Paralympic Spirit lives Letters to the Future

Tonight the Paralympic Games have closed in China.

In a very emotional closing ceremony, the Paralympic Athletes gathered once again in the National "Birds Nest" Stadium to pay tribute to thier achievements, triumphant and corageous.

These Paralympic Games have truly been a watershed for the movement and something all of China can be most proud. All fans of sport for athletes with a disability should be proud of their achievements too, for it is they who have travelled to the venues and stages of Beijing, and to China from near and far via the internet and television like never before.

From a personal perspective, the most emotional and uplifting moment this evening has been the segment entitled "A Letter to the Future". Each of the 90,000 crowd, spectators and broadcasters alike received a special postcard and envelope on which they can write a message to the world about what they were thinking and feeling on this special night. These cards and envelopes were only available in Beijing and can only be posted in China.

Over the next week or two these postcards will be delivered around the world with the messages inside them. A message for the future of sport for elite athletes with a disability.

Transcendence, Integration, Equality ... the mission accomplished, the spirit of Beijing will live on, just as it has done so in Sydney. My personal dream would be for the volunteers of Beijing to form a group similar to ours and not just remember this dream but continue to live it as we have done these past eight years.

More success for Jayme Paris in Beijing

Jayme Paris just missed out on a second Bronze medal at the Beijing Paralympics on Wednesday being pipped by New Zealand's Paula Tesoreiro by just four hundredths of a second.

In posting her time, in the 3000m Individual Pursuit, Jayme beat her personal best by 15 seconds.

Well done Jayme we're so proud of your achivements.

Volunteers in Beijing

Our wonderful foundation members Laurie and Barbara Smith have been volunteering in Beijing. They were kind enough to drop us a line ...

"
We have a volunteer job with the AOC in the village working with Michael Mercer in admin in the area Jayme will live in. The village is fantastic and there is even a pool for the team to relax in as well as all the usual things.

So far the temperature is better than Athens so that is great.

The people have gone out of there way to make you feel welcome but most volunteers have no idea of what information to tell you and most can't speak English unless they are working in the village.

The taxi drivers are the same. You must have your address written in Chinese and the location of where you want to go as well and then there is a one in three chance you will get to the right location."

May Luncheon Photos

Click on Flipbook to browse through the photos. Click the photos to the left or right to scroll forward or back. Click the centre photo to view the original.

Beijing 2008 Volunteer Manuals Launched

The volunteer manual for volunteers at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games has been made available on-line via the Beijing website. The following links point to the various sections of the manual and make very interesting reading. (Note : You need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to read these, and I'd recommend a fast internet connection.)

Cover
Contents
Volunteers and Volunteering
Olympic Movement and Volunteers
BEIJING 2008 and Volunteering
Organisation and Administration
Volunteer Positions and Requirements
Volunteering Skills
Olympic Cities

Beijing's Smile Wristband

The "International Version" of Beijing's Volunteer "Smile Wristband" has been launched at the New Year Celebrations on the site of Beijing's Drum Towers.

The wristbands feature the words "Volunteers Smile - Beijing's Image", the logo's of the Olympic and Paralympic games, and a bar code.

FULL STORY

Sydney Olympic Games Volunteers Mark 7th Anniversary

Volunteers from the Spirit of Sydney Group commemorated the 7th Anniversary of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games with a celebratory lunch at the Noble Dragon Restaurant in Sydney's Chinatown on Saturday 15th September.



The group was honoured to have present, Sandy Hollway, (former CEO of the Sydney Organising Committee - SOCOG), who shared with us his wonderful memories of the best games ever. Sandy also spoke about the business opportunities Australian industry gains from showing the world how we handle large events.

Presentations were also made by Rosemary Mula who spoke about her experiences volunteering at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro earlier this year. In the absence of Daniel Beniston, Rosemary also shared information about accommodation choices and pricing in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games. Rosemary then spoke about London 2012 and the opportunities she has from being associated with teams at the Pan-Am games.

Team poet, Vera Rothwell, came out of retirement to write an inspirational poem that brought back so many memories of the Opening Ceremony. Vera also mentioned that the pen-pal program she started with Atlanta 1996 volunteers, could be restarted with volunteers in London.

Special thanks go out to Mavis Booth, our e-Mail Co-Ordinator and Social Secretary who once again has co-ordinated our lunch and meeting to perfection. Thanks also to our Treasurers and Administration Co-Ordinators, Ralph and Joan Stilgoe who again helped to make the day such a wonderful success.

Finally, to the excellent staff and owners of the Noble Dragon Restaurant, a hearty well done! Your food, and great service continues to make us all happy, content and rolling out the door with big smiles on our faces. The Noble Dragon is in Chinatown, at the corner of Dixon and Little Hay Street, Sydney.

From a personal perspective, I am still amazed and inspired by this wonderful groups of friends, once strangers, but brought together by the Olympic Games in 2000. Each of you, through your volunteer efforts continue to make us all proud, and keep our spirit alive. Let there be many more anniversaries of this great moment in Australian history. (Peter Konnecke).

The next meeting of our group will be held on Saturday 16th February 2008.

Tags: sydney 2000 volunteers, sydney 2000 olympic games, olympic volunteers, australian volunteers, volunteers, sydney volunteers, spirit of sydney, spirit of sydney volunteers, spiritofsydney, peter konnecke, konnecke, spiritofsydney.com, beijing 2008, beijing olympics, 2008 olympic games, beijing 2008 olympic games

Remember Sydney 2000

Our resident poet Vera Rothwell has been at it again writing another excellent poem recapturing the Spirit of Sydney during the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Tags: olympics, paralympics, sydney2000, spirit of sydney, volunteers

DO YOU REMEMBER?

Do you remember that night in September,

When all of our dreams came true,

When the horse reared on high against the night sky

And the world was enthralled - where were you?

Were you part of the crowd, cheering out loud?

Feeling your heart burst with pride?

Or were you watching at home with family around?

Feeling that warm glow inside.

Did your heart skip a beat when the flag was unfurled

To flutter so high in the sky?

When the athletes marched in did you feel that the world

Should always be on the same side?

Did you rise to your feet when the Aussies marched in?

Was there a quiet tear or two?

At what we’d achieved, all the work we’d put in

Did it mean that much to you?

When the crowd roared as one to welcome the Flame

Did you feel it’s warmth in your heart?

When Cathy stepped forward did you shout out her name

Then pray for the damn thing to start?

Do you think back to that time and “remember when?”

People were friendly, trains ran on time

Do you sometimes wish we could go back to then,

And follow along the blue line.

So, do you remember that night in September?

Does your heart still swell with pride?

I’ll never forget, I’ll always remember

It will be with me till I die.

Sydney World Expo Bid Still Alive ?

A recent article in the Fairfax papers contained one very interesting paragraph.

"From abroad, NSW is considering a bid for the 2020 World Expo,
according to a spokeswoman for Ian Macdonald, the Minister for
State Development. But then, last year Sydney sought to bid for the
right to host the 2012 expo — and lost."

Could it be that major events are still on the agenda in Macquarie Street ?

Read the Full Article

Sydneysiders to Welcome World Youth Day Pilgrims

Sydneysiders are being asked to help host the thousands of young people expected to attend World Youth Day in July 2008 (WYD08).

With exactly one year to go until the Opening Mass of World Youth Day to be celebrated by Cardinal George Pell with bishops and priests from all over the world - organisers today opened registrations for HomeStay, a program in which Sydney homeowners host two or more
visiting pilgrims from overseas or outside Sydney.

Read the full story

Technorati Tags: world youth day, spirit of sydney

50 Olympic Logos from 1924 till 2016

50 Olympic Logos from 1924 till 2016

And now, lets look at the Olympic logo designs from the past (1924) till (2016) alphabetically displayed.It';s an interesting look at the past, the proposed, and the future of Olympic design. The alternative London 2012 design isn't bad either, but there's not a lot you could do with it shape wise. There's no real shape.

Technorati Tags: olympic games, olympics, london2012, peter konnecke, spirit of sydney

Volunteering For The 2010 Olympics

Volunteering for Vancouver 2010

A great story about the people who are willing to devote their time and energies to make the 2010 Olympic Winter Games a success. By 2008, the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) will begin recruiting its 25,000 volunteer workforce.

Technorati Tags: vancouver 2010, olympic games, olympics, volunteers, spirit of sydney

Beijing Interns Tour venues

I'm assuming these interns may be used for escorting dignitaries around the venues or as managers for spectator services. The attached story doesn't speak much of their roles however. They are currently assigned to various departments within BOVOG.

Read the story here

Lunch at the Athenian

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Originally uploaded by Peter Konnecke.

The Spirit of Sydney group celebrated another successful lunch today with guest speakers, Rosemary Owens, and Daniel Beniston.

Rosemary spoke of her extensive experience as a technical official and volunteer with Athletics Australia. Rosemary has travelled the world and relayed to us, her wonderful experiences.

Daniel spoke about his recent trip to Beijing and his enthusiasm for all things Olympic.

Our next meeting is on September 15th, the 7th Anniversary of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Technorati Tags: website news, spirit of sydney, sydney2000, peter konnecke, london2012, beijing 2008

London reaching out to Communities

The London 2012 weblog had a post recently about the community programs being run to reach out to the Sikh community in London.

Peter Konnecke from spiritofsydney.com posted a comment on his experiences when he spoke to community groups in the lead up to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Read the full story by clicking here and visiting the London 2012 weblog.

Technorati Tags: spirit of sydney, london 2012, olympics, london olympics, sydney 2000, volunteers, olympic volunteers, olympic games

Sandy Hollway on London 2012

Sandy Hollway gave a brief interview to the London 2012 Weblog recently. He spoke about London's Olympic plans, and the good progress being made towards delivering a successful games in 2012.

Click here to view the video on-line.

Technorati Tags: london 2012, olympics, olympic games, olympic volunteers, volunteers

Lasting Legacy for Sydney

The following letter was shared with us recently. It was written by Sandy Hollway, the former CEO of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Organising Committee, in response to a suggestion made by an article which appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald on January 31st, 2007. The response was not published by the S.M.H.
- Peter Konnecke (Webmaster)

Dear Sir,

Given the amount that has happened in the past six years, it is hardly plausible to blame the alleged decline in the New South Wales economy on the spending for the Olympic Games (SMH 31 January).

The net cost of the Olympic Games to the New South Wales Government was, for the biggest event on earth, a creditably low $1.3 billion spread over the years of preparation. The event itself was financed largely from around $2.6 billion obtained from broadcast rights, sponsorship, ticket sales and merchandise. The private sector contributed $1.1 billion of the $3 billion of construction costs.

In fact, for this investment, Australia gained an increase to GDP estimated at $6 billion. We acquired the world-class sporting venues which a growing Sydney needed for community use, as well as commercial benefit. The Games stimulated inward investment and export, and Australia has become an impressive supplier of smart services to other events around the world. The Games dramatically elevated Sydney's international brand and recognition as the Anholt-GMI index shows.

In any event, it is recognised these days that the Games need to be evaluated on the basis of a triple bottom line -- economic, social and environmental. The Olympics was the catalyst for large-scale remediation at Sydney Olympic Park, and necessary infrastructure development such as the Eastern Distributor.

What ,I think, is true is that maximising the legacy from the Olympics requires a sustained, aggressive follow-through --in the development of new tourism product, high-quality architecture and building, infrastructure investment, environmental innovation, and so on. We could probably have used a bit more of that since the Games, but the legacy has still been overwhelmingly positive.

People are entitled to feel very good about the Sydney Olympics for cold, hard objective reasons, not just the fact that it was a great party.

Technorati Tags: sydney2000, spirit of sydney, volunteers, peter konnecke, olympic games, olympics

Vancouver 2010 News

We've started reporting news from Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Just in case anyone is interested. It's sure to be a wonderful event.

Technorati Tags: vancouver 2010, olympics, olympic games

World Masters Games - Newsletter Update

The 2009 World Masters Games are coming to Sydney. Be sure to visit www.worldmasters2009.com to sign up for the newsletter and be informed about this exciting event.

February Newsletter Example

International Aids Society Conference

The 4th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2007) is being organized by the International AIDS Society (IAS) and the Australasian Society of HIV Medicine (ASHM).

If you'd like to be a part of this event please visit their website at www.ias2007.org

World Dragon Boat Championship Update

Volunteer applications are open for interested person too apply on the official website for the World Dragon Boat Championship "Dragons Down Under".

If you're interested please click here for details.

IAAF World Championship Bid Update

As of the deadline on 1st December 2006, the IAAF had received bids from five cities who want to host the World Athletics Championship in either 2011 or 2013.

The bids received are as follows :

Barcelona (ESP) 2011 Only
Brisbane (AUS) 2011 and 2013
Daegu (KOR) 2011 and 2013
Goteburg (SWE) 2011 and 2013
Moscow (RUS) 2011 and 2013

The votes will take place in Mombasa (KEN) on 27th March 2007.

World Masters Games Volunteers

Volunteer applications for the World Masters Games 2009 in Sydney will open later in 2007. More details on the official web site.

Click Here

World Masters Games 2009 New Office

The headquarters of the World Masters Games 2009, has moved to Sydney's Olympic Park. Based in the NSW Institute of Sport building, the organising committee has gained closer contact with the various sports associations, based in the area.

More in this story.

World Youth Day Update

In 18 months (555 Days) World Youth Day will be held in Australia. Expressions of interest in volunteering for this event have opened and are available by completing the form here.

Vancouver Volunteers

According to the Vancouver 2010 website, volunteer applications will open in 2008. Some of our readers might be inclined to look to Vancouver for their fix of Olympic spirit in the time between now and London in 2012.

Technorati Tags: vancouver 2010, volunteers, peter konnecke, spirit of sydney

Australian Youth Olympic Festival

With 11 days to go, the Australian Youth Olympic Festival preparations are in their final stages.

Spirit of Sydney will be there on two fronts. Some of our members are volunteering at the events, whilst Peter Konnecke will be staying in Olympic Park as a spectator taking lots of pictures for our site, and also at the Opening Ceremony on January 17th.

Stay tuned for more updates and posts as the Festival begins.

Technorati Tags: ayof, peter konnecke, spirit of sydney, olympics, olympic games

Volunteers Rush to London 2012

Organisers of the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics have announced that more than 100,000 people have signed up to be volunteers at the event.


Read Full Story

Technorati Tags: london2012, olympic games, olympics, peter konnecke, volunteers, spirit of sydney

Volunteers Wanted

A project dedicated to recording the History of Sydney has been commenced.

The Dictionary of Sydney project is looking for volunteers.

More information is available at the projects website.