Lisa Allan has set herself a target for London 2012: Namely, to run the best Olympic and Paralympic judo events ever. No pressure there, then.

Having moved from her native Edinburgh at the start of the year to take up the post of Judo Manager at the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), she is well aware of the challenges ahead.

Allan is one of three Scots in similar positions with LOCOG [Joanna Sutherland is manager for basketball and Hilary Atkinson manager for badminton] and suddenly the Games do not look so far away.

If she did not compete to any high level, there is little doubt about the 33 year-old's credentials for the job having come from a judo family.

Her father - Colin McIver - was Great Britain team manager at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and she herself was team manager for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002.

Yet she had to undergo a considerable career change to take up her current role, having previously worked as an organic chemist, but she is in no doubt that it was the correct move.

"The atmosphere in the office is just fantastic and everyone gets along really well. There are 28 managers - all from different backgrounds - but we are all working towards the same goal," she points out.

"It's great to have other Scots in similar roles and that helps a bit considering I've been down here for just over six months.

"We know just how much work there is to be done in the next two years but it's great to see the venue taking shape and to have a say in how things are done.

"This is a dream job for me as I've been working unpaid for judo for a few years so to get paid for something I enjoy is brilliant."

Judo will be staged at the Excel Centre in the east end of the city and Allan has the chance to be in at ground level as the building is just a shell at present.

Seven Olympic sports will take place at Excel - the largest number of sports at any one venue at any Games - and, while the facilities will be second to none, that brings its own problems.

There will be just a 20-hour turnaround between judo and wrestling at the Games and that is a problem that will need to be overcome.

"The test event will be held at Excel in December 2011 with around 15-20 countries appearing. It will be the dress rehearsal for us and give us a chance to see if there are any potential problems," she continues.

"The big thing for us will be the transition of the venue for wrestling as we've had no experience of doing something like that before. Obviously, I'm working very closely with the wrestling manager on this to see the transition is as smooth as it can possibly be."

Allan is responsible for planning, organisation, budget and management of the test event and will be able to appoint her own staff to help bring the event to fruition.

There are currently around 500 paid employees at LOCOG but that will swell to 3,000 over the next two years as London welcomes the world.

Judo is one of the largest Olympic sports in terms of numbers - 386 players from over 100 countries will compete on two mats - and it is truly a world sport.

"It's not as big a job as the likes of athletics or swimming but it's still a big challenge," Allan acknowledges, "But it's something I'm very much looking forward to it.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it'll give me great experience working in different areas. I'm hoping to also be involved in Glasgow in 2014 which will be the first time judo has been part of the Commonwealth Games since Manchester. This job can only help my cv."

RM

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