A GUIDE leader from Stourport recently spent a week as a volunteer at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

As part of her volunteering work, Helen Winter, 50, assisted the photo team at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

Her time was spent looking after photographers, making sure they were able to take good shots and helping with queries they might have about the competitors' names.

Mrs Winter has previous experience of volunteering at national sports competitions as she was a GamesMaker at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

She was selected to be a volunteer at the Commonwealth Games from the 50,000 people who applied and Mrs Winter thought it was due to her past experience.

“Of the 50,000 people who applied online, 25,000 were interviewed and from that 15,000 were selected,” she said.

“I do think my previous experience from the Olympics helped me to be selected but I also work in customer services and most of the volunteer roles require those skills so I think that also gave me an advantage.”

While volunteering in the velodrome, Mrs Winter met some of the top names in cycling, including Sir Chris Hoy.

“As I was working with the photographers I didn’t get a chance to meet many of the current cyclists,” she said.

“However, I did meet Jonathan Edwards, Chris Hoy and Sarah Storey, as they were part of the BBC commentary team. Chris was really nice and seemed like a genuine down-to-earth guy.”

She wants to continue volunteering at major sporting events and has already applied for the next Commonwealth Games in four years time in Gold Coast City, Australia, as well as next year’s Rugby World Cup.

Mrs Winter added: “I definitely would love to do it again and would recommend it to anyone as it is a fabulous experience - the buzz in the velodrome and around Glasgow was brilliant.

“It’s a one-off experience as each event is special in their different ways.

“I can say that I have enjoyed my Commonwealth experience just as much as my Olympic one.”