CAMPED AND READY FOR THE SYDNEY 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES
The quiet dawn over Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway, September 4 2000, will break to
the sound of Cleanevent personnel unlocking the gates and trucks rumbling in. The first
morning of set-up and the checklist of things to get ready are a mile long. The next 48
hours are non-stop for the move in crew. Massive amounts of food, alcohol, a full blown
laundry, hundreds of dormitory style bunk beds, lots of computers, desks, dining room
tables and chairs, a radio base, pool tables, juke boxes, PA system for briefings, filing
cabinets, transportation vehicles, medical supplies, spare pillows, blankets, towels,
security lockers, tax file forms, timesheets .......
Over 700 hard working, eager and excited Olympic cleaning team members will arrive, coming
by plane, by bus, by train, by car. They will come from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane,
Mildura, Townsville, Tasmania, New Zealand, England, America, Sweden, Ireland, literally
from all over the world.
They will be excited, nervous, expectant, but most of all they will be ready. Ready to
please, ready to help, ready to play their role in the team. They will be ready for the
biggest event of their life - The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. These people will have one
central focus, to do their bit in making sure these Games are the greenest, cleanest and
waste leanest Games this plant has seen so far.
Put yourself in their shoes for one moment. Away from their home and their family, working
long hours and many days in a row, getting up at 5am to start their day. They will be
unendingly bright, happy and helpful to the, literally thousands of people who will pass
their way that day. They will be patient on busy trains and not mind having to work that
extra 2 hours because an important competition has gone longer than scheduled. Imagine for
a moment the sights these people will see back-of-house and the pride they will feel
front-of-house. The lifetime friendships they might forge, the tears of emotion
they’ll share together, the fun they’ll have at Camp blowing off steam, the
souvenirs they’ll collect, and the memories and moments of this time they’ll
take away with them.
The bar and bistro will rightly be one of the central “blow off steam” areas of
the Camp. The entertainment staff are busy making plans for Mexican nights (shoot those
tequila’s and suck those lemons or caress that Corona), a little bit of Greek (toga
entry followed by ouzo’s all round), or a little bit of Spanish (load up that
Lambrusca and truck out the tapas). There’ll be a jukebox most nights with some live
music nights to kick up the heels.
The chefs are planning the food already. The kitchen staff will be busy, busy, busy
keeping the dining room rolling over. Breakfast for the dayshift only just finishing as
the night shift returns for dinner, and when the nightshift is finishing breakfast the
dayshift will be wearily getting off trains and looking forward to a big hot dinner.
The stock control people in the logistics stores will be burning up calculators adding up
rolls of toilet paper, counting uniforms, stock taking garbage bags, chilling beer for the
bar, transporting food to the kitchens, and helping co-ordinate the laundry. Over 350
uniforms per shift - shirts, pants, jackets need to be soaked, washed, ironed, hung-up and
must be ready to be picked up for the next shift.
Where will we get these people? Everywhere! We already have 800 people on our website
recruitment database. The diversity in people is extreme. Bus drivers, doctors, bank
managers, factory workers, administrative’s, florists, nurses, secretaries,
salespeople. People from all walks of life, some with cleaning experience, some with no
previous experience. Some can work 4 weeks, some can only work 1. This is a true
opportunity that many have realised will give them a place at the Olympic Games and they
will get paid for it. They’ll work hard and they’ll be part of a team.
They’ll bond, they’ll gain an awesome experience, and they will be our
hero’s.
So if you know any of your friends, family or workmates, who might be interested in being
part of the team, get them to log on to our website www.cleanevent.com.au and register
themselves asap.