Jews in the news – behind the scenes at the Paralympics
Frank Weinberg, Chairman of British Friends of Israel War Disabled talked to me about his role in organising the Israeli Athletes for the Paralympic Games which takes place between 29th August and 11th September.
Frank and his team’s remit is to liaise between the Israeli Paralympic Team and LOCOG and to act as a total resource during the competition. The official delegation includes approximately 25 competitors and 25 coaches, doctors and physios all of whom will be staying in the Olympic Village.
The Israeli team will compete in numerous events including swimming, rowing, wheelchair tennis, marathon running and cycling to name but a few.
Together with JVN, Frank was instrumental in finding 5 volunteers, all of whom are women and all of whom have completed LOCOG’s formal training. They are now formally accredited games volunteers and will be on hand to help the team whether it be driving them to and from the village (in the designated Olympic traffic lanes!), finding them kosher food, sorting out their entertainment or dealing with every other need of the delegation.
Frank said ‘The support for the athletes has been awesome. Only today I got a call from Bnei Akiva asking if they can send people to greet the athletes at the airport to give them a warm welcome. It’s that kind of gesture that makes my job so rewarding.’
David and Gill Gallick got a once in a lifetime opportunity volunteering at the Olympics and Paralympics. David who is sports enthusiast and an ex company director is responsible for a host of tasks including checking that the accommodation is up to scratch for the Israeli Team. Gill who is a physiotherapist went through extensive training to learn how to drive wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs) to transport the Paralympic athletes to and from their various competitions.
For any more Olympic opportunities contact Mike or EZ at JVN as we are still looking for volunteers to help non competing delegates get to & from venues.
And for all things Jewish related to the Olympics go to www.visitjewishlondon.com
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