The year 2000 was only a few years ago, right? Nah-ah. Believe it or not, we are coming up on 25 years since the most recent turn of the century.
Let’s be honest, the year 2000 rocked. We cloned our first sheep named Dolly, and how can we forget the OG phone brain rot, snake.
And in September of 2000, Australia created history with the “best ever” Olympic and Paralympic Games (IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch’s words, not ours).
Maybe it was because the Games bolstered Australia’s love for Olympic sport or maybe it was because the Games signed, sealed and delivered our place on the global stage. But one thing is certain, Sydney 2000 sparks joy. And you won’t find anyone more qualified to speak to the ‘joy’ of the Games than the very people who brought them to life.
We asked three Sydney 2000 volunteers to blow the cobwebs off their uniforms and have a chat about their Games experience.
From athlete interactions to Behind The Scenes at the village, we got the low down on what life was like as one of the 47,000 odd faces who made this momentous event happen.
From the moment she heard that Sydney had won the Sydney 2000 Games, Kelly Hensley knew she wanted to volunteer.
“I was 11 years old; I was in Townsville, it was first thing in the morning, and we were there on a family holiday. I remember hearing Sydney had won the Games, calculated that I would be 18 and a couple of months old in the year 2000 and decided then and there that I was going to be a volunteer.”
For Laura White, volunteering at the Sydney 2000 Games salvaged her broken dreams. After not qualifying to compete in her sport, canoeing, the thought of becoming a volunteer allowed her to still be part of the Olympic movement
“I was in grade three, and we had learnt about the Olympic Games as part of our curriculum. The little Olympic flame lit inside me. I was like, I want to go to the games."
“As a teenager I quickly came to the real, very sad realisation that I did not have the fast twitch muscle fibers that are needed for sprinting. I was fortunate the lady who headed up our National Committee at the time basically said, you know, there's another pathway.”
For someone like Melissa, a 21-year-old librarian who resided in Canberra at the time, the Games were on her mind from early on.
“I'd been waiting for the opportunity to get involved” she said, “My dad used to start work at 3:30 in the morning, so he woke me up to go and watch it (the announcement)."
“The first day [I] was absolutely full of nerves, but just full of, almost like the first day of school type of excitement” Kelly recalls.
“I kept a little diary while I was there,” says Melissa. “And I was looking back over it and on my first day, I saw a couple of the guys from the Boomers, just as I walked in.”
“Sydney was just a festival,” Laura explains.
“Everyone was just having a great time. You know, being September was a fabulous time of year, weather wise and it was like nothing bad could happen in the world.”
Kelly was located in Brisbane to support the football teams whose matches were located at the Gabba.
“We had maybe five or six teams based in Brisbane, and one on the Gold Coast, that was Brazil," she says.
“We had a desk at the at the Gabba, and we would be there as a face to help break down requests. If they needed more drinks, if they needed particular types of food or anything like that, we were there to help make sure the players played their best.”
Melissa who was located inside the Athletes Village, describes her role as a Resident Centre Assistant.
“We had good knowledge of the village overall, so if they were (athletes) looking for specific things, we had the map we could teach them to use.
“The way that it was laid out, was with colours and animals so you’d say, we're at orange kangaroo, you need to go to this, you know, pink koala and it was easy to be able to get them to where they needed to go.”
Melissa also had insights into the quirky decorations throughout the Athletes Village.
“They (the athletes) did have the opportunity to decorate the outside. So that's where you really saw the difference. The Aussies had green and gold streamers everywhere and flags and koalas and blow-up kangaroos and Vegemite wheelie bins. The New Zealanders had a Māori part on theirs, and the Americans put up flags and things.”
And Laura was on the ground where the action was happening.
“Essentially, I was the interface, the human interface between the results system and then pushing results for the scoreboard. So, I'd kind of press just a couple of buttons to go, yes, it's fine for these results to go," she says.
“But I was actually sitting next to a guy from the US who was doing all the animatronics of Syd, Millie and Olly, our mascots and he realised I had a few computer skills, so he taught me how to use the program. So, I actually got to have fun with his program of creating graphics of our mascots moving across the screen."
Melissa remembers there was always something happening in the village.
“We were able to see medals and we were seeing athletes all the time. We had a meeting for the volunteers every day, and they'd get people come in. I met Jimmy Barnes, he was there one day, and then Yahoo Serious came as well.”
“These are people you see on TV or, you know, go to watch at events, and they're just wandering around, she recalls. “It was pretty cool.”
Laura got up close at the closing ceremony after snagging last minute tickets.
“[Mum] was so tired and just wanted to go home. I was like, mum, we're going, we may never get to another closing ceremony in our life! So we hopped on the train with a couple of other people and went in," she recalls.
“We missed the first piece, which I think was the giant thong going around and we found one of the girls who, at the time was working for our national federation, and she knew all the athletes. She and I managed to hop the fence, and we actually partied on the ground with all the athletes that we knew.”
Kelly describes some of the football teams she encountered.
“The Cameroon team were the most delightful and happy team, they were just so genuine and the Kuwait team were very cheeky.”
For Laura, whose parents were also involved heavily in her sport, volunteering together was a no brainer. Her dad Anthony White was an official in Sydney while Laura and her mum Fran were volunteers in Penrith. Laura carries her Dad’s Sydney 2000 tie with her as a connection to home when she travels.
“I was able to tell my dad before he passed that I'd been selected for Brisbane, and his last words to anyone were to me about the Games. So it was really special to have something like this. I couldn't imagine not having something of Dad's with me.”
Laura and her parents’ names are listed on the poles outside of Stadium Australia in Sydney to commemorate the Sydney 2000 volunteers.
“Yeah, it's really cool that if I go to Sydney now on the totem poles, I can go and say hi to mum and dad, because they're all on the same pole, which is really sweet. It’s a lovely legacy that I enjoy seeing every now and again, especially as my dad passed last year.”
And for Kelly, the Olympic spirit has been passed onto her children, in particular, her daughter Majella who has hopes of representing Australia in swimming at Brisbane 2032.
“She's, qualified for nationals for next year already, so she's very excited about that,” she said, “She would love to be swimming at 2032, but you just have to wait and see."
“And on the flip side, I've got a son who's now 11, and he knows that I volunteered. He said to me, so if I volunteer at the games, what happens if Majella is swimming? I said, buddy, I reckon they'd give you the night off. He goes, alright, I'm gonna have to let them know that I'll need the night off.”
For Laura, volunteering at the Sydney 2000 Olmypic Games sparked a lifelong commitment to her sport, canoeing and volunteering at global events, including two more Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 and supporting her sport from home during Athens 2004.
“It's so enjoyable, you make lifelong friendships from going to these events. I'm fortunate, I've got lifelong friends from inside my sport, other officials globally. I kind of feel like I could go to almost any country and go I know someone.”
And for Kelly and Laura, would they do it again? There’s no doubt.
“2032 is definitely something that I would love to put my hand up to volunteer for. Absolutely,” says Kelly.
“It was a great opportunity,” says Melissa, “I want to do it again. I thought that this (Sydney 2000) would be a once in a lifetime for me, and I'm lucky that I'm going to get another chance so I’m definitely looking at it again and hopefully have a bit more time this time around.”
And her advice on others who might want to volunteer?
“Do it. Don't say,' oh, I might do it', you don't know if you might get another chance. So just do it and get involved.”
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We recognise it is our collective efforts and responsibility as individuals, communities and governments to ensure equality, recognition and advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples across all aspects of society and everyday life, including sport. We are committed to building a deeper connection with First Nations Peoples through meaningful listening and authentic engagement. We celebrate and honour all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Olympians and Paralympians past and present and we are committed to honouring their unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas and the rich contribution they have made and continue to make to society and sport.
