What the Hell Did You Do All Day?

That's a question I've been asked a lot.  Friends and family have trouble understanding what I did every day during the Olympics.   In short... I watched.  I watched the kiosks.  I watched the staff.  I watched the merchandise.  I watched the spectators.  Occasionally I watched the events.

 

Line up to get into the venue. Note the barricades are keeping spectators from accessing the retail tent.

Normally I would arrive at the venue before the spectator gates opened.  I would check in with the kiosk manager to see if they needed anything, I would check the tent to see if anything needed repairing - lights, heating, snow clearing etc.  

Once the gates opened and spectators were in venue, I watched.  Did spectators see the retail tents, could they see the signage, could spectators get to the retail tents, was the path clear, was it slippery, could they get in the tent, get to the counter, what merchandise were they asking for, did stock need to be moved, did our queues impede access to other areas, were our queues moving quickly etc?

 

This is what I like to see, a break in competition and our tent is full with a line up outside.

 

If the venue had more than one tent, I'd then go and check on the other tent(s).  During a break in competition I checked that spectators were aware there was another tent, could they get to it, etc etc.

If the venue loaded out spectators from the morning session, and loaded in spectators for the afternoon session at the same time what effect did that have on our tents?  Did the crowd of outgoing spectators close off access for the incoming spectators?

 

Ingress and egress at the same time - went relatively smoothly with no major problems.

 

 Then I'd try to get back to the venue near the end of competition to check if spectators were shopping on the way out, or were they just interested in getting out of there?  If they wanted to shop were they being allowed access to the tent or were they being funneled out.

In the late afternoon I would head back to the hotel to email in my daily reports, and then head to the evening venues - The Whistler Sliding Centre and the Whistler Medals Plaza and repeat everything.

 

My earliest day started around 530am, at Whistler Olympic Park and ended at 1000pm after our team debrief at the Whistler Medals Plaza. 

For the first week, I was only responsible for Whistler Olympic Park and Whistler Medals Plaza.  In the second week I was also responsible for Whistler Creekside and Whistler Sliding Centre.  I wasn't sure what the second week would be like with all 4 venues,  but it really wasn't any busier.  I just spent a little less time at each venue.  

Somewhere in there I took time for lunch and dinner.