LOCOG Wraps Up Testing, Tackles "Final Piece of Jigsaw"

(ATR) Director of sport Debbie Jevans tells Around the Rings LOCOG is learning a lot from some of the final test events for London 2012.

Jevans was speaking to ATR on Friday, the day that Olympic Stadium became an official sporting venue with the start of the BUCS Visa Outdoor Athletics Championships.

However, the Olympic Park was already bustling with activity from test events in hockey, wheelchair tennis, water polo and Paralympic archery already underway.

Jevans told ATR she had already received feedback from athletes and federations indicating the facilities had been very well received so far.

"This is clearly a very important period of testing. In the Park we are able to test park operations –accommodating the athletes, getting the spectators in, and we’ve got 11,000 staff working," she said.

"It’s gone really well; we’ve learnt a lot – having inclement weather has been a very good test genuinely. Because of the bad weather we had to change athletics schedules, postpone matches in the wheelchair tennis, so that’s actually been a good test for us.

"Speaking to athletes and teams, they’ve been absolutely thrilled with the sporting facilities."

LOCOG chair Sebastian Coe last week emphasized the importance of testing spectator flows with around 80,000 people expected to go through the Park on Saturday.

Those spectators experienced the foreseen "Olympic queues" as LOCOG introduced the security measures that will be in place during the Games this summer. These included not being allowed to bring in any liquids in a greater amount than 100ml.

But Jevans stressed the importance of testing the security despite the backlog that would result.

"What we do know is we have to have security around the perimeter. We have that airline type security and we know that has to be in place," she said.

"Therefore, access is going to be slower, and what we have done is test ourselves and our staff. This is the first time they’ve doneit – they’re working hard and improving. We’ll also look at the number of entry points so we have as smooth access as possible. People have to be aware that there will be queues."

As far as the athletes are concerned, general feedback has been positive, although there were some criticisms of the hockey pitch at Riverbank Arena from the coach of China’s women’s team, who said "it’s still really bumpy" and the speed of ball is very slow.

Jevans countered that not everyone could be pleased, adding: "In every sport an individual is going to have an opinion – you’re not going to have every athlete happy about everything, but what I do knowis that pitch was laid down a year in advance, and the general feedback is it's played very well.

"Every step of the way in building our venues, each international federation has signed it off."

With just 81 days until the opening ceremony on July 27, every department in LOCOG is at full stretch to make sure the British capital is ready for the world’s arrival. According to Jevans, the next few months are the "final piece of the jigsaw" puzzle.

"What’s happening at the moment is we’re focusing on the entries as the athletes qualify, and that’s a big thing my team is doing. In the Village, the final touches need to be made. You can see that the Park, albeit very green, is clearly not ready," she admitted.

"There’s the final overlay, then the live site goes in, then you have the media who have got to come in. Really, the final piece of the jigsaw comes over the next few months in the park."

Testing will formally conclude this week with boccia and athletics wrapping up Monday followed by Paralympic athletics on Tuesday. LOCOG will then debrief with notes from all 45 test events, according to Jevans.

Reported in London by Christian Radnedge

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