My alarm woke me bright (?) and early at 3am. It wasn’t
necessarily the most pleasant sound after the festivities of attending a
wedding the night before with little sleep, and it wasn’t how I imagined waking
up on my day of my first anniversary from marrying the love of my life, but it
also signified the start of my next journey, a journey that would lead me to
yet another new country and another new experience at another Olympic Games,
this time in South Korea for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
It will be a long journey this time, but one that I greet
with open arms, hoping for the best and filled with excitement. Just to be
around the athletes, meeting them, talking with them, hearing their stories,
and even if I won’t get to watch a majority of the events, I’ll know that I’m
there for them, supporting them, believing in them, working within the team,
and cheering for Team USA. I won’t return to our house in Denver until March 26th.
I do get a small vacation where I will meet Tony, my husband, in Hawaii for
five days, a location that is halfway between us. And, I have a trip planned to
go visit my brother and sister-in-law and sweet niece for a short visit in
Australia after the conclusion of the Paralympics. But, regardless, a long time
until I get to be back at home, sleeping in my bed. Two months gone… aka packing
was not the simplest of tasks.
During the Olympics, I have two roles. First, I help assist
with the Team USA Ambassador Program (TUAP) in Seoul area that all the
Olympians have to go through as part of “Team Processing.” For 10 days,
athletes will be streaming into the country to begin their dream and quest for
Gold. Before headed to PyeongChang, which is 4 hours from Seoul, they will stop
by for a night at the Nest Hotel near the Incheon Airport for Team Processing.
Aka where they get all their cool Olympic gear. They get outfitted with two rolling
duffel suitcases both packed filled with clothes from Nike and Ralph Lauren to
wear through the Games and with pride throughout their lives. Three down
jackets, numerous hoodies and zip-ups, pants, shoes, hats, gloves, socks,
shirts galore, workout gear… basically everything you can imagine. For some,
it’s their fifth Olympic Games. The Veterans. They’ve been here, done that,
gotten all the cool gear from the Games before and all their World
Championships in the past. And yet, despite the fact that’s it’s not that “once
in a lifetime” event for them, you can still sense that they feel like it is.
Whether it’s their first or fifth Games in general, it’s the first in
PyeongChang. It’s always different. A different group of competitors. A
different race course. A different team dynamic. New coaches maybe. A different
language and strange food. And yet, despite all the differences, there is still
the same goal set on gold, shining in their eyes.
The newbies who are the new stars come with a radiance. The
newbies who aren’t the stars and who might not even get to compete in the Games
(some of them are alternates or won’t get start rights) are truly getting their
“once in a lifetime” moment that no one can ever take away from them. They all
share this moment together as they unite as one. The Olympics are a place where
the whole world comes together in harmony. Free from political or racial
agendas. Simply to display their prowess or grace on the biggest screen in the
World within the power of sport. With fair play and respect for all.
Okay okay, I’m not naïve… It’s supposed to be free of using the Games as a stage for your personal
political agenda, and it’s supposed
to be a field of clean athletes for fair play (ahem, Russia). But regardless of
what unfolds, I come here with an open heart to believe in the fundamental
ideals of Olympism, and feel united as one. Believe in the good of people. I
hope you all will as well. Give them the chance they deserve and that they have
been waiting their entire lives for. A split second in history is what they
get, and a split second can determine the difference between gold and silver
and bronze and off the podium. Give them that.
Back to my role. The Team USA Ambassador Program (“TUAP”) is
a presentation delivered to the athletes that focuses on two aspects: (1)
prepare the athletes for the Games, and (2) inspire and unite them as Team USA.
The program is lead by two Olympic legends, Derek Parra, gold medal Speedskater,
and Nicole Pikus Pace, silver medalist in skeleton. Look them up. They’re
pretty cool. And quite successful may I add. To “prepare” the athletes for the
Games, the presentation delves into an overview of PyeongChang and the Village,
what to expect at the Games, presents the landscape for the media they will run
into, explores hot topics, talks about how to avoid distractions and not let
like issues erupt into the “ripples of disturbance,” and then a quick overview
of a few of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) policies they have to
comply with. The last part is my part.Probably not the most exciting part for
the athletes... My main intent when talking to them about the rules they need
to comply with, is to convey that I am a resource for them to ask about the
rules so they don’t have to worry about it themselves. We want to present just
a high-level overview of what they should be cognizant of to comply with or
else face consequences (aka Ryan Lockte), and that we are there to help them.
The second part of the presentation is the more exciting part of the
presentation where Derek and Nicole delve into their experiences at the Games, talk
about what it means to represent Team USA and wear the red, white and blue and
hear the anthem of your country, taking in the experience, and then leaving a
legacy as an Ambassador for your sport after the Games conclude. They convey
how your impact on the sport and your community doesn’t have to end with the Closing
Ceremony, yet can live on with how you are as a person giving back after the
spotlight is over. An inspirational video (that usually leaves even me in
tears) is aimed to get the athletes ready to go and represent their country
with pride.
My days will be quite the same. Our presentation is at
night, but we have to be flexible in case of flight delays and cancellations
and might have to do a few cameo presentations during the morning and afternoon
in addition to at night. The presentation doesn’t change in theory, but every
session will be different with the different athletes coming in. There will be
different dynamics, different questions, some athletes will be more apt to open
up and share their stories or ask questions, whereas others might be dead silence.
I will be in awe of some of the athletes there (yes, Lyndsey Vonn and Michela
Shiffron and Shaun White might make me nervous), but I will treat them all the
same. I have to keep up with my “normal” job from back at home—the 16 hour time
difference presents some challenges to that. And, I will also help out the
others on our team outfitting the athletes. I’ll be living in a very nice hotel
(I’ve actually already had the pleasure to go there on a site visit over last
fall), an hour from Seoul, and it could get monotonous. At the conclusion of Team
Process, I head down to Gangneung (the “costal cluster”) where I am based for
the second part of my role Games: to put out any “legal” fires that may arise.
I know I will get tired and grumpy at points. I know I will
face challenges. I know I will miss home. I know I may even get bored at times.
I know I will get frustrated when I can’t go to events or even watch the events
on TV. But that’s for another day. Not today. Today I am filled with optimism for
a journey to the world’s greatest sport event that brings all the nations
together for 16 days.
Packing up all my Team USA Gear
