MORE than 20 organisations have joined forces in Dorset to orchestrate the smooth running of the sailing competition and associated events for the London 2012 Games.

The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games has been described in organisation and resource terms as ‘the largest single project undertaken in the UK for over 70 years.’

A series of working groups in the county, collectively known as the Weymouth and Portland 2012 Operations Group, have the responsibilities of transport, visitors, culture, health and safety, communications, safety and security and volunteering.

Key contacts for each of the groups are bringing insight to their activities through a weekly column in the Dorset Echo and online at dorsetforyou.com/London2012.

Here’s Sarah Kennedy, lead officer for the Weymouth & Portland Ambassador (WPA) programme.

THE year Weymouth & Port-land Ambass-adors (WPA) have been waiting for has finally arrived and it has already started fantastically, with over 500 people joining the WPA team.

The first phase of WPA recruitment started last year between June and October, with interviews for shortlisted applicants commencing last month.

We organised a WPA interview road show for eight days during December 2011, across locations in Weymouth, Portland, Dorchester and Bournemouth.

During each interview slot candidates arrived in groups of 30, where they were registered and had their identity documents security checked before entering the briefing room.

In the briefing room, candidates watched a short film informing them on what to expect from their upcoming interview and their potential role within Weymouth and Portland 2012 operations.

Once the briefing film had finished candidates were called by name and guided to the interview room, where their informal interview began.

Each candidate was asked the same set of questions and the responses varied greatly; however the passion and enthusiasm of all successful candidates shone through in equal measures – by the bucket load!

The standard of candidates was high and people from all over the world attended. Candidates from California, Thailand, Greece, Italy, Switzerland and France made trips especially for their WPA interview.

For those of you who have been successful in the first WPA recruitment process, congratulations, we look forward to seeing you in training!

If you missed last year’s recruitment but would like to be in with a chance of joining the WPA Team, applications are now open for a limited time only.

Please visit www.weymouthandportland ambassadors.org to apply online or your local library to pick up an application form.