Gold Coast Marathon Game Assignment

“I felt the dignity associated with my post and it was the best Experience”
Acting as a volunteer in any sporting event is a tough test because in many cases volunteers
hardly get any time to acclimatize with the new conditions. It becomes difficult for them to
understand the matrix of the stakeholders associated with the event. I got firsthand experience
of this problem a few years ago. In the year 2017, under the capacity of a volunteer, I
participated in the Gold coast Marathon Game. The first job that I undertook was in the
reception area where I helped people to “Check-in.”
Now when I look back at that experience from an objective and literary point of view,
researcher Sheranne Fairley’s work helps me in understanding my position in the stakeholder
matrix, it also helps me in developing an understanding of the role conflicts that surrounded
me (Fairley et al, 2016). For instance, initially, I thought that while addressing the process
of the “Checking In” I am dealing with common people, staffers, and athletes and it requires
no special skills or expertise. However, it turned out to become a specialized job when they
told me to play the role of a Mandarin expert as well.
Gold Coast Marathon Game was held in the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
at 10 a.m, on June 30th, 2017. I was full of excitement and reported one hour before the event
for a briefing session. Our manager for the day gave sky blue T-shirts. Then, I thought that
they are giving this T-shirt to us to create a separate identity. However, later on, I realized
that the sky blue color of the T-shirt was also denoting the rank that I was holding in the
hierarchy of the organizer’s teams. It will be relevant to mention the research of B.C.Green
where I explored the concept of “Pioneer Volunteers.” Green described the importance of a
distinction among the volunteers, according to him, different colors of uniform should be
awarded an intention to highlight the specialization of the volunteers (Green et al. 1998) .
The reasons for providing a different uniform can be attributed to strategic planning as well.

Fairley’s research defines the process of volunteer engagement as a strategically designed
process where the organizers should take an account of various scenarios that may occur
during the implementation of the event (Fairley et al, 2016).
The organizers of the Gold coast Marathon games were also keen on accrediting the special
roles and capacities; I realized it when I received a Red Vest. It was symbolic in many ways,
my first language is mandarin and red color denotes China. This edition of Red Colour in my
uniform added enthusiasm in me because it added worth to my services. Now when I look at
it under the light of the theories presented by B.C. Green I realize that I was acting as a
pioneer volunteer and catering to an important task (Green et al.2016)
My initial enthusiasm disappeared once I enrolled in the job of searching for the name tags
and personal information of the participants. After searching these details, my next job was to
guide the participants in the right direction or their next destination in the same venue.
It was a tough task because of the presence of some “similar sounding” names on the list.
The time band was short and the margin for the error was very low. Even then my familiarity
with Chinese names made it easier for me. However, a great deal was focus was the primary
requisite of the job.
After the reorganization of the right person, the process of the registration was easy; I was
required to go for some basic data entry. However, it became complex because of the
presence of technical glitches in the devices. The scanner and other digital equipment on the
venue were not up to the mark. I complained about it to my senior. He gave me an
encouraging answer when he said: “turn this problem into an opportunity.” It became a tough
day for me because of a continuous haggling with the machinery. However, during the
signing off the parade, when my seniors appreciated me for my problem-solving skills, it was
worth it.