Monday 22 February
Day off - what to do? SLEEP
While it has been a race fest for the public, for those of us lucky
enough to be working and watching the racing, Monday came at just
about the right time: Sleep, washing and rest were needed yet
information hungry fans wanted pictures, news, stories, coverage and
interaction! Me? I wanted sleep! And I got sleep!
I turned in around 3am on Monday morning having got everything out
and sent around the world. As I turned out the light a few things
played on my mind but while they are important to me, they are not
to you!
I managed to sleep and find a few things and sort out the mountain
of clothes. The sigh at all the washing that is accumulating is not
nice but hey this is what I chose to do.
Having supposed to have gone skiing with one of two groups of
people, the fact that I slept was a little more beneficial. I did
however head hip to Whistler and spend the afternoon talking with a
good friend who was over here to watch some of the Games. This
gave me a new perspective of the Games. I see it from one side: The
competition. I started out doing this job as I am a huge sports fan.
Yet when the racing is day in day out and there is so much more
sport going on than just the skiing, I find I tend to lose the plot
a little. As we sat having a drink and catching up: Her wanting to
know all the gossip about what was going on, who was skiing well,
what the atmosphere etc was like; and me all I wanted to know was
what was happening outside the Berlin Wall! My friend, who has asked
her name to be kept out due to circumstances at her job (nothing
untowards) told me some horror stories about how her bosses are not
wanting her to do certain things, or talk to people over here. She
works in top level sport and the fact they did not want her coming
here is just mind boggling! Am sad to say that this problem, of
people getting up and doing things on their own back for the good of
the sport is just too endemic in sport in the UK.... We need to wake
up and get moving to be honest!
I called in to the press centre to go for a pee after my friend had
caught the bus back to Vancouver and picked up a copy of the start
list for the Men's GS: A few funnies alerted me: The Israeli racer
would be followed down by the Iranian - would he be shooting him we
joked? The Snow Tortoise was not starting, no reason but maybe he
has been found out as a fraud? All three of the British racers were
going down one after another. Could Bode win from 31, would Aksel be
able to capture another medal, would the Austrian draught
continue... the answers will come tomorrow.
After doing my analysis of the start i walked over to the
information desk to try and find out more info as to why the
Tortoise would not be racing. They did not know but when I asked for
any funny stories that I could write about I was told had I heard
about the dog that had been checked in to the Coatroom at one of the
more famous establishments....Yes I kid you not, this was what I was
told by the two 21year old PR girls on the info desk......classic.
Only in Whistler I was told!
OK so I did not go skiing with either of the groups, I did sleep.
Will I miss the skiing? Na. Was I glad I slept? Oh yes!
Back to the racing tomorrow for two GS races and then two Slaloms
and then two days skiing and then the journey back to Europe....
