There was a Charlotte Sports Commission connection to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games!  I was fortunate enough to act as Media Relations Director for USA Canoe/Kayak from March to September of 2008, including working for the team in Beijing from 8/5 - 8/26/08.  Without the help of the entire staff and board of directors of the CRSC, this would not have been possible,
 
My "pre-games" work encompassed taking athletes through the USOC Media Summit in Chicago for interviews and press conferences with national and international print and electronic media. Then to Oklahoma City to manage media at the Olympic Trials for Flatwater Sprint and the same duties at the Slalom Trials at Charlotte's own US National Whitewater Center.  Then, once the team was named, I coordinated interviews with the athletes and wrote the media guide for the Games.
 
Once in Beijing, I was housed with other press officers at Beijing Normal University, home of the USOC's High Performance Center (HPC).   The HPC also housed several teams (Field Hockey, Boxing, Wrestling and others), coaches, USOC staff and recording staff that taped competition for coaches use.  The first HPC was used at the Athens Games, but this facility was much more complete.  Swimming, track and field and basketball were just a few of the teams that used the HPC.
 
On the media side, the USOC maintains a full service press office at the Main Press Center (MPC) at all Olympic Games.  The MPC itself was run by BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee) and is a very large facility that hosts all international print media and photographers.  It was complete with food court, medical, banking, post office, store, dry cleaning and even a barber!  Our USOC office served as a hub of work and communication for all press officers at the Games.
 
The Canoe/Kayak venue is 1 hour NE of Beijing which translated into a 3-hour round trip commute for me daily on one of the hundreds of busses that BOCOG arranged for the run of the games.  It was interesting being able to see the Chinese countryside which was filled with farms (corn everywhere!).  The Shunyi Olympic Rowing and Canoe Park was built specifically for the Games and Chinese Team training.  Unlike the US National Whitewater Center, the Shunyi facility will not see much (if any) public use.
 
Unfortunately, the USA Canoe/Kayak team had no medalists, but did have a sixth and eighth place finish in the finals which bodes well for the sport's future.  The athletes were fantastic to be around as were the coaches and trainers that comprised the team. 
 
I would like to once again thank Jeff Beaver, Mike Crum and David Yarborough for their support in making this experience possible in addition to Mike, Chris and Caroline.  Without all their help, there's no way this would have been possible!

• Ken Haines - Raycom Sports
• Kym Hougham - Wachovia Championship
• Steve Luquire - Luquire George Andrews
• Max Muhleman - Private Sports Consulting 
• Mark Richardson - Carolina Panthers
• Judy Rose - Charlotte 49ers Athletics
• Carl Scheer - Charlotte Checkers
• David Yarborough - USA Canoe/Kayak 

OCTOBER 2008
11: Bank of America 500
20: CRSC Golf Tournament
22: High School Leadership Summit