It was quiet, or at least as quiet as it will ever be at an Olympic Venue…
It was a training day so not a ton of press in the building. BUT there were a number of notable athletes in training sessions throughout the morning. Training athletes included the USA team [yep, including Shani Davis - who I made eye contact with and got a nod of the head and smile from], Canadian team [I saw Clara Hughes... LOVE the flaming red hair!], Australia, Germany, Japan, China, Russia and Nederlands teams too. The Russian team logos are really great from a purely artistic point of view… big white wings on women’s team jackets and skin-suits; a cool flourished pattern on the men’s caps and warm-up pants.
I also got to speak with a few members of the Dutch press. Very nice guys. Friendly and funny. It was amusing that they noted how many asians there are in Vancouver, particularly Richmond LOL! ‘I hear it’s 85%!’ exclaimed one of the press guys. I gently corrected him that it is actually closer to 60-65%, but that just means we are lucky enough to have some of the best asian foods in the world! They are quite looking forward to the opening of Holland Heineken House in the OZone at Minoru Park [www.richmondozone.ca] and being Dutch means that they get to the front of the entry line. Maybe they’ll sneak me in LOL!
The ‘Press Tribune’ is actually right in the spectator seating areas and is a section between the finish line and turn one. This is a area designated specific for the accredited press and broadcasters for the 2010 Games, so of course, they have some of the best viewing for sports reporting. In turn, this means that when we’re not attending to their needs [IT, report delivery, tidying up the area, etc...] we actually have an unobstructed view of the ‘field of play’. I’m a supervisor in the area and my role is to ensure that they, the media, can get their jobs done and on time. I’ll also get exposure to the athletes in the ‘Mix Zone’ – the area where athletes give their interviews after their races. It’s a bit of a zoo down there when it’s busy and a full competition schedule, but is was pretty quiet today.
Overall, a quiet day and a good chance to get used to the routine for the next few weeks. Looking forward to my next shift on Tuesday. Until then, the cute turquoise jacket, vest and long sleeve tshirt goes back into the closet… Nighty night!
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