Tuesday, March 30, 2010

The Olympic Village

Major television networks show us Olympic performances, interviews, emotions of the athletes and all other aspects of the actual competition.  But what happens when Olympians leave the spotlight for day?  What is the Olympic Village like?  Is it glamorous?  Is my idealized, romantic vision of an international community brought together in the spirit of competition and athleticism realistic?  If you're like me, you wonder about this.  What's it like to live at the Olympic Village for two weeks?

The Coca-Cola Company produced an Olympic commercial that parodied life in the Olympic Village:
This all seems like great fun.  But here's what life in the Olympic Village is really like:

For these past Winter Olympics, the city of Vancouver actually built two villages: one in the mountains for the skiing venues and another in downtown Vancouver.  The village in downtown Vancouver has over 600 units and is capable of housing over 2,800 athletes, coaches, trainers and officials.  The village in the mountains can accommodate over 2,400 athletes, coaches and trainers; it was also used for the 2010 Winter Paralympics. 

Teams are housed together and bunk two athletes to a room (and, none of the bedrooms have a television).  The villages are complete with lounges that contain televisions, video game setups, training centers, cafes, stores, and a 24-hour health clinic.  There are cafeterias that are also open 24 hours with an incredibly diverse menu (in order to accommodate the incredibly diverse Olympic athletes).  There are McDonald's at the villages and all the food is free (for the athletes, at least).

Because Olympians have spent the better part of their life preparing for this huge event, they are kept in check by their coaches and trainers.  Though there are no curfews in the Olympic Village, coaches make sure their athletes aren't out until the wee hours of the morning leading up to individual competitions.  Once athletes have competed in their events, though, they are free to hit the town, the bars, party it up (and hook up).  In fact, the Vancouver Olympic Committee supplied 100,000 condoms to the 7,000 athletes, coaches, trainers and officials (this works out to 14 a piece). 

One thing that all athletes make sure of, though, is that their celebrations don't upset the schedules of other athletes.  Picabo Street, a skier who won gold at the Nagano Winter Olympics, said "Olympians are surprisingly mature, no matter what age.  It's required of you.  If you act like an idiot, you really stand out."  The athletes are very respectful of the dedication and commitment their teammates and competitors have for the games. 

It is also common and widely accepted for athletes to wear their medals out and about in the Olympic Village - to meals, to the lounges, on strolls and even to bed!  This display of accomplishment isn't met with scoffs and rolled eyes - it is met with a "Congratulations!" or a nod of respect. 

It is reassuring to know that the athletes I admire and respect in competition are also respectable outside of competition.  It would be easy to form cliques and superiority complexes.  But from the sources I've read, Olympic athletes are portrayed as very mature and down-to-earth.  Granted, there are all sorts of stories that never make it to the desk of a reporter, but even if it's naive of me, I still like to hold onto the idea that Olympians are athletes we can look up to.  Not just for their athletic abilities, but for their sportsmanship and dedication to friendly (but intense) competition.

2 comments:

  1. Sounds like a glorified summer camp to me!

    Sign me up.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Just imagine all the different types of rice you could eat! It does sound pretty fun...

    ReplyDelete