Being close to the athletes for once and watching the competition from the athlete's perspective. That is the dream of many sports fans. As a volunteer in the "Field of Play", the interior of the Olympic Hall, this was possible. There were some exciting and varied tasks. Every day, 20 to 30 volunteers were on site, divided into different shifts. There were morning, afternoon and all-day shifts. At the beginning of each shift, there was always a short meeting with the volunteer manager to discuss the procedures and distribute the tasks.

Each nation was supervised by a volunteer who was available for all questions and concerns. Starting with picking up the athletes from the presentation area in the middle of the hall, the volunteers brought the different teams to the apparatus and led them to the next apparatus after each change of squad. At the beginning it was not so easy to remember the correct order of the apparatus and the correct paths. After the exercises, the athletes were led to the so-called "Kiss & Cry - Camera". Here they sat down until they had received their scores and were filmed during these moments. After the competition was over, the teams were escorted to the Mixed Zone.

In the "Field of Play" only two coaches and one medical attendant were allowed per nation. However, the coaches and attendants could be changed at will. This happened in the so-called change zone, for which two volunteers were always responsible.

Another person was responsible for the so-called "Inquiry Desk". Here the coaches could question the athletes' difficulty score and in the best case the athlete would get a better score. However, the inquiries could also be rejected by the judges, so the score remained the same.

In the morning between the individual rounds and in the evening after the competitions, the indoor area had to be cleaned. Here the volunteers were in action with vacuum cleaners and mops to clean the floor, the carpets and the mats. The gymnasts used magnesia on each apparatus, firstly to prepare the apparatus and secondly for hands and feet to have a better grip. As a result, after each routine, the pink carpet of the podium was covered in white dust. Cleaning up also included taking out the trash, taking away deposit bottles, and again providing new trash bags in the hall.

One or two well-known personalities were also on hand in the Olympic Hall, such as Fabian Hambüchen, who won the gold medal on the high bar at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Dr. Christine Noe, the vice president of mass sports of the Bavarian Gymnastics Association, was also on hand as a volunteer and had many exciting stories to tell.

But it was especially exciting to see how the athletes behaved during the competition, how they motivated each other to give their best and what final discussions there were with the coaches before the respective apparatus.

It was a unique experience to be so close to the athletes during the podium training and the competition. As a volunteer you got very exciting insights and saw the competition from a completely different perspective.

Text & photos: Milena Kreber