Homeward bound – and with medals!

Once competition starts, things get a bit frenetic, and so writing this blog has unfortunately been relegated to the bottom of my list of priorities! My daily routine from my last entry to two days ago has consisted pretty much consisted of getting up at 6am, getting to the archery venue on the 7am bus, having a 2 minute lunch break (if I'm lucky), back from the venue at about 4 or 5pm, and then into meetings with staff and archers, typically finishing up at 11pm. The nature of the work that I do during this time will often require fast thinking and acting in a highly pressurised environment (with upset or uptight individuals), and so can be emotionally as well as physically draining. Being a spectator in the stands, particularly during medal matches, is torturous for staff and team mates, and takes its toll as well!

A quick summary of results for us – we have ended up with 2 golds, 1 silver and 1 bronze. Out of 9 possible categories, this is an excellent outcome, and we were only narrowly pipped by China to head up the medal table in the archery event. It also exceeds the target that UK Sport/the BPA had set for us, and for us, as a staff team, is very much at the top end of what we realistically hoped for. The final stages of competition ultimately comes down to who can hold their nerve in front of 5,000 spectators. Each archer shoots 12 arrows alternately, so steady nerves are required if you need to shoot a 9 or 10 from the final arrow!! To my satisfaction (and relief!) all GB archers held their nerve perfectly to win their medals and shoot some excellent 12 arrow scores.

Mel Clarke wins bronze for GB in the Women's compound

The attention from the media, supporters, the BPA and other countries since we won the medals has been immense. It's easy to get carried away in such circumstances – for both archers and staff. It's also a potentially very difficult time for those in the squad who did not medal, or whose dreams have been shattered. I have had to have a box of tissues to hand over the past few days – and diffuse some conflict situations from time to time! The last few days have allowed some opportunity to have time off – but many of us are so physically and emotionally exhausted that sleep has been the preferred option! I managed to get out into Beijing's silk market yesterday for a couple of hours, and joined some other team GB staff to attend the final night of the athletics to support the British medal hopes. It was awesome to go the Birds Nest to see some sport. In a few hours, we go back there for the Closing Ceremony, which will wrap up a most amazing (and successful) three weeks for us and the whole of the British team.

Here's to London 2012!

Some tired but happy archery staff at the athletics – left: Katherine Bond (Sport Psychology Support), Tim (Team Manager), Betty (Team Doctor)

Competition begins

Day 14 of our trip, and today we moved into the serious end of things – the start of competition. The waiting is finally over, as the archers start what will be, for many of them, the most important event of their lives. The last few days have seen an increase in intensity, punctuated only by attending the Opening Ceremony, an experience which all of us involved will never forget. As the GB team organised their parade in alphabetical order of sport, we were the first in line behind the GB flag. Not only did this give us a tremendous view as we paraded into and around the stadium at the start of the ceremony, but it put us all on the front pages of newspapers and on your TV screens at home!!! Describing the feeling of walking out in front of a capacity Birds Nest stadium is impossible, but was the most tremendous rush imaginable.

My view coming into the stadium from the front of Team GB!

The ceremony itself was extremely well done, and the various 'acts' largely involved people with disabilities. The lighting of the torch was also inspired; a Chinese gold medallist from Athens hoisted himself, in his wheelchair, hundreds of metres up to the roof of the stadium to ignite the base of the torch.

The Paralympic Flame is lit

A perfect evening was rounded off with the most amazingly slick transfer of thousands of athletes and officials back to the Paralympic Village – it took only 50 minutes from the end of the ceremony to our arrival back in our apartments – beating previous efforts in Athens and Sydney by at least 2 hours! The whole experience was phenomenal, and I know did much to inspire our squad for their task ahead.

The last two days have been spent doing last minute practicing, including some time practicing on the stadium 'courts' where the elimination and medal matches will be held and plenty of resting. Tensions inevitably run high, and tempers are short; but this is something that we have discussed, have expected, and know how to deal with. As a staff member, a thick skin has been essential. The waiting period is probably the most difficult time for an athlete – and support staff to deal with.

Today was the '720' ranking round, where all archers shoot 72 arrows (maximum total score is 720), and are ranked for the elimination phase of competition on the basis of this score. The elimination rounds, from the 10^th to the 15^th, then involve 12 arrow shoot-offs against another archer. The higher you finish in the ranking round, the more favourable your draw (as effectively you draw first against a lower ranked archer). GB had a pretty good day today all in all – probably because we felt at home in the conditions – rain and relative coolness! We finished top in two categories, and in the process set two new World records. We had two other top 3 finishes, a 5^th and two 6th, and generally, performances met or exceeded expectations all round. So a good start, and hopefully we can build on it in the days to come, and finish the week with some medals!

The ranking round in full swing

Settling in to Village life

After 4 days in the Paralympic village in Beijing, we have well and truly settled into the routine of village life; in fact, to many of us, it seems like we've been here for 4 weeks! The village is a high security area where the athletes and support staff live for the duration of the games. Its size exceeds one square kilometre, half of which consists of accommodation, comprising of rows of 7 story identical blocks, and each country takes over a number of blocks commensurate with their team size. Gigantic flags and other distinctive features indicate which country is in residence. The Greek team have suspended a massive flag running down the entire 7 stories of one of their blocks and the Australians have inflatable kangaroos on all their apartment balconies! Team GB are competing well in this contest, having shipped over a red phone box!! We've also got prime location next to the laundry service and 'super resident' centre (entertainment room, internet room, TV rooms, meeting rooms) – apparently the result of a 3 year negotiation with BOCOG (Beijing organising committee).

Phone Box – how much was the excess baggage?!

The village also contains a food hall the size of an aircraft hanger, shops, a large fitness centre with 50m outdoor pool, cinema/DVD lounge, games rooms, an evening concert venue, and plenty of green spaces.

Food Hall – it takes 20 mins just to decide what to eat!

For the uninitiated, it is quite a daunting and surreal environment, and there is potential for both athletes and staff to get caught up in this environment and forget what they are there to do! This is something that we have addressed in our preparations, and after 24 hours to find their feet, the majority of our group have adapted extremely well to life in the village. It is a real balance to get right; it's important to enjoy the experience of the games, and get the most out of it, but at the same time focus on what you are here to do, and not waste too much physical and emotional energy exploring the village and what it has to offer. Another challenge is not to overtrain, particularly as the conditions are still testing (30 degree heat and 60% humidity), although after Macau they seem a welcome relief! As the village is getting increasingly full ahead of the Opening Ceremony, we have been given practice slots of 3 hours, which helps restrict the amount of training the archers can do. One of my roles, along with the doctor and head coach, is to assist each archer in deciding how to structure their training and rest time to ensure that they are optimally technically, mentally and physically prepared for the start of the archery competition on the 9^th September.

The tension is visibly rising now as we approach the Opening Ceremony (tonight) and then the start of competition. We are all going to the Opening Ceremony and parading as part of Team GB. Many sports and individual athletes have decided not to go, as it means a very late night (potentially back at 2am), and a lot of hanging around. This is something we have been discussing since January, and as we have 3 days to recover before the start of competition our view is that the buzz that they will get from attending will outweigh the potential negative physical effects. Still, walking out to a capacity 91,000 crowd will have a huge emotional impact on people, and will be something that I will be concerned about in the days to come.

The mood in the camp is still buoyant, although living in such close quarters with brings some challenges at times! We are now in four adjacent 3-person or 6-person apartments, and although they are more spacious and comfortable than we anticipated, spending 24-7 with team mates and in some instances, competitors requires tolerance, understanding and respect for each other. This is something that we discussed extensively before we left, but doesn't prevent little niggles occurring from time to time. A key role I've had over the last few days is helping people manage this, and on occasions, ensuring that some people are getting the time and space that they need in other parts of the village. Things will settle down a bit as competition gets under way, and all in all, there have been no major issues between people; from a staff perspective, things are going pretty well right now! Watch this space…..!!