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Hazel Irvine - Sports Presenter
Hazel is one of BBC Sport's most experienced sports presenters. Hazel is originally from Dunbartonshire and went to Brownies in Cardross."I'd recommend that we all pay attention to eating healthily and to doing some regular exercise. It also makes you feel really good!"
Scotland and being Scottish...
I really enjoyed Edinburgh's Hogmany celebrations. I was working on it for BBC News this year and there was a wonderful atmosphere in Princes Street. Lots of people from all over the world, lots of fun and amazingly friendly.
My favourite place in Scotland is St Andrews in Fife. I was born there, in Craigtoun hospital,
which has now been bought by the Old Course Golf and Country club and they have built a new
golf course in the grounds.
I also returned to St Andrews to study at University and had four great years there. I always
look forward to going back to see friends and to work on golf events there. I used to play golf
all the time when I was at University and even helped to run the University's golfing holidays
during the summer time.
I had to interview the legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus at the Open in St Andrews. It was the
first time I'd met him and it was also the first time, for a long time, when I'd felt a little
"star-struck" in anyone's presence!
I had originally intended to call him "Mr Nicklaus" but I ended up starting my interview
with, "Jack….!", then a long pause, then I eventually remembered what my opening
question was. Phew!
Many sporting events stand out in my memory. I have been very lucky to have reported and presented at five Summer Olympic Games from Seoul in 1988 to the Athens Games.
It's hard to pick a favourite, but seeing Kelly Holmes win her second Gold followed by the Men's 4 x 100m relay team was very special. I will also never forget Rhona Martin and the British Curling team's gold at the Winter Games of 2002 in Salt Lake City.
I was presenting from the venue and I felt incredibly nervous for the team throughout the whole match. So, when Rhona delivered the last stone to win the Gold, everyone was ecstatic and I was very lucky to be able to run down and interview the girls straight away.
Most recently, the moment when Jacques Rogge said, "And the winning city for the 2012 Games is….LONDON", has to be near the top of my list. The Olympic Games has an amazing power to inspire people and to transform a city. Yes, it'll cost a lot of money, but staging successful Games will give Britain something that money can't buy - a huge sense of national pride. Here's hoping we do it really well.
Barbara Streisand because she was my favourite actress when I was growing up. Also Beethoven, because I would love to know what kind of person could possibly produce such incredible music.
Nelson Mandela, because I'd like to discuss so much about recent history with him and to hear his views on global politics in the present day. Quite a cross-section, eh?!
I enjoyed going on Girl Guide camps. I remember going to Edinburgh with many, many other Patrols from around Scotland. It was great fun although the food was distinctly ropey, mainly because I was put on cooking duties!! I have never peeled as many potatoes in my life!
To stop talking at Campfire. I was always a bit of a blether! But when I'd stopped talking,
I loved to sing at Campfire at the end of the evening. In addition, any badges for things like
cooking and sewing were a real challenge for me.
At that point I was too busy running, golfing and swimming to have much patience to earn those
badges so I think it was a good thing to have eventually earned them. It taught me to have a
bit of patience and I actually love cooking now!
I'm afraid there were no female sports presenters to look up to when I was first starting out
in radio and television so it was all a bit of a new experience for me.
I did very much admire golfer Nancy Lopez when I was much younger and recently had the great
pleasure of conducting a long documentary-style interview with her for Radio 5 Live. It was
a great thrill.
Apart from Nancy, my heroines were the women and young girls who shone at the Olympic Games
- Olga Korbutt and Dame Mary Peters to name but two.
These days I admire women like Paula Radcliffe for her tenacity and determination and I very
much like golfer Laura Davies. She is a wonderfully talented person and yet she is incredibly
modest, even shy, about her achievements.
I wish I'd known that it gets harder to stay fit and trim the older you get! It's so easy not to bother thinking about what you eat when you're younger, but it all catches up with you when you get a little older. I'm lucky because I have always been an active person and I still try hard to eat properly and to go to the gym.
I've never been one for dieting so I'd recommend that we all pay attention to eating healthily and to doing some regular exercise. It also makes you feel really good!
The Chewin' the Fat comedy series with Karen Dunbar for BBC Scotland, also my Dad's jokes and my boyfriend's David Brent dancing impression!
To find out more about Hazel please see www.bbc.co.uk
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