Pictures

Curling Venue, Team USA vs Athletes from Russia

Snowboard & Alpine venue

too many snacks, USOC sponsor product

Pizza Night for the Opening Ceremony carried by our awesome NPC Assistants

Massage Chairs (we all have enjoyed these)
 

Bandabi, Megan and I
 

 

Another Day in Paradise

So, yesterday was a day "off". Since the first day of competition (Saturday, March 10th) we have shifted from long days, like 7am until 11pm+ to more of a schedule encouraging staff that is not scheduled to be in the office to get out and support the various teams. I was able to get out to snowboard yesterday for snowboard cross. I wasn't able to stay for the entire finals but it was still fun to be out at the venue, in the sun, soaking up the snowboard culture. In Sochi we swept the podium in men's snowboard cross. All 3 guys were back but unfortunately through qualification, 2 of the guys would end up having to compete against one another in the semis. What a bummer because we have some of the strongest athletes in the world. We did well and won 6 medals total in snowboard cross. In Paralympics, athletes are grouped into different "classifications" depending on their disability so it's more of a level playing field. Every sport is different in terms of the different classifications and it continues to evolve in terms of what is permitted and what is not. Athletes have to be "classified" by both medical professionals as well as sport specific experts but it's not a completely objective process depending on the impairment. I've worked for Paralympics for 3 years now and I still have a ways to go in terms of learning all the different classes within each sport. Some are easier than others, such as judo is visual impairment verse a sport like track & field that have a zillion different classes for the 100 meter dash. Last night I was able to head to a curling event down by the coast. I'm learning more and more about curling each day. A very interesting sport with a ton of strategy and technique.

Today was Day 4 of competition. I'm on the evening shift which didn't start until 1pm so I ran over to the Nordic venue that was about 1.5 miles away. Super easy jog over there in 50 degree weather and bright, sunny skies. Our men were competing in the 12.5k biathlon. One of our athletes, Dan Cnossen, former navy seal, already has won 2 medals and won a third today. Another athlete took the bronze. Super impressive efforts these guys and gals put out.

 

Pics

Our AWESOME Village Staff with Bandabi

Opening Ceremony Night

 



Dinner in the Office

Dining Hall

Skiddy, a snowboard tech

Village snow removal

we share a building with Team Korea and their bling

view from my room (14th floor)

Welcome Ceremony the day before the Opening Ceremony-a Nordic athlete with our awesome National Paralympic Committee (NPC) assistants

This now becomes Paralympic Adventures...

Sorry this took so long folks. Been BUSY! All good though. I've already been here 2+ weeks, crazy. I leave for Vietnam in 11 days, not that I'm counting down but I am looking forward to some fun there as I have a great itinerary planned.

So... left the states on February 23rd arriving on the 24th. There were 4 of us arriving into Incheon a little after 4pm and immediately jumping in a shuttle to take us over to Pyeongchang. We checked into our hotel in Alpensia late that evening and immediately grabbed some food and went to bed. The next day was the Sunday of Olympic closing ceremonies so we ventured over to the Mountain Village and checked things out. For the Olympics there were 2 Villages- Mountain and Coast. The Mountain supported the non-ice athletes such as luge, bobsled, ski, snowboard, Nordic; while the Coastal Village supported ice sports such as speed & figure skating and ice hockey. It was pretty much a blur of activity at the Mountain Village with the final day of competition as well as getting ready for closing ceremonies.

Our first few days consisted of transitioning the Olympic Mountain Village to a Paralympic Village as for Paralympics there is only one village to support Nordic, alpine, snowboard, curling & sled hockey. The rest of our staff arrived on Wednesday to help with this transition- the day the first big snow hit, like 18 inches. We were unable to move into the Village until Friday, March 1st. Upon moving in our space was still way dirty as the cleaning crew was unable to clean the day prior due to the weather disabling the workforce transportation. Our staff quickly went to work hard cleaning our office spaces as well as the Athlete Resource Center (ARC). All I can say is gross:(

Athlete and sport staff arrivals started on Sunday the 3rd and ended the 5th. We would greet all athletes and staff as well as help with bags/ equipment. Got many steps in those days as well as weight lifting with carrying many bags and getting them to the appropriate floors. Team USA is housed in one building on floors 1-14 with one elevator. We stay off the elevators because we do have many athletes in wheelchairs who obviously take priority.

So... fast forward to a few nights ago... Opening Ceremonies... athletes looked GREAT. Fortunately the stadium is close so not to far to transport folks... maybe 2 miles. Some of the staff was able to secure tickets as well. Most of the Village staff stayed behind to watch on TV and eat pizza ordered from the dining hall. Happy people!

Day 1 of competition was yesterday and our athletes ROCKED it with 3 golds, 1 silver and 1 bronze. GO TEAM! We won only 2 gold medals the whole of Sochi so off to a good start.

Today is Day 2 and we have won 1 more gold, a silver and bronze:) You can find results and a schedule here: 2018 Paralympic Games