David Brettel, director of the volunteer program of the Sydney Organizing Committee for Olympic Games (SOCOG), is surprised to find that the seminal program in Sydney has grown into a thriving tree in Beijing.

The Australian, who is an Olympic consultant, developed and implemented staffing policies, procedures and workforce conditions from 1996 to 2000. He has been invited by the Beijing Organizing Committee for Olympic Games (BOCOG) to advise on volunteers.

Being a lover of tennis and cricket, Brettell decided to contribute to the Olympics after he went to see the Munich Olympics in 1972. To date, he has been to the Olympics in nine cities. "The Olympics have long been a passion of mine," he says.

The chance came in 1996. "SOCOG wanted to find somebody independent to carry out the volunteer program," says Brettell. It was a great challenge for him, a marketing specialist with an insurance company.

The program under his directorship turned out to be a success. More than 62,000 volunteers across the country participated. Half were aged over 45, the oldest being 82 and the youngest 16.

He is proud of its record for retaining volunteers. "About 5 percent of our volunteers were lost, compared to a much higher record of 20 percent at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics," he says.

The success lies in good recruitment, training, management and motivation. "You have to match the right skills to the right people, and vice versa."

Antonio Samaranch, then-president of the International Olympics Committee, said at the closing ceremony of Sydney Olympics that the volunteers were "the most wonderful and dedicated games volunteers ever".

Eight years later, Brettel finds the volunteer program in Beijing has made a great leap forward. "The BOCOG has done a lot of thinking, organization and training. "