Olympics.... Following a ...
Planning your London 2012 experience? Don't forget your hotel!
The Inter Continental Hotels Group are the Official Hotel Provider to London 2012. Register your interest in hotel rooms now and be among the first to find out when rooms will be available to book.
As a student or alumni of the OU you can take advange of discounts offered by the hotel group under Deals and Offers.
The Inter Continental Hotels Group are the Official Hotel Provider to London 2012. Register your interest in hotel rooms now and be among the first to find out when rooms will be available to book. As a student or alumni of the OU you can take advange of discounts offered by the hotel group under Deals and Offers. 2 Average: 2 (2 votes)
Train to be a member of security at the Olympics
Did you know you can train to be a member of security staff at the Olympics via Milton Keynes College? See the MK College website for more information.
Did you know you can train to be a member of security staff at the Olympics via Milton Keynes College? See the MK College website for more information. 1.666665 Average: 1.7 (3 votes)
An interview with Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson
Born with spina bifida, Tanni Grey-Thompson is a wheelchair user, one of the UK’s most successful disabled athletes and three times BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year. In 2004 she was awarded an honorary doctorate from The Open University. In an interview in 2010 she talks to Platform’s Robyn Slingsby about London 2012, the challenges of being a mother, discrimination, her heroes and skiing.
She’s just turned 40 and although she no longer trains to compete at world-class level, Paralympian Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson certainly has her hands full. While she admits that not having to watch her weight anymore is a huge relief, she’s a huge advocate of the fact that exercise fuels the brain. She still does a lot for sport since retiring in 2008 – with 16 Paralympic medals to her name - but confesses that her biggest challenge yet is being a mum.
“Winning the 100 metres in Athens for me, as an athlete, was the best thing I did. It was probably the closest thing to perfection in terms of any race I did, technically and in terms of my preparation. The trouble with me is I’m never ever happy with what I’ve done, I’m really self critical so for most of my athletics career I didn’t think I’d done enough, and then at the point I didn’t think I could do any more, I retired.
“But, to be honest, having Carys, my daughter, has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Being a mother is way harder than any of the work stuff I do because it changes every day. One day she eats peas, the next day she refuses to eat peas and she’ll sit there and say she’s never eaten peas in her life. We’ll be in a shop and I’ll buy her an outfit she says she likes and then you get home and she won’t wear it. It changes every day.
“I was in Beijing for two months last year and before we went, Carys went into school and told the teacher that I was making her going to the Olympics . We had tickets to the opening ceremony and she asked if there would be fireworks, that’s all she was interested in. But once she was there she loved it.”
Permanent state of chaos
Tanni juggles a lot of commitments and has to manage her diary carefully so she spends enough quality time with her husband Dr Ian Thompson and daughter Carys, seven, at their home in Eaglescliffe. How does she do it?
“We live in permanent state of chaos, and that’s fine. There’s a lot of guilt put onto mothers that you have to be perfect mother who cooks, cleans, washes and can hold down a job. I just think that’s nonsense, it’s about not beating yourself up over things and I don’t feel guilty if I give my daughter cheese on toast for tea, even though my own mother would have thought it was dreadful. It’s about not feeling guilty about the stuff you can’t change.
“I really enjoy my work and do lots of different things and I love it, and that has consequences on my husband and daughter but you try and balance it the best you can.
“When I was little my mum stopped working when my sister was born – she’s two years older than me – and went back to work when I was 19, and the world’s not like that anymore. Very occasionally Carys will ask me why I’m away – usually because she wants something out of me. I’ve learned from right back when she was really little that children are amazing at making you feel guilty.
As well as her charity work, Dame Tanni has been involved in the bidding for and planning of the Olympics in London in 2012 – and she’s very excited about it.
Tall poppy syndrome
“London will do an amazing job, when you look at the bid process the team were really professional and did their homework. There’s a bit of a tall poppy syndrome within UK culture, we do sometimes see the negative. This is the best opportunity in sport to showcase what we do and show the world what we’re good at.”
What about disabled access?
“I joined the board at Transport For London (TFL) last year, and going into it my view was why can’t we make all underground stations accessible? But then you look at putting a lift into a tube station and find out you don’t get much change out of £150 million. A lot of work has gone into making the newer stations accessible, but there are issues about air conditioning on the tubes, line upgrades, platform rebuilds, health and safety, and access is one part of it so it all has to go in the melting pot that is the TFL budget and it’s a hard balancing act.
“Every single London bus is wheelchair accessible, every taxi is, so we’re starting off at a much stronger point than any other Olympic or Paralympic city has for quite a while and, for me, the key is educating people. Not a lot of people will know this but there’s a really cool underground map which shows the accessible stations, so the ones I can’t use are in pale grey so they don’t cloud my view of where I can travel. So for me the key is education and we’ll have amazingly well trained volunteers at Games times to help people get to where they want to go. Education is key.
“2012 can be a platform to try and make London more accessible in a wider sense to everyone - mums with prams, wheelchairs, blind people.”
Discrimination
Dame Tanni has no problem getting around but says disabled people do suffer discrimination and things like access to higher education are more challenging.
“The reality for disabled people is that education is harder. So whether they miss school time because of illness or they’re in hospital of if they’ve missed things because of their impairment, I sometimes think that higher education isn’t seen as an option.
“When I was in school I’d just sat my O Levels and the careers teacher told me he could get me a nice job answering phones. I said I wanted to go to uni and he basically said ‘Don’t be so silly, what do you want a degree for, it’ll be difficult and won’t help you because you’ll probably end up answering phones anyway.’”
As it turned out my first job was working for British Athletics and part of my job was in fact answering phones, and I really enjoyed it. But lots of people look at impairment and it starts off as inherently negative and if someone tells you that you can’t do something then it’s very easy to believe that. The beauty of the OU is that people come back when they feel they’re ready to but they also have the flexibility, which makes a real difference.”
So, if Dame Tanni could study an OU course, what would it be?
“Law, I always wanted to do law. I went to Loughborough University, which didn’t offer law so I did politics. It was something I was interested in and actually it’s been incredibly useful. I always thought there wasn’t politics in sport and then you get involved and realise there’s loads.”
Self belief
And what about trying a new sport, what she go for?
“Skiing, but I hate the cold and the wet and being out and going downhill doesn’t appeal to me. I like the concept of skiing and saying that I will ski one day, but I don’t think Ill ever actually go skiing.”
Dame Tanni is an inspiration in her own right, but who does she admire?
“I was at the Young Sport conference, to look at what you can do beyond sport to help people, and Desmond Tutu was there and he was just so cool. His charisma and his personality and the way he talked about Africa was just incredible, so I’m a huge fan of his.
“My mum, who has passed away now, was stroppy and stubborn but just an amazingly strong person to have around, she was really cool. We used to argue a lot but she brought me up to have a lot of self belief.
“And Gareth Edwards. I was brought up by mother to believe that he is the closest thing to perfection that will ever walk this earth and it was the way he played, he knew he was good but he wasn’t arrogant and you listen to some of his stories and he was a really cool bloke. I still get awe struck when ever I meet him.”
Born with spina bifida, Tanni Grey-Thompson is a wheelchair user, one of the UK’s most successful disabled athletes and three times BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year. In 2004 she was awarded an honorary doctorate from The Open University. In an interview in 2010 she talks to Platform’s Robyn Slingsby about London 2012, the challenges of being a mother, ...
Olympics 2012 tickets on sale! But what will it really cost you?
Tuesday 15 March is the date when you can submit your application for tickets to the Olympic Games in London between July and August 2012. The cost of tickets starts from £20 for the earlier rounds of events. But what are the hidden costs? Travel, accommodation, refreshments, journey time?
Using six profiles of potential Platform users and making some assumptions on their lifestyle and preferences, we estimated how much a trip to the Olympics in London might cost them…
Zac... combining sport and friends
Zac is 19, lives in Bristol with his mum and dad and works full-time in a computer store. He's single and working towards a computing degree with the OU. Zac is combining a day at the Olympics with catching up with friends in London which means no accommodation costs.
Event: Athletics (preliminary rounds)
Ticket price: £20
Travel: National Express £40 (open return)
Oyster card for travel in London: weekend £20
Time in London: Two nights in London staying with friends (free)
Spending money: £100
Total cost: £180
Lucy... a trip with the kids
Lucy, 32, from Cardiff, is a part-time shop assistant and single mum with two young children. She's studying an Openings courses and hopes one day to become a teaching assistant. If Lucy wanted to leave the children at home she would need to arrange childcare, adding to her costs, so she's going to take the kids along too.
Event: Gymnastics and swimming
Ticket price: £20 per ticket (x 6 £120 total)
Travel: Train: off-peak day travel card with family and friends railcard, £80
Time in London: One day
Spending money: £60
Total cost: £260
Rob... a family holiday
Rob, 43, from Leeds, is a human resources middle manager, married with three teenage children. Rob is working towards his MBA with the OU in a bid to further his career. He needs a break and some family time so has decided to take a few days out for a holiday while attending the Olympics with his sports-mad kids.
Attending with: Wife and three children
Event: Athletics, football, horse jumping
Ticket price: £20 per person per event x 5, £300
Travel: Driving - 30p per mile (return trip 400 miles) £120. Tube/bus - £25 per day (£75 for whole trip)
Time in London: Three days. Rent a house in East London, £400 via Cottages4you you with 10 per cent OU discount
Spending money: £400 – dinners, self catering, refreshments, snacks
Total cost: £1,295
Nick... a birthday treat from his wife
Nick, 51, from Sunderland, was recently made redundant. he's married, has one grwon up child and did an OU maths degree 10 years ago for interest. It’s been a tough few months for Nick as he's trying to seek out a new career so his wife has decided to surprise him with tickets to the Olympics for his birthday.
Event: Boxing
Ticket price: £30 for semi final (£60 in total). Wife’s birthday treat for him
Travel: Driving at 30 per mile (600 miles return) £180. Nick's brother is a taxi driver in London and has offered free taxi rides to and from the event when they get to London
Time in London: Two days, staying with Nick’s brother.
Spending money: £50
Total cost: £290
Josie... a mini getaway
Josie, 68, is from Edinburgh, separated from her husband and has grown up children and grandchildren living in Australia. She studied as a teacher as part of the OU's first intake but has now retired and lives alone. She's an active member of her own local community and the wider OU community and studies the odd OU course for interest.
She saw advertised on the Platform noticeboard the opportunity to stay with an OU alumni in London and thought she would combine the visit with a chance to see the Olympics.
Event: Tennis, fencing, hockey
Ticket price: £100 total
Travel: National Express £40 return (nine hour journey), Oyster card £25
Time in London: Five days, stay with OU student/alumni for £100
Spending money: £100
Total cost: £365
Karen... a chance to visit friends and family
Karen, 47, is single, from Belgium and a marketing professional. She has an OU degree and was an OUSA activist and has just signed up for L197 beginner's Chinese. A keen sportswoman she can’t wait to watch the Olympics and will visit family and friends while in London too.
Event: tennis, fencing, hockey
Ticket price: £400 total
Travel: Flight, £200 return with KLM, Oyster card for travel around London £25
Time in London: Five days, hotel 3* £125 per night (£500 total)
Spending money: £200
Total cost £1,325
* Please note that prices are approximate and that travel costs are based on March 2011 prices - these are likely to be much higher nearer the time.
With some tickets costing up to hundreds of pounds to see events finals and a likely increase in accommodation costs due to demand, in the current economic climate will you make the journey to see the Games? How much do you think it will cost you?
Useful links
- London 2012 Olympics: interactive competition schedule
- Buy your tickets for the Olympics
- E112: Introduction to sport, fitness and management
- NEW! EXF223: Science and theory into practice: exercise instruction
- Sport & Fitness at the OU: more courses
Tuesday 15 March is the date when you can submit your application for tickets to the Olympic Games in London between July and August 2012. The cost of tickets starts from £20 for the earlier rounds of events. But what are the hidden costs? Travel, accommodation, refreshments, journey time? Using six profiles of potential Platform users and making some assumptions on their lifestyle and ...
The After Eight Game
The country's gearing up for the London 2012 Olympics and we want to offer our own slice of sporting action here on Platform. So, in the name of the Olympics, we've got a game for you to try... it's called the After Eight Game.
Watch this video as Christian Payne (AKA Documentally) explains the rules and a few willing victims... erm, I mean participants... have a go.
If you want to compete in the After Eight Olympics, just time yourself and post your personal best in the comments section below. And if you're brave enough, get someone to film you, pop it up on YouTube and share the link. Good luck!
The country's gearing up for the London 2012 Olympics and we want to offer our own slice of sporting action here on Platform. So, in the name of the Olympics, we've got a game for you to try... it's called the After Eight Game. Watch this video as Christian Payne (AKA Documentally) explains the rules and a few willing victims... erm, I mean participants... have a go. If you ...
GB badminton player still finds time for OU study
Jillie Cooper, 21, is training with the Great Britain Badminton Squad with high hopes of competing in the Olympics in London 2012. She’s also an OU student...
How did you get a place in the GB badminton squad?
The GB badminton squad was set up in 2007 with different levels of entry. There is the podium group, international player and talent pool. Currently I am sitting on international player. I got on the programme when it first started and I managed this because I had met the set criteria for my specific age. I did this by gaining certain level of results in specific tournaments. The more I progress and the older I get, the harder the criteria gets.
You’re 21, playing badminton at international level and also studying for a degree. How do you fit it all in?
I have to be well organised and plan ahead with my schedule. It is difficult at times but I always make time to see my best friends and family. I do have a social life, sometimes it’s not as often as I would like and is definitely not as regular as most normal 21-year-olds but that’s just the way it is and I suppose I have become used to it.
I have become used to missing big events because of my sport and because I have done it for so long I guess it’s just normally now. For example, I spent my 21st birthday in China representing Scotland at the world team championships. At the time it was difficult not being with my friends and family on the big day but at the same time the badminton team is also like my family and to represent my country on my 21st birthday was an honour. I also enjoy my studies and I know that badminton will not last forever so it’s important to have something to fall back on when it does all come to an end.
How important is it to make social time in between your sporting and studying commitments?
Very important. At times you can get bogged down in all of it and although I am focussed and dedicated to my sport I do think it’s very important to be able to have some free time and relax with friends and family. When I am with them I can fully switch off and be free from badminton and studying for that period. For me to perform at my best I need to be relaxed and chilled and I do this by spending time with my friends, otherwise you can just get wrapped up in it all and not switch off which I find hampers my performance.
What’s the best and worst thing about studying with the OU?
The best thing is that I can fit it in around my sport, without a doubt, and study when and where I want with all the materials. I wouldn’t be able to study if it wasn´t for the OU, or it would mean not being able to train full time at the national centre. My tutors have always been very flexible and understanding because if I have a heavy competition period whereby I haven´t been able to study much and will struggle to get an assignment in, they have always granted me an extension. For this alone I am extremely grateful. The worst thing is that I would like to attend lectures and meet my fellow students in person but then again I understand you can´t have everything so I am grateful to be able to play my sport full time while also gaining a degree.
Are the things you’re learning through OU study helping with your badminton?
Yeah, definitely. I have just finished a topic on communication within the workplace and I have found it very useful. I can relate a lot to the topics I have studied but I suppose they are just a bit more in depth in certain areas.
There are other OU students also competing at international level. Do you know them? Do you share study tips?
Yeah, there are three other badminton players on the GB programme who are also studying with the OU. They are all also Scottish and are my team mates so yes I know them very well. We don´t share study tips as we all just do it in our spare time. Being athletes we have to be quite organised with our life anyway so we all have no problem in fitting it in even though sometimes we do find ourselves leaving it to the last minute!
How easy is it for people to get into badminton?
Very easy. Badminton is a sport that most people will play growing up but it is mainly played at club level and not many people know that you can play the sport professionally. By contacting their National Governing body they will be able to provide a list of clubs which will be in their area. Most local leisure centres also offer badminton coaching groups.
Would you recommend sport as a way to stay fit? What are the added benefits?
Of course anything that raises your heart rate will help keep you get fit and sport certainly does that! There is a very big social aspect and I have met a lot of my best friends through playing badminton. As a junior I think this is why I liked badminton so much as I was always travelling up and down the country with a group of people the same age. Now, as an international player, I have travelled the world and been to places I would never have gone to if I had not played badminton.
What are your plans for two years time, fives years time, 10 years time and 20 years time?
In two years I will hopefully have competed at the 2010 Commonwealth Games for Scotland and be on team GB for 2012. In five years I am hoping to win a Commonwealth Games medal in Glasgow and hopefully be a well established world class player with aspirations of medalling in the 2016 Olympics. I also hope to have gained my degree by this time. In 10 years time I might still be playing but I suppose it all depends on how my body holds up and how my career results have been to that date. Hopefully I’ll be be engaged too! In 20 years… I don´t really want to think that far ahead as I will be 41! But I guess I will definitely be in the real world working, hopefully working in the sporting sector or business in a job that takes me places around the world. I am so used to travelling I think I would get bored staying in the same place all the time. I would also hope to be settled with a family.
Jillie Cooper, 21, is training with the Great Britain Badminton Squad with high hopes of competing in the Olympics in London 2012. She’s also an OU student... How did you get a place in the GB badminton squad? The GB badminton squad was set up in 2007 with different levels of entry. There is the podium group, international player and talent pool. Currently I am ...
An interview with Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson
Born with spina bifida, Tanni Grey-Thompson is a wheelchair user, one of the UK’s most successful disabled athletes and three times BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year. In 2004 she was awarded an honorary doctorate from The Open University. Here she talks to Platform’s Robyn Slingsby about London 2012, the challenges of being a mother, discrimination, her heroes and skiing.
She’s just turned 40 and although she no longer trains to compete at world-class level, Paralympian Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson certainly has her hands full. While she admits that not having to watch her weight anymore is a huge relief, she’s a huge advocate of the fact that exercise fuels the brain. She still does a lot for sport since retiring in 2008 – with 16 Paralympic medals to her name - but confesses that her biggest challenge yet is being a mum.
“Winning the 100 metres in Athens for me, as an athlete, was the best thing I did. It was probably the closest thing to perfection in terms of any race I did, technically and in terms of my preparation. The trouble with me is I’m never ever happy with what I’ve done, I’m really self critical so for most of my athletics career I didn’t think I’d done enough, and then at the point I didn’t think I could do any more, I retired.
“But, to be honest, having Carys, my daughter, has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Being a mother is way harder than any of the work stuff I do because it changes every day. One day she eats peas, the next day she refuses to eat peas and she’ll sit there and say she’s never eaten peas in her life. We’ll be in a shop and I’ll buy her an outfit she says she likes and then you get home and she won’t wear it. It changes every day.
“I was in Beijing for two months last year and before we went, Carys went into school and told the teacher that I was making her going to the Olympics . We had tickets to the opening ceremony and she asked if there would be fireworks, that’s all she was interested in. But once she was there she loved it.”
Permanent state of chaos
Tanni juggles a lot of commitments and has to manage her diary carefully so she spends enough quality time with her husband Dr Ian Thompson and daughter Carys, seven, at their home in Eaglescliffe. How does she do it?
“We live in permanent state of chaos, and that’s fine. There’s a lot of guilt put onto mothers that you have to be perfect mother who cooks, cleans, washes and can hold down a job. I just think that’s nonsense, it’s about not beating yourself up over things and I don’t feel guilty if I give my daughter cheese on toast for tea, even though my own mother would have thought it was dreadful. It’s about not feeling guilty about the stuff you can’t change.
“I really enjoy my work and do lots of different things and I love it, and that has consequences on my husband and daughter but you try and balance it the best you can.
“When I was little my mum stopped working when my sister was born – she’s two years older than me – and went back to work when I was 19, and the world’s not like that anymore. Very occasionally Carys will ask me why I’m away – usually because she wants something out of me. I’ve learned from right back when she was really little that children are amazing at making you feel guilty.
As well as her charity work, Dame Tanni has been involved in the bidding for and planning of the Olympics in London in 2012 – and she’s very excited about it.
Tall poppy syndrome
“London will do an amazing job, when you look at the bid process the team were really professional and did their homework. There’s a bit of a tall poppy syndrome within UK culture, we do sometimes see the negative. This is the best opportunity in sport to showcase what we do and show the world what we’re good at.”
What about disabled access?
“I joined the board at Transport For London (TFL) last year, and going into it my view was why can’t we make all underground stations accessible? But then you look at putting a lift into a tube station and find out you don’t get much change out of £150 million. A lot of work has gone into making the newer stations accessible, but there are issues about air conditioning on the tubes, line upgrades, platform rebuilds, health and safety, and access is one part of it so it all has to go in the melting pot that is the TFL budget and it’s a hard balancing act.
“Every single London bus is wheelchair accessible, every taxi is, so we’re starting off at a much stronger point than any other Olympic or Paralympic city has for quite a while and, for me, the key is educating people. Not a lot of people will know this but there’s a really cool underground map which shows the accessible stations, so the ones I can’t use are in pale grey so they don’t cloud my view of where I can travel. So for me the key is education and we’ll have amazingly well trained volunteers at Games times to help people get to where they want to go. Education is key.
“2012 can be a platform to try and make London more accessible in a wider sense to everyone - mums with prams, wheelchairs, blind people.”
Discrimination
Dame Tanni has no problem getting around but says disabled people do suffer discrimination and things like access to higher education are more challenging.
“The reality for disabled people is that education is harder. So whether they miss school time because of illness or they’re in hospital of if they’ve missed things because of their impairment, I sometimes think that higher education isn’t seen as an option.
“When I was in school I’d just sat my O Levels and the careers teacher told me he could get me a nice job answering phones. I said I wanted to go to uni and he basically said ‘Don’t be so silly, what do you want a degree for, it’ll be difficult and won’t help you because you’ll probably end up answering phones anyway.’”
As it turned out my first job was working for British Athletics and part of my job was in fact answering phones, and I really enjoyed it. But lots of people look at impairment and it starts off as inherently negative and if someone tells you that you can’t do something then it’s very easy to believe that. The beauty of the OU is that people come back when they feel they’re ready to but they also have the flexibility, which makes a real difference.”
So, if Dame Tanni could study an OU course, what would it be?
“Law, I always wanted to do law. I went to Loughborough University, which didn’t offer law so I did politics. It was something I was interested in and actually it’s been incredibly useful. I always thought there wasn’t politics in sport and then you get involved and realise there’s loads.”
Self belief
And what about trying a new sport, what she go for?
“Skiing, but I hate the cold and the wet and being out and going downhill doesn’t appeal to me. I like the concept of skiing and saying that I will ski one day, but I don’t think Ill ever actually go skiing.”
Dame Tanni is an inspiration in her own right, but who does she admire?
“I was at the Young Sport conference, to look at what you can do beyond sport to help people, and Desmond Tutu was there and he was just so cool. His charisma and his personality and the way he talked about Africa was just incredible, so I’m a huge fan of his.
“My mum, who has passed away now, was stroppy and stubborn but just an amazingly strong person to have around, she was really cool. We used to argue a lot but she brought me up to have a lot of self belief.
“And Gareth Edwards. I was brought up by mother to believe that he is the closest thing to perfection that will ever walk this earth and it was the way he played, he knew he was good but he wasn’t arrogant and you listen to some of his stories and he was a really cool bloke. I still get awe struck when ever I meet him.”
Born with spina bifida, Tanni Grey-Thompson is a wheelchair user, one of the UK’s most successful disabled athletes and three times BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year. In 2004 she was awarded an honorary doctorate from The Open University. Here she talks to Platform’s Robyn Slingsby about London 2012, the challenges of being a mother, discrimination, her ...
Volunteering? Start small says Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson
Dame Tanni Grey-Thomspon, the UK’s best-known Paralympic athlete and an Open University honorary graduate, spends one day a week on community and voluntary projects. So what tips does she have on volunteering?
“The difficulty is, people like the idea of volunteering but sometimes don’t know what they want to do or how to go about getting started. I’m a trustee of a charity called V which is about inspiring the young to become volunteers but that’s just one part of it; it’s about giving people ideas on what they want to do, as volunteering gives you new skills and can be very useful.
“If you want to volunteer you have to be quite persistent. Lots of organisations are not as welcoming to volunteers as they should be; it works both ways - organisations need to be better at dealing with volunteers and volunteers need to be quite persistent in offering their help.
“London 2012 gives people a great opportunity to volunteer. I sit on a diversity group where we’re looking at how you make the workforce more diverse as we want to attract people from all over the world from every background going to watch and participate, and you can’t do that unless you have a diverse workforce and diverse volunteers. The aim is to get as many disabled people as possible to volunteer at 2012.
“I hope that by seeing disabled people on the street wearing a volunteer’s uniform it will start to change people’s attitude to disability. When I was growing up you didn’t see many disabled people in the city centre, they were in homes and special schools and behind closed doors. With lots of disabled volunteers, 2012 can improve the public’s perception of disability.
“I think people don’t always understand what volunteering is, it doesn’t have to be 20 hours a week, it could just be a couple of hours in a year. It’s finding the right thing that makes them feel good about it so they hopefully do more, rather than feeling like they’re being used. The best way is to start small, don’t commit yourself to a massive volunteering project because if you don’t like it you’ll have a miserable time.”
Dame Tanni Grey-Thomspon, the UK’s best-known Paralympic athlete and an Open University honorary graduate, spends one day a week on community and voluntary projects. So what tips does she have on volunteering? “The difficulty is, people like the idea of volunteering but sometimes don’t know what they want to do or how to go about getting started. ...
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