I wish I could explain to you the exhilaration that’s building and bubbling inside me, and make it as tangible for you as the Official Olympic Accreditation that now hangs around my neck.
I woke up multiple times during the night on Sunday, mostly just because I was too excited to sleep. Despite going to bed at 1:00AM, I got out of bed at 6:40 after laying awake since 6:00. I am so ready to begin!
At 10:00AM we met the shuttle bus and were taken to get our accreditation, which is our credentials / access pass. We were told that our accreditation was our lifeline – without it we would not be able to gain access to anything, and therefore were required to wear it at all times. All we had to do was show our passports, and the documentation had been preprinted for us per Cleanevent.
My general accreditation. I need a "Second Part Pass" to access particular venues.
After asking a few people, we determined that OCOG stands for Organizing Committee Olympic Games. In addition to getting us into venues, this accreditation gives us free transportation on the public buses, two of which have been set up especially for the Games.
After gaining our accreditation, a guy from the camp office (Joey) gave us a walking tour of the Whistler Village, which is the town center (not to be confused with the Whistler Athletes’ Village, which is the residential area for the competitors). We were able to see things like the Medals Plaza, where nightly concerts will be held, and there was a ski lift right in the middle of all the shops. Our credentials will also get us discounts on rentals and lift tickets, so I may look into that…
Walking around the Village was fascinating, and I plan to spend most of my free time hanging out there, people watching and soaking in the experience as much as possible. Olympic fever is certainly omnipresent here in Whistler.
We ate lunch in town, then walked to a bus stop where we hopped on one of the public buses to Function Junction, another hub of activity and one of two pick-up/drop-off spots for the Cleanevent shuttles. The other is across the street at the Athlete’s Village.
In the afternoon we had an orientation to the camp, and our academic adviser came to speak with us about “Cleanevent Academy”, which is the educational program the company has set up for the student interns. He created a binder with extensive information on topics such as Event Production, Facility Operations, Risk Management Operations, Revenue Sources, and the list goes on and on. He asked us to read the section on In-House Versus Contract Services for our next “class”. It was also confirmed that we will have guest speakers from VANOC and IOC, among other organizations.
The entire day, as we kept hearing more and more about all the amazing experiences we would have over the next three weeks, I was practically jumping out of my skin in anticipation. The wait to find out my schedule and the venue I would be assigned to was excruciating!
FINALLY, at about 8:30PM, I found out that I was assigned to the Whistler Sliding Center, the venue for bobsleigh, skeleton, and luge – my ideal location since finding out that interns are not being placed at Cypress Mountain (due to the long travel time). I was ecstatic! Fortunately I was able to start there the very next day, whereas some interns had “class” before ever going to their venue.
It took me quite awhile to quiet my mind enough to go to sleep and get some rest before my first day working at the OLYMPICS!
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