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Ms Riley, Head of Sorrento House, was among the tens of thousands of helpers at the London 2012 Olympics who gave their time as Gamesmakers. Here she tells us what it was like.

I applied for a position as volunteer for the 2012 Olympics over two years ago and finally after interviews, 16 hours of training and a fitting for the now very familiar uniform I began my first shift at 5:00am on Saturday 28 July at the ExCel, London.

For the next two weeks my life would be turned upside down as I left the house at 2.45am and returned at 6:00pm. I went to bed whilst still light and because of fear of sleeping through the alarm cat napped the whole time. I cannot thank enough the gentleman at the garage on the A2 who had my Americano coffee ready for me at 3:00am everyday.

The Excel hosted seven sports, Judo, Fencing, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Wrestling, Boxing and Weightlifting and would be the busiest venue over the Olympic period. On some days we saw 75 thousand spectators come through the gates for the various sports. I was responsible for ensuring all the spectators were welcomed with a smile and guided through security as fluently as possible. The sports on offer meant we were busy for the whole time as we experienced spectators from all around the world. Traditional costumes were numerous particularly for the Taekwondo and some very huge men strutted in for the Weightlifting and Wrestling. We had visits from royalty, politicians, famous sportsmen and women. The Irish in their thousands were a source of great entertainment as were the spectators from Georgia and Mongolia. I managed in a quiet moment to see some Wrestling and Taekwondo.

I got wet every day, hardly ever had lunch, stood for ten hours at a time, regretted my limited language skills but would not have swapped the experience for anything. On Friday 3 August I was nominated 'star' volunteer for the ExCel and drove home with a great big smile on my face. The two weeks went by in a flash. Each team I worked with were brilliant and gave of their time with enthusiasm and energy. As I sit here writing this and with the closing ceremony just hours away I wonder 'What shall I do next week?'