Here is the next entry of my Olympic journal from 2002. I was a volunteer at the Utah Olympic Oval where the speed skating competition was held. This entry tells about the first two days on the job.
Sunday, February 10, 2002
I was just way too tired to write yesterday, so I’ll have to write about two days tonight. The two days could not have been more different. Let me start with Saturday.
I had a really hard time getting to sleep on Friday night. I kept waking up, afraid that I had missed my alarm. MT had a tough time too. He woke up at 2:00 AM and read for awhile. I was up by 4 or so. I showered and put on my uniform: polypro turtleneck from Eddie Bauer, the Marker fleece turtleneck, tights, sweats, and the Marker snow pants, cotton socks and wool socks, my Doc Martens. Then of course the vest and the coat. I got T to his school by around 6:30, then headed over to the carpool house. I was way early, by about 45 minutes, so I came home and played a game of free cell and hung out for a little while, then headed back to the carpool location.
Leland and Fran spearheaded the carpool. Fran works for the Army Depot at Dugway, and she is very organized. She set up a spreadsheet for us, then Leland printed it to fit into our Olympic book. It’s handy. There are eight of us in the carpool. I rode over with Leland, Lucy and Vickie. They are all very nice. We were at the shuttle lot by 8:00, but there was no shuttle until 8:15, and there were too many of us at the lot to fit into one van. Or two vans. That was kinda lame, but it all worked out.
The day at the Oval starts out with going through the security check, then we have a briefing about the event that day. The first day was men’s 5000 meters. After that we are deployed to the various sectors of the venue. On Saturday, I was in Sector Entry. There are many jobs to do at Entry, but my particular job was to do a soft ticket check (it had to have 501 on it), to direct people to the shortest lines, and basically to be more friendly than I have been in my life to complete strangers. It was fun. I talked to people from Holland, Norway, Canada, Japan and various parts of the U.S. There were also camera crews on hand from MSNBC and Dutch TV. I’m pretty sure I will be on Dutch TV. That damn camera was always pointing in my direction!
It was a beautiful day with clear skies and a cold wind. I was pretty warm except for my face. It was the only thing that was exposed. I was outside all day, with only one break for lunch. After lunch, I went back out to entry. Even though the event was going to end at 3:30, there were still people trying to get in at 3:00. Some of them didn’t have tickets but thought that since the event was almost over, they could just go in. They couldn’t. There was a Japanese family that was waiting for their daughter/sister to bring them their tickets for the next day’s competition. They were very patient and polite. While they were waiting, they took some pictures, including one with me! How funny is that?
At the end of the day, we lined the exit route and thanked people for coming. That was cool. I have to admit that by the end of the day, my feet were tired. I’m a desk jockey! I’m not used to being on my feet for eight hours! The people coming out of the venue all looked very happy. The world record had been broken twice, once by an American, Derek Parra, then 15 minutes later, by a Dutch skater. The USA came out with the silver!
Since so much has been made of the security at the Games, I will mention that also. There is a lot of visible security. National Guard soldiers operate the magnetometers and wands. There are a lot of police and Secret Service all around. They ride around on ATVs. They carry guns. They are there quickly when they sense you need an authority figure behind you. They are also unobtrusive and polite. The spectators thank them as they leave the venue. Lots of people have their pictures taken with them.
When I got home last night, Jake & Linda were here. MT had tickets to the ski jumping competition today, so they were all planning to go. We decided to go out to dinner. I was really tired and my contacts were very dry from being in for so long, and from being out in the wind all day long. I should have taken them out, but I didn’t. I also should have taken Courtney’s phone number and address with me, but I didn’t. Anyway, we went to Iggy’s at Jordan Landing. We had to wait an hour and a half for a table. I was miserable! After dinner, I had to go pick up Courtney, then I totally crashed!
This morning I had a 6:30 am shift. I was up by 4:45 or so. I showered and put on my Olympic uniform, the same thing as yesterday, but with different tights and socks. I drove over to the Oval. I was allowed to park across the street at the high school. I had some breakfast: raspberry yogurt, and apple and part of a Rice Crispy Treat. Then it was deployment time. Today I was in Sector Admin. I was inside! Hooray! My station was at one of the locker room entrances. I was stationed there with a very nice lady named Maryanna. We chatted and checked credentials.
The races today were women’s 3000 meters. The competition began at 1:00, but the athletes were allowed to come in for training from 8:30 to 10. There wasn’t a lot going on for awhile, but then it started to pick up. I know I saw a lot of athletes, but I can’t tell who they are because they look totally different in their warm up suits than they do in their skating outfits. I did see the woman who eventually won the gold medal. She was standing right in front of me for awhile, talking to her coach. She’s from Germany. She broke the Olympic record. I think a Dutch skater took the silver, and a Canadian took the bronze.
Another post I had today that was very interesting was the access to the ice. I was there right before race time. Apparently they change the access passes before the competition begins. There were a few people who did not have the appropriate passes, and I had to turn them away. Fortunately, a Secret Service guy was hanging out with me and he totally backed me up. He even told me I was doing a great job and he was proud of me for standing firm! That made me feel pretty good.
Today’s assignment was nice not only because it was inside, but also because I was able to sit a lot of the time. When the athletes were coming in, I stood up, but by the end of the day, they were all used to me and just flashed their passes at me and I was able to sit. Most of the time, there were two of us at the access points, so that was nice.
I had a bunch of breaks today. It was so different from Saturday!
I’ve been watching the news, and overall the Salt Lake Olympics seem to be doing well. There have been lots of positive comments about the Games, the city, the transportation, the people, just everything. It makes me happy. I was concerned about how the national media might portray the city. It’s been good, though.
Tomorrow my shift starts at 9:30. The men are racing again tomorrow, but I don’t have the races memorized, so I don’t know what distance will be. I’ve done my laundry, and I am ready to greet the world again! I better get some sleep, though!!
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