As the Victory Ceremonies Manager, I conducted the ceremony to award medals and mascots to the respective winning athletes for five events, namely, Archery, Tennis, Table Tennis, Badminton, and Soccer.
Six months after the games have ended, people still ask me to share my experiences working for the Youth Olympic Games. In fact, the simple satisfaction of having participated in an event that has showcased Singapore to the international sporting community has more than justified my decision to volunteer for the event.
One of the major challenges that I faced was in trying to operationalize the plans and protocols of the organizing committee. Even simple matters that didn't seem to warrant much thought during our planning, could become a pertinent challenges as various constraints in space, manpower, and resources started to take their toll. In one instance, we realized that the venue did not have space to accommodate the originally planned flag poles that were required for the ceremony. We took some risk and exercised much creativity to modify and plant the flag poles in front of the grandstand to proceed with the ceremony. Initially, nobody would have allowed such an arrangement to take place, but once we had executed upon the idea, the management started to realize that the solution was indeed feasible, and accepted it (to our great relief). Just like anything else in life, it is incredibly important to take some calculated risks, and exercise pragmatism where required.
I also found it incredibly important to give my team a reason to love what they are doing. A passionate team really does outperform their own expectations, and I am thankful for the fantastic people who worked with me throughout my YOG journey.
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| Having fun after our last Victory Ceremony for the Singapore Youth Olympic Games 2010. |
