By Dee-Ann LeBlanc, on March 26th, 2010%
Another in my series on volunteering with the 2010 Winter Olympics. This time, it’s all about …
Press Conferences
Another duty of a Press Assistant was to help with the Press Conferences. After an athlete finished their run, worked their way through the Mixed Zone, and may or may not have stopped by Anti-Doping on the way to ask for an extension depending on the timing, if they were a medalist they would be escorted to the Press Conference. The Press Conference room was a separate tent set up next to the Venue Media Tent, at least if you were in my area.
Somehow I never ended up with the duty of escorting the athletes down, often I was running off to do something else or replacing Mixed Zone signs with fresh ones for the next day’s events.
The Setup
Generally speaking, there was a long table in the front of the room for the athletes, translators, and the moderator (typically the Venue Media Manager for the sport in question). The rest of the room consisted of two blocks of chairs with an aisle down the middle, and in the back was a spot for the sound technician and a platform for TV cameras and photographers.
Once escorted down from the event, the athletes would go straight to the table, with whoever arrived first getting started with the press conference unless others were coming very close behind them. If it was a team event, then for small teams the whole team may come (say, 4-man Cross-Country relay) or for larger teams the captain and select other members might come. People from anti-doping arrived with them and there were special places up front to ensure that anti-doping was within easy sight of the athlete at all times. Water was available up on the table and giving the doping issues, you have to think ahead of time of how you’re going to handle it so that the athletes are protected and the tests are valid. Also, you don’t want a bottle someone has also used to stay up there and get someone sick.
Press Conference Duties
As a Press Assistant, helping with Press Conferences could involve:
- Running next door to pick up the results from the event so you could pass them out to reporters who didn’t have time to stop on the way
- Carrying a microphone along one side of the room to reporters so they could be heard when asking questions (typically 2 people were doing this)
- Trying to keep various areas clear, such as the doors the athletes and anti-doping entered and exited from
I’m sure there was much more for those in our group who primarily helped in the conferences. I only did this sporadically.
What It Was Like
Press Conferences were typically short but intense given the anti-doping scheduling restrictions. Timings were determined by people radioing ahead to let coordinators know who would arrive when. The Venue Media Manager would use a microphone in the media center to let reporters know who was coming and how long it would be, so they didn’t miss anything.
At times, athletes had a very short amount of time they could spend in the Press Conference. If this was known ahead of time, the moderator might choose the reporters who most needed to be able to ask questions (say, from the athlete’s home country or one of the big international agencies) and would direct the assistants to be in place to handle them first. Then other questions would continue until the athlete had to leave.
There were also translators involved. At one press conference I worked, questions were handled in English, French, and German, with each question having to be relayed in all of the languages and then the answer having to be repeated three times. This practice is necessary but can definitely slow things down! When time was short, the moderator would ask up front if any of the reporters needed French or other translation. If no one did, then things could be sped along.
A tricky part of the conferences was that the tents were heated with these large fans, but those fans were loud. As the conference officially started, the fans had to be shut off. By the end of the press conference it could get pretty cold in there!
Reporters also quickly learned that the sooner the official questions were done, the sooner the conference was over, and the sooner that happened, the sooner they could approach the table and directly talk to the athletes who didn’t need to immediately leave. I can say from experience that athletes who tried to nip right out the door might get swarmed by media before they could manage it. I got caught right in the middle of one of those while trying to keep a door clear. It was surreal to be standing about a foot away from a gold-medal winner, directly in front of him while the person holding TV camera next to me was interviewing him! The press of reporters was so close that it was ultimately smarter to just stand there. I’m short and wasn’t blocking anyone, and would have caused a disruption trying to get out. That’s my excuse anyway. 
 2010 Winter Olympics Press Conference, after the official questions are over. Next time, I’ll talk about how different it was to go to an event as a spectator.
By Dee-Ann LeBlanc, on March 14th, 2010%
Here’s another in my series on volunteering with the 2010 Winter Olympics. This time, it’s all about …
Photographers
You’ll notice I didn’t mention photographers in the Mixed Zone. While technically they might be allowed to enter, often there was no good reason to do so. It would be hard for them to get a good shot from inside the press of people and the Mixed Zone is already pretty crowded.
Instead, photographers had special photo positions marked off by the photo team, selected for how good they were for getting shots of the action and staying out of the athletes’ way. There’s a whole separate hierarchy for who can take commercial photos and where they can take them (complicated by the fact that sometimes a publication had someone who was both an accredited photographer and needed to interview an athlete).
Accredited photographers all had special armbands that were actually tubes of cloth gathered at both ends so they acted more as detachable sleeves that could go over a jacket. Each sleeve had a number specific to that photographer, a color that corresponded to what level of access they had, and often text to more specifically clarify. So, if you had one type of armband, you had access to just the general photo positions, but another might grant you access to the Field of Play for a specific venue (say, the Cross-Country course, where there’s many places along the course a photographer might set up for a shot).
 Armbanded photographers in position at Biathlon. Sometimes the photographers and TV broadcast folks shared areas, and sometimes they didn’t. The TV cameras were often in closer, with the photographers hauling around cameras with massive lenses. Due to all of their equipment, we had lockers for photographers to rent. Broadcasters had their own compound with trailers.
 There's a number of both TV and still cameras in this shot, can you find them? (Hint: Don't forget to look up.) I don’t have as much detail about dealing with photographers as I do about dealing with the journalists, as another volunteer team worked as Photo Assistants. I know that they helped photographers know where they were allowed to go, controlled access to photographer-only areas just like we did with the press, would get photographers places such as taking them out onto the course with a snowmobile to get them into position, etc. A lot of things were time-sensitive as the photographers had to be in position and stay there once a particular point was reached.
For example, there were positions along the side of the ski jump where photographers could try to get photos of how flat the jumpers get while in the air, etc. The photographers were not supposed to get within sight of the jumpers so as not to cause a distraction. With sports like cross-country, there was the issue of photographers new to the sport not really getting that someone could be tearing around a corner at any time since the competitors can get spread out. Radios can help volunteers keep track of who is where and make it safe for a photographer to change position.
 A sea of photographers in position in the Cross-Country stadium, just look for the green armbands. I don’t envy those who were out there trudging in the snow trying to get the perfect shot, or climbing the intense stairs next to the ski jump. But I bet they’re in really good shape!
That’s it for now. Next I’ll talk about press conferences.
By Dee-Ann LeBlanc, on February 27th, 2010%
I’ve talked so far about how I got into the whole volunteering thing, the first round of training I experienced, and an Olympic volunteer’s day. From here I’ll get into the specific tasks of a Press Assistant, which is a job that might be more accurately described as a press coordinator.
This post focuses on the base of operations for a Press Assistant (at least in Whistler Olympic Park), the Venue Media Center (VMC).
Meet the Press
When it comes to W.O.P., the Venue Media Center acts as a workroom for members of the press. Keep in mind that I’m not talking broadcasters who are filming for TV. Instead, I mean sports writers and photographers. Broadcasters do move through the VMC as well as the rest of the press but they have entirely separate work areas.
Since our VMC handles three sports (Ski Jump, Cross-Country, and Nordic Combined), it’s a pretty big tent building. Only people with particular accreditation credentials are allowed in, and these are checked at the entrance by someone from the Event Services team as well as by us at a glance as people come in.
Our VMC is essentially divided into a number of zones:
- The entryway, where they pass the Press Help Desk on one side (which we staff) and the Photo Help Desk on the other side (which the Photo Assistants staff).
 Me at the Press Help Desk, ready to answer questions.  Across from the Press Help Desk is the Photo Help Desk.
- The writers’ work area, where tables are laid out with network and power jacks, with some areas set aside for major networks who’ve reserved permanent seats.
 On the left are tables set up for reporters to file stories.
- The photographers’ work area, which is similarly set up but with more space for their piles of equipment.
 The Photographers' Work Area where sports photographers edit and file their pictures.
- The media lounge, which is where the press can purchase food, drink, etc.
- The technology help desk for issues having to do with using the technology available in the workroom
- The Olympic News Service (ONS) office relating to the three sports my particular VMC handles
- The FIS office relating to the three sports my VMC handles
You might also notice the 16 televisions all around the room, which we keep set to channels covering the various events.
Setting up the VMC
During my first shift, those of us who were already here helped set up many of the little details of the VMC. For example, there were (gorgeous) stickers to apply to all of the photographer lockers with numbers to match the numbers on the locks. These stickers proved to be an unexpected challenge, as we discovered that large metal objects are often treated with oils before shipping and those oils caused the stickers to do some nasty bubbling. One of my teammates used a lot of elbow grease of his own to wipe the lockers down before we were able to get the stickers on properly.
By properly, I mean all of them level and straight and consistent. This is a job where anal attention to detail is a plus, so I fit right in, heh.
Stickers also had to be applied to every seat at the tables. The numbers on the stickers were mostly used to identify a seat to technical support when calling in a problem. I think they also mark where the reserved seating is, as there are specific locations in the room set aside for organizations like AP and Reuters.
We also helped to sort and organize supplies, assemble boxes that would be used for additional storage plus things like moving items between the workroom and other areas, and so on.
Common Workroom Tasks
One of the first things you see when entering the workroom is the whiteboard. This board contains competition, training, and press conference schedules for Biathlon, Cross-Country, Nordic Combined, and Ski Jump, along with weather information and any important schedule change notices. The board is updated by Press Assistants at the end of each day, and as needed during each day.
The next thing you might notice is the state of the workroom. One perennial task is to keep the place clean and orderly. The goal is to have someone walking in see a space that they actually want to work in. So, to this end, we regularly walk around and pick up trash, push in chairs, and so on. Sometimes this particular task ends up feeling a bit too much like Sisyphus constantly pushing his stone up the hill, only to have it roll back down, but it does make the room look better and feel more inviting.
Another task is simply keeping someone at the desk to answer questions. These can range across a wide range of issues:
- Accessing the network, which we can help them with to a certain extent, there’s also a technical help desk on site
- How to contact various members of the VANOC staff
- When to expect certain events to take place
- Where to find the information they need, which is often available on an intranet or on the Vancouver 2010 site
- Where to get lockers, etc., which are the easy questions, we just point across the room at the Photo Help Desk
- Lost and found items
There’s many more issues but I actually spent most of my time outdoors. I suspect that’s where I’ll be tomorrow for my final volunteer shift. It’s gone by so fast!
Next I’ll talk about working in the Mixed Zone.
By Dee-Ann LeBlanc, on February 15th, 2010%
Way back in 2003, Vancouver was chosen to host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Swept up in the excitement, my husband and I went to a celebration rally, got some shirts, and signed a thing saying we were interested in volunteering. I’m not sure whatever happened to that sign-up sheet. I think it was just there for the feel-good vibes.
I kept saying that when the Olympics came around, I was going to volunteer. I’m a big talker. I say I’ll do a lot of things. I’ll eat healthier, I’ll use my treadmill more, I’ll use my bike regularly, I’ll floss after every meal, and I’ll blog every day no matter what. But while I honestly mean it when I make such declarations, I’m not always so great on the follow-through.
Following Through
Around September of 2009 or so I realized that I still hadn’t filled out the long application form for volunteering. It was mostly due to laziness, I’m a bit allergic to forms, but I finally sat myself down to tackle the monster that was the volunteer application. Fortunately it didn’t take long to see that these folks have their act together. (Yeah, I admire efficiency, I hate having my time wasted.) I was able to select three areas where I felt I could be of the most use, out of options ranging from transport to technology, and explain what experience I had in each of these areas. Much of the rest involved information needed for security background checks and how much you’d be available.
Volunteers are asked to provide a minimum of 13 8-10 hour shifts throughout the games (though I think there were some areas where they didn’t need such a big patch of time as well). This is a large time commitment, but I do understand why they ask this. It takes a lot to get a volunteer geared up, background checked, trained, etc., and we get to keep our gear once we’ve worked our shifts, which is great! Some of the tasks are mostly before the games, and some are mostly during. There’s also a whole setup to try to get volunteers from out of the area places to stay locally, but living in the area or already having somewhere to stay is a massive plus. Given that I live smack dab in the middle of the venues, that’s an easy one for me.
Once I had my paperwork in, it was mostly a waiting game. The next major step aside from things like background checks involved a 15 minute phone interview. This interview is conducted by volunteers and helps clarify availability, information about the tasks you’ve expressed interest in to make sure there’s no misunderstandings, and general “getting to know you” stuff. I enjoyed my interview, the woman I talked to was very pleasant and was having a good time pitching in.
Joining Press Operations
From there it was waiting again until I finally received an invitation to join the Press Operations team as a Press Assistant for Ski Jump, Cross-Country, and Nordic Combined (where the participants do both Ski Jump and Cross-Country) at Whistler Olympic Park. This was exactly the kind of job I was hoping for and I thought about a millisecond before accepting! From there I started getting team newsletters with prep materials so I’d understand what was coming, I looked over my schedule and sent in the dates that I wasn’t available for a shift, I used the slick web site they set up for volunteers to sign up for when I would get my uniform and my training for the W.O.P. venue, and I bounced around a lot and told anyone who would listen.
As the games got closer, the materials rolled in faster. Suddenly I found myself driving up to get my uniform and my accreditation (my ID). Again, I was struck by how well-organized everyone was! Not that everything was perfection but what is? The process was relatively painless, and kind of funny since the guy walking me through trying on gear started me with all medium clothing. That was sweet of him and all, but no, that wasn’t gonna work. I’d love to know if they started all women with mediums. Or if the guys did at least, in fear for what might happen to them if they started with bigger sizes. 
Once I had my uniform when I got home I just had to have some pictures:
 Dee-Ann LeBlanc - Press Assistant: Ski Jump, Cross-Country, and Nordic Combined at Whistler Olympic Park - 2010 Winter Olympics On to Part II …
By Dee-Ann LeBlanc, on January 4th, 2010%
I live in the middle of the corridor where the 2010 Winter Olympics is taking place. I’m also spending about half of February and part of January training for volunteering and then volunteering for the games. I’m volunteering in Press Operations at the Whistler Olympic Park venue, which attends to events like ski jumping and the biathlon, and I’ll be sharing part of that experience through this blog.
Right now there’s lots of reading to be done and excitement is building. There’s a Facebook group for people working for and volunteering for the games, and video thank yous are starting to show up there from Canadian notables like members of the Canadian Olympic figure skating team and Jillian Harris (apparently the only Canadian on the Bachelorette and she’s from Vancouver, I don’t watch the show so that’s all I know about her).
Later this month I go to pick up my uniform and then get trained on where I’ll be working as a Press Operations Assistant. I’m sure I’ll be doing everything from fetching coffee (it’s kind of sad I don’t know how to make it, I don’t drink it!) to helping journalists get to work to helping get journalists and athletes together. As a journalist at least part of the time myself, I look forward to seeing the world from another side of things and being part of an event that really is a once in a lifetime experience.
I might even learn a bit about sports!
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