2010 ARCTIC WINTER GAMES Team Northwest Territories, Chef De Mission - Doug Rentmeister
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CHEF DE MISSION FINAL REPORT 2010 ARCTIC WINTER GAMES Team Northwest Territories, Chef de Mission - Doug Rentmeister Section I Evaluation of Performance of the Host Society Registration and Accreditation We had a few issues with the gems system leading up to the games, after our Territorial Trials there was a period where we could not access the system but this got cleared up in a day so it did not evolve into a greater issue. We would like to commend the committee and volunteers in this area as they were very responsive to our needs and concerns. There should be a requirement for any Chef and Asst to meet with the person in charge (in person prior to the games) of this area to go through and update their team list and accreditation needs…saved us a HUGE headache and allowed us to deal with those participants that did not register on time or had missing information effectively and quickly. Welcome/Arrival Services We did not have any issues with the welcome and arrival services, we thought this went over pretty well. We did not see a welcome committee for our arrivals though transportation was well represented and attended to our needs effectively. We received some very positive feedback from our coaches in having their completed accreditation and their respective athletes ready for them at the airport. This should be fostered and encouraged as it really helps in the transition of getting athletes off their plane and into their dorms fully accredited without burdening the coaches. Opening Ceremonies We had huge complaints in having the athletes in the holding area too long before being marshaled out. Considering that all the athletes were in their walkout gear and the holding area had over 2000 people in it, without any water, we were fortunate that we didn’t encounter any medical issues i.e. dehydration, fainting. We would strongly recommend that if the holding area is indoors then it should be conditional that water be supplied or there would be easy access to a source of water. Also the holding area severely lacked any coordination and was largely dependent on the respective Chefs and missions to coordinate. Something that has worked well in the past is to designate areas within the holding area for each specific contingent thereby improving communication and coordination. Another strong recommendation would be to never have the walkout file out in a single line, this really takes away from the team aspect of the walkout and you lose a lot of the energy as a result. In fact our minister commented on that fact when greeting us on the stage and this can be largely attributed to greeting them individually versus as a team. Our final recommendation would be, don’t give media access to athletes in the holding area especially if they are going to be in there for an extended period of time you are just inviting a public relations disaster as was the case with a couple of stories courtesy of the CBC. Team Accommodations We had a lot of positive feedback on the inflatable mattresses used and most thought they were an excellent substitute from the bunk beds of previous AWGs. It would seem that this could be a viable alternative for future games especially if the technology for this item improves to a point where these could be redistributed for future games events. We are sure that the pressure alleviated on Host Societies and volunteers pursuing this option would offset any additional costs purchasing these items. We had feedback that sports should stay together in the dorms for the next games. Though it would create extra burden on mission staffs, a lot of people felt that it would have proven beneficial to get to know other contingent’s respective athletes/coaches off the playing field. Other benefits surrounded around, similar competitive schedules, understanding and respectful of each other’s preparation for competition etc. The shower facilities at each of the accommodations received considerable criticism especially from the participants in the female dorms. There weren’t enough and the ones they had were overused and not readily accessible. Proximity of the female showers to the male showers and lack of security presented a problem. This seemed to become a bigger issue than it needed to be considering the quality of the facilities. The security at the accommodations was an issue at the beginning of the week but got tightened to the middle and end of the week. Though there was security at the main entrance for each dorm there wasn’t to each of the wings which caused some problems. Food Service/Village Dining We felt the food overall was very good; lots of quantity, healthy choices available, cafeteria hours were very good to accommodate athletes on different schedules, etc. We received some feedback that suggested more effort should be put into identifying with the caterer the nutritional needs of athletes. Caterers, especially if they have never provided services to a multi-sports event before are not necessarily aware of the specific needs of athletes performing at the levels expected at AWG. As an example, the caterer had no idea how high the demand for bananas would be to replenish potassium levels after competitions. We realize different sports have different needs. However generally there are many important nutrition needs of athletes, pre and post competition and training. Ensuring these related foods are available and presented up front should be a priority for the AWGIC in order to send the appropriate message to all involved. Some of the less healthy choices of course can continue to be available but should be less obvious in the cafeteria (e.g. things like pizza and greasier foods). A good part of this is education as well and more effort should be spent throughout the entire sport committee to educate athletes in nutrition as a healthy life choice. With respect to the role of the International Committee on this front, we would suggest that more effort be put into the specifications and expectations of food services at AWG to pass on to each Host Society. These specifications could be used as a guide when contracting food services. It could be as specific as designing a menu that one could emulate for each set of games. The standard "list" could be used over and over for each AWG being modified as new nutritional information becomes available. The effort upfront would make things much simpler down the road and guarantee a certain standard of food services at each AWG. The box lunches became too big of an issue throughout the games and that seems to be a consistent theme games to games and we are not sure why satellite kitchens couldn’t be set up at some of the venues i.e. cross country skiing, boardsports. This could have addressed the box lunch issue a bit and taken pressure off catering. It also came known that catering felt under-appreciated throughout the games and there should be strategies incorporated to recognize these folks a bit better which we tried to do as a contingent. Trays would have been nice to carry food/drinks, these were removed after the first day or two to address food wastage though having a menu listing on what was available for that meal at the beginning of the line so you knew what to look for and take would have addressed the problem. Not all food was located in one area, so once you went through area #1, and got to area #2, you realized what you really wanted was in an area further down the line and maybe took more than you wanted because of it. One of our athletes had severe allergies and food items weren’t posted describing what was in each dish as promised which caused some grief. Awards Ceremonies We thought the ceremonies were well done but poorly attended, not sure what the true reason would be aside from location and its limited drawing power. We were always wondering why an awards area would not be better placed near where all the athletes congregated i.e. cafeterias, accommodations so they could attend and support their team’s medal winners. Information Technology/Communications/Computer and Network Services Though the IT services at the mission office were adequate they were not compatible to the host societies, our recommendation would be to ensure they are for future games. IT staff were very helpful and addressed needs and concerns readily. We thought the cell phones worked excellently and were very well used and received though there needs to be something worked out for the end of the week as we could have really used them in coordinating our departures but they had to be submitted back to the Host. Mission Offices, Services and Accommodations The mission offices supplies were appropriate and fulfilled our needs aside from the fact that we had little contact with our coaches. The location was a bit out of the way for them to come to on a regular basis. We did have everyone attend our coaches meeting at the beginning of the week in a meeting room straight across from our mission office to demonstrate where we were and how accessible we could be. We did not have our office staff for the full week as in other games but that did not cause many problems because when they were there they were very diligent and hardworking. There wasn’t as much interaction with the other contingents as you would see when mission offices share a gym or large room which is disappointing and may be that could be looked at for future games.