LET THE (YOUTH OLYMPIC) GAMES BEGIN!

Yesterday, news broke about a volunteer who posted pictures of his substandard meal onto his Facebook account, provoking outrage and negative media coverage of the meals YOG volunteers are given, and also prompting a move by official food contractor, Singapore Food Industries (SFI) to 'make improvements'. I was among the outraged, However, the basis for my anger was not at the food, but the way this news had to be broken to Singaporeans, validating some of the naysayers and detractors' complaints that the Youth Olympic Games was a huge bane, not boon, to Singapore. In a emotional moment, I voiced my displeasure at this fellow volunteer's conduct on Facebook myself, and in the process, invited a lively discussion from some of my friends, who felt that he had every right to escalate this case right away to, in simple words, "right a wrong".

Now that I'm considerably cooled down, I can offer two reasons as to why I thought that:

1. We were specifically briefed on our code of conduct, and I firmly stand by the point that it's our responsiblity to uphold our own (and the organisation's) image, especially involving the things that may contain the potential to become a huge shitstorm. While I won't say I'm a role model myself, I wondered why the feedback couldn't have gone through normal channels and escalated in the right way. Surely things would have changed? But, a few of my friends who discussed it on Facebook felt that nothing ever gets done when you follow the system and the chain gets stuck somewhere. Their point of view was that this expedites action. That said, action indeed came swiftly in response to negative media coverage, but it left me wondering if everything could have been handled better. Up till now I have not found satisfactory answers.

2. My feelings could have influenced my judgement since I spent quite a reasonable amount of time with the organising committee and I have seen faces from every division. In my heart I believed that things would have worked out. Blind faith, perhaps, but I supported YOG since my registration as a volunteer in December 2008. And my journey has come so long now. Let the detractors come and tell me I'm brainwashed. But I am still going to do my part and make things happen. GO! YOG 2010!

Unshakeable faith, perhaps? I did read the anti-YOG articles on TemasekReview.com as well, known for its alternative views and openly hostile and sarcastic articles against the government. While I saw how the other side felt, and it very nearly demoralised me, there are other things that still make the experience fun and worthwhile in my opinion. :) See below.

That said, my 3rd and 4th days of shifts were over. The Village seems and feels different with the athletes around as compared to my first two days where we were mostly preparing the place for operations. That said, seeing these youngsters at tip-top condition (stout, muscular boys and lean, lithe girls) made me feel a little ashamed of myself. Think I'm outta shape :P. But need a LOT of motivation to train... There was music, the World Culture Village booths were running, people were walking around, and I helped out three Ghanaians and maybe a couple of Europeans (did not take the time to identify which countries they came from) along the way. Despite my role being more of taking care of our own, it sure feels good to help and make them feel welcome. :D

The other thing that lifted my spirits was the awesome Opening Ceremony for the Youth Olympic Games. With everything in place, it looks so much different from the Combined Rehearsal I watched! We can't beat Beijing 2008 in numbers, but we certainly outdid them with effects, fireworks, and stage design (or at least, we put up a credible show for the entire world to watch). Although I still don't understand the plot elements of the performances and what they were supposed to mean, but seems like everything went together well. The drum major must have put in lots of work to get his act together (he had a minor mistake during that rehearsal); he looked pretty suave and awesome today, throwing the command staff and catching it with ease. These apart, the final relay-within-a-relay to light the Games cauldron, and the flame snaking its way around the lighthouse-like structure to finally ignite the fire, were ideas I liked very much. Question though: Where was Sean Kingston?

Like I said I haven't been tracking the JYOF (Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame) much, nor the matches (We beat Zimbabwe 3-1! Eat your words, boys! :P). But now, the Games have officially started. The time has come for us to put on an even better show! To all my fellow volunteers working overtime to make things happen: GANBATTE KUDASAI!

There was also news on the 4 President's Scholars in the papers today. Pretty surprised to see former Air Rifle junior Chow Yi Ling over there. I wasn't too close to her, but I had this image of her (no offence, please!) as the smart girl, and pretty darned good at studying kind. Congratulations to her on netting the prestigious scholarship!

Finally: I hereby declare that the views here are solely my own and not of any organsation related to, or of the Youth Olympic Games 2010.