2014 Arctic Winter Games Chef De Mission Final Report Mariele Depeuter-Team Nunavut, Chef De Mission
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2014 Arctic Winter Games Chef de Mission Final Report Mariele dePeuter-Team Nunavut, Chef de Mission Section 1 Evaluation of Performance of the Host Society On behalf of Team Nunavut I would like to thank the Host Society for their dedication and hard work on putting on an excellent set of Games. The Host Society was very helpful in every aspect and provided a welcoming, exciting environment for our participants. Registration and Accreditation Was pre-games registration convenient and functional? o The Gems registration program continues to improve and is user friendly. Having the ability to sort participants by sport and age group was very useful. Also, receiving the accreditation badges before the athletes arrive was helpful as we were able to sort badges by Charter arrival times and identify any missing badges prior to arrival. Did the accreditation system at the Games work well? o They accreditation system was great at the games, the volunteers were excellent and great to work with when missing badges needed to be replaced or late accreditations needed to be printed. Provide comments or recommendations. o The deadline for when Chef’s would lose access to the online database was not clear. As it got closer the Games, there was confusion among the Host Society and our Team on how replacements should be entered. Clarity in this area would reduce the amount of unnecessary accreditation badges printed. o Continue to provide badges before athletes arrive. 1 Welcome/Arrival Services Was the arrival of your team handled in a timely manner with a minimum of confusion? o The welcoming of athletes was excellent and ran very smoothly considering we had two charters arrive at the same time as another contingent with no complications. o As our flights arrived there were busses waiting arranged by accommodation site. The short wait times were noted and appreciated by all. Provide comments or recommendations o Luggage tags were an improvement then paper ones o Luggage tags should include the contingent name o Additional luggage tags should be sent for equipment bags Opening Ceremonies Did the Opening Ceremonies do a good job of kicking off the week? o The opening ceremonies were a great start to the week and well received by all. Were they well organized and choreographed? o The opening was well organized, short and to the point. There was not much delay in the agenda for the ceremonies. o Recommend in future games to use a similar format, 1 hr long ceremonies. Team Accommodations Were accommodations sufficiently spacious or too crowded? o The accommodations were sufficient.Teams were happy with the number of people in their room. Participants appreciated having designated rooms, not shared with other teams with different schedules and routines. o There were issues with the speration of genders within the accommodation venues Were they well-located or too spread out? o Yes accommodations were well located, 5-10 minute drive from mission center and the competition venues. 2 Were there sufficient washrooms and shower facilities? o There were sufficient shower facilities, however it was confusing and inconvenient for people who could not shower at their accommodations o There was concern at some accommodations that Coaches had to shower in the same area as athletes, this issue was resolved by the Host Was cleaning during the Games adequate for the maintenance of hygiene? o Yes the cleaning during the games was adequate for maintenance of hygiene. Was security in the accommodations area functional and effective? o The security was great at all venues. They did their job effectively and were very accommodating and friendly. In my experience, this set of security was the best I’ve seen. Provide comments or recommendations. o There were issues with broken cots and that they were not comfortable for larger athletes and coaches. o Ensure the male and female rooms are not next door to each other. There needs to be an actual separation between the genders. o If the gender accommodations can’t be separated into different areas of the venue please have security station set where the rooms are at their closest. Food Service/Village Dining Were the hours of operation/serving sufficient and convenient? o The hours of operation met everybody’s needs Was the quality of food adequate? o The quality of the food was adequate. More variety of healthy choices for the food stations during the day would be ideal. Was enough food available to meet your team’s needs and appetites? o During the first day, there was not enough food available, however this was resolved and ample food was available throughout the games. Did the box lunch program work well? o The box lunch program worked well once teams got the hang of it o I would suggest if this system be used again, Mission Staff allowed to assist with packing lunches for teams that are delayed Provide comments or recommendations. 3 o Arctic Sports and Dene Games were in the same venue as food services which worked well as they are not scheduled for lunch boxes o When accommodation venues are all in close proximity of each other use one central location for meals. This way the level of service does not vary between venues. Awards Ceremonies Provide comments or recommendations on awards ceremonies both at sport venues and at the main awards venue. o Continue to do the award presentations at the sport venues. Information Technology/Communications/Computer and Network Services Evaluate how the Games’ IT system and staff, communications system and computer and network services performed and provide any comments or recommendations. o The Games’ IT staff were excellent and very helpful o The smart phones with the built in phone book was a huge hit and very convenient although the learning curve was steep for some users. o Having access to a printer not located in Mission Headquarters was convenient Mission Offices, Service and Accommodations Were the mission offices located in a place that facilitated the work of the mission staff, and were the offices conveniently reached by coaches? o Yes they were, housed in the same building as the poly clinic and cafeteria was convenient and appreciated by Mission Staff, this centralized a lot functions enhanced support to the athletes. Were offices sufficiently spacious and adequately furnished? o Yes, our office was great. Were the supplies provided adequate for the mission staff to do its work? o Yes, all supplies were useful 4 Cultural Program and Facilities Did your cultural delegation feel that they were an integral part of the Games? Did they have enough performance opportunities? Too many? Did your Unit members attend entertainment events? What is your impression of their experience? Provide comments or recommendations related to the Cultural program only. See Entertainment Program section below for other comments. o The overall games experience was great for the group. Great reviews of the performance venue, sound system and sound engineers. o They were impressed with the audience at the performances. o The Cultural Group was happy to be included in the participant entertainment Forms and Publications Evaluate the effectiveness of forms provided by the Host Society and any publications of the Host Society; including Ulu News, directories, sport schedules/programs, results, posters, etc. o Host Society publications were effective. Where possible the phone directories should be circulated as early as possible. Media Describe the media coverage you saw in the host community, both print and electronic. o Local print, radio and electronic coverage was excellent. Medical Services/Polyclinic Was the medical staff helpful? Did they provide quality care? o The medical staff was excellent; they provided our athletes with quality care. The poly clinic took a very “athlete centered” approach provided excellent care. Was the location of the polyclinic convenient and the hours it was open sufficient? 5 o The location was easy to find for our athletes, it was a bonus that it was housed in the same building as the cafeteria and mission offices Provide comments or recommendations. o We found athletes were sent for X-rays when it was not necessary. We appreciated the concern for our athletes, but felt this was excessive. o Our insurance was not accepted at all clinics, there were issues with our athletes being sent to clinics that did not accept our insurance, meaning alternative arrangements needed to be made. Results Were accurate results produced and disseminated in a timely manner? o As soon as the IT department received the official results they up on the site, which was appreciated. Security Did the security arm of the Games work effectively? o Yes, security was very accommodating and at the same time did their job. Each security check-point was consistent and effective. Were the security people helpful? o The security was very helpful and friend with our team and this was greatly appreciated. Social Program Were there sufficient opportunities for your young people to socialize with their peers from other delegations? Yes there were, as the week went along our athletes started to make more friends with other contingents. Were social functions well run and well supervised? Provide comments or recommendations o The social functions were well run and organized. If additional support is needed from Mission Staff for supervision this should be communicated well in advance so Team’s can accommodate. Participants enjoyed the “AWG Got Talent” and the Dance. 6 Transportation at the Games Provide comments or recommendations on the internal Games transportation system. o Transportation issues were minimal and addressed quickly. The transportation information in the participant guide was very thorough and clear. The transportation team went out of their way to accommodate participants if they missed a bus, this was appreciated.