Following Team Member Martin Banks’s honour of being chosen as an Olympic torch bearer (see website ‘News’ reports dated 23rd June and 18th July) Team Member David Crawford has been selected from a field of quarter of a million applicants to be one of 70,000 volunteers working at this summer’s Olympic Games.

David will be working as a Team Leader at the Olympic Stadium. His team will be ‘front of house’ responsible for meeting and greeting spectators, checking tickets, directing people to their seats, managing the flow of people into and out of the venue and ensuring everyone enjoys a safe and secure games. The volunteers are the ‘face of the games’ and are expected to remain helpful, cheerful and enthusiastic even if it is cold, damp and raining! Not that different from being in the Bolton MRT!

He will also have to deal with any problems as they arise such as missing people, lost property or minor accidents. In the unlikely event of a major security incident he will assist the process of clearing the venue and moving people to safety.

David said ‘It is an exciting opportunity to be involved with the greatest sporting event this country has ever staged. My training and experience with the Mountain Rescue Team should stand me in good stead for dealing with any emergencies that might arise’.

The athletics events start at the Olympic Stadium on the 3rd August, and David will be on duty from then until after the closing ceremony ten days later.