Tuesday 26 May 2015

Rugby World Cup 2015 Volunteer: The Pack Training

Work Force Kick Off
Date: Saturday 16th May, 2015
Location: Stadium MK

Last Saturday was the first of many training sessions for what Rugby World Cup 2015 are calling.... THE PACK!  Off we all went to Stadium MK, via many many roundabouts. 6,000 volunteers have been recruited for the games; I'm very lucky to be one of those! After the application process, it was exciting to be starting the journey to RWC 2015 arriving in England & Cardiff! On entry to the ground everyone received a #thepack 16th May Kick Off t-shirt, and a goodie bag! I was pretty excited by the pen at first being a bit of a stationary geek! It wasn't until after lunch I really had a look to see what else was hidden in there. I love the retro touch of issuing a special The Pack Sticker Book! Rumour has it, at each training session we will receive another pack to complete the book, with no swapping required. Woop!
Whilst finding my seat in the stadium it was nice to see some of the guys I'd worked with as a Try Out Vip issuing the goodie bags and helping people find their seats. Once seated, the morning kicked off with Laurence Dallaglio introducing us to Stadium MK and giving us a flavour of what was to come. First off we were to be snapped by the in stadium drone cam, this is where the bottle of Coca-Cola came in, as we were asked to hold these in the air - maybe we'll feature on the Coca-Cola adverts come games time, who knows!

After posing for photos, next it was over to England Rugby's Official Singer, Laura Wright, who took us through a physical and vocal warm up. After a few moves and a bit of 'lalala' we found ourselves learning the words to Jerusalem....which was amazing to sing along to as a group later in the afternoon *goose-pimple moment*.

Next up John Inverdale came on stage as Master of Ceremonies and lead out an inspirational speech about what the day was all about. John then introduced Jason Leonard which brought about a good standing ovation from the crowd for the World Cup Winner. There was a really excitement and appreciation across the crowd. This excitement was further amplified when Shane Williams, Maggie Alphionsi and Serge Betsen took to the stage alongside Will Greenwood. Here they answered some of the questions which The Pack has posted earlier in the morning. Sadly Price Harry couldn't be with us on Saturday as he's currently touring New Zealand but it was great to see him on the screen with his video recorded message!

During the break in proceedings it was time to go and collect our 'The Pack Lunch' and explore the exhibition space.

There was a chance to 'Kick to Win' tickets to the Opening Ceremony alongside Land Rover stalls showing what the transport team drivers will be zooming around in.

Whilst wandering around the exhibition space it was nice to bump into some old familiar faces, whilst also meeting lots of new volunteers! There was also the odd celebrity (man-type rugby players) hanging around for photos.



After chatting with friends (and new friends!) I made my way to the St. James Park area of the exhibition where I found a familiar face from the RWC Staff who ran the VIP training session back in Leeds. The stalls were a really good idea, they gave people from the venue a chance to mingle and ask any questions they had regarding the specifics of what they'd be doing and where. I was curious to know exactly how many people made up the 'Sports Presentation: Field of Play' team given the 3 empty seats beside me in the stadium - rumour has it, there's only 4 of us and it's a VERY exciting role - this just added to my whole excitement about the day. At the stall I chatted to a couple of first time volunteers who were travelling to volunteer in Newcastle from Cumbria and Germany! It was amazing to hear the dedication of the guy from Germany travelling across just for the Kick Off event!



The afternoon session began with more signing and the introduction to 'The Paka'...

"It's 2015 and it's rugby time
There's 13 venues to have a good time
This World Cup's going to be the best
From the grounds in the north, south, east and west.

You won't forget us we're called the pack
Because of us you'll wanna come back
The rugby world will all be here
We're the pack we'll make you cheer.

Rugby 
World Cup
2015
The Pack"
Remember the *step*clap*step*clap*

The conclusion of the afternoon was the big uniform reveal! From what we could tell (and rumours!) it consists of trainers, sock, trousers, rugby top, polo top, 'proper' jacket, the yellow cap and a back-pack. I can't say I fell in love with it instantly like I did my Purple London 2012 coat, or the distinctive Glasgow 2014 jacket, but lets wait and see! Time will tell when I get my hands on it at the 'Home Turf' training sessions. Apparently it's made by Musto, so I've no doubt it will be able to keep us warm and dry up north. Chances are I won't actually wear the majority of it, as from what I gather, most of my role will be carried out indoors!

Next on my Rugby World Cup adventure is training for my role as a Training Operations Programme (TOP) following on from my time on the Volunteer Interview Programme (VIP). That's just before my trip to Baku 2015! It's going to be one awesome summer!





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