Building Surveyor Iona Foubister’s head for figures will prove a great asset when she takes up scoreboard duties at the Commonwealth Games next week. The Robert Gordon Universitygraduate, part of FG Burnett’s Building Consultancy team, is one of 15,000 volunteers who will help staff the games which kick off with a spectacular opening ceremony on Wednesday. Iona has the critical task of relaying times and scores to anxious athletes, thousands of SECC spectators and an international television audience of millions.

No stranger to sport, Iona is a black belt in martial art Tae Kwon Do, so her interests are well suited to the judo, boxing, weightlifting and wrestling, which are just some of the sports taking place at the SECC. Iona will complete eight unpaid shifts over a 10-day period and, like all the volunteers, has arranged her own travel and accommodation during the historic games.

She said: “I’ve never done anything like this before, but was so inspired when I watched the Olympic Games in London that I wanted to get involved in some way with the Commonwealth Games taking place on my doorstep. More than 50,000 people applied to be a volunteer, so I am just delighted to play a small part in what should be a memorable sporting occasion. You had to list your interests before going for an interview, and I suspect with my Tae Kwon Do background that I have been placed at the SECC because it is hosting a wide range of contact sports.

“Working with numbers and figures isamust in my day job, so the scoreboard should not be too much of a challenge and I am really looking forward to the bonus of watching some of the world’s top sports stars in action.”