A series of education campaigns to help family and friends cope with the behaviour of the athletes will be rolled out throughout the UK by Olympic sponsor Proctor and Gamble and supported by the British Olympic Association and British Paralympic Association.
Paralympic 100m athlete Sophia Warner said this programme was essential and gave the example how a friend once rang her 11 times before a major athletics competition asking about parking at the venue. "I now turn my phone off," she said.
The company will also sponsor a secure lounge for athletes and their family and friends to mingle in together near the Olympic Park, before, during and after competition and will create a website that contains specific information for family and friends to use.
Patricia Payne, the mum of P&G ambassador and world champion swimmer Keri-Anne Payne, said because Keri-Anne competed around the world it was difficult to find the balance between wanting to chat with her when she was home or just leaving her to it. "I am sure other families have experienced the same issue," she said. "Any advice the 'nearest and dearest' programme can give up will help us support our athletes in the best possible way."
Keri-Anne said having families attend the roadshow would help her family enormously."If mum and dad are stuck in traffic there will be someone for them to ring and I won't have to be worried about it."
P&G is also ensuring every athlete's mum gets the chance to see their son or daughter compete at the Olympics by providing free tickets to their first session. Athletes' families will also be able to purchase two tickets for each subsequent session, under Locog and the IOC's athlete ticket scheme, although they will have to pay for these tickets. "This was a big stress for me," said Keri-Anne Payne. "I was panicking that they may not be able to be there."
Penny Briscoe, ParalympicsGB performance director, said: “One of the biggest areas of concerns for athletes at Games time is around family and friends. When do I get to see them? How can I sort tickets for them? We want athletes to be focused on their performance rather than distracted by worrying about their family. "Supporting the ‘nearest & dearest’ programme will take the pressure off the athletes, allowing them to concentrate on the Games and providing a framework for the family to support their athlete in the most productive way.”The programme will start with roadshows at Edinburgh and Newcastle this month and continue to another 12 cities in the lead-up to the Games.