Read More Behind the TorchMargaret-Anne Dyson
Graduate Student in Sport Management
Waking up early has never been a problem for me, and today wasn’t any different. This morning, 13 of my closest classmates and I woke up around 2:30 a.m., if any of us managed to get any sleep in the first place, to board a Crimson Ride and head to the Birmingham Airport.
After a quick ride, security check and an airport breakfast, we were Colorado bound, and, after a connection in Dallas/Fort Worth, our two-hour plane ride landed us in Colorado Springs.
A short bus ride took us to the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center. We disembarked the bus to check in and obtain our all-access pass. This pass is pretty much the key to the world in here. All buildings require this key — it’s your room key, your dining hall pass and your pass onto campus.
Once we got our keys, to the dorm rooms we went to drop off our bags. Then, off to the dining facility. We have been hearing for a month how amazing the food is here, and believe me when I say it did not disappoint. Salad station, grill station, pasta station, ice cream station and more.
After we were full of Olympic food, the tour commenced. We watched a chill-inducing video highlighting the greatest moments of the London Summer Games, the Sochi Winter Games and the upcoming Rio Games.
When the video concluded we began our walking tour of the campus, starting with the strength and conditioning building. There were dumbbells ranging from two pounds to 250 pounds, yoga balls of every size, bar bell stations and machines I have never seen.
Next stop was the basketball/volleyball/gymnastics courts; three courts side by side, varying in ceiling height and equipment. The walls were adorned with motivational quotes from famous athletes, writers and entertainers.
We then headed to the training pool. This one million gallon pool is kept at a warm 80 degrees, year round. As you can imagine, that can become difficult in the Colorado winters.
Our final stop was the indoor shooting range. This facility is the largest indoor shooting facility in the Western Hemisphere. We were surrounded by some of the greatest facilities on the Olympic circuit.
With the tour’s conclusion, we went to the other indoor basketball court to play our first wheelchair basketball game. This was easily one of the most difficult games we have ever played. The rules are a little different with the double dribble and the traveling, but definitely a more intense version.
Mix this intense game with the competitive nature of our entire program, and you get quite the basketball game. Not only does it work your upper body strength in places you didn’t know could be worked, but it also becomes quite the contact sport.
In the struggle to steal the ball from an opposing teammate, my wheel came off my chair, and down I went — hard. No worries. I got up with the help of the teammate, and everyone got a fantastic laugh out of it. No one really kept score, but the experience and teamwork building we gained was irreplaceable.
As I am typing this, my classmates and I are going on a 19-hour day. It has been packed with some amazing sites and tours, and I cannot wait to see where this adventure takes us tomorrow.
Fifteen prospective sport management professionals from The University of Alabama will have an opportunity to interact with the nation’s sport managers during a graduate-level, interim travel course at the United States Olympic Committee headquarters. Three of these students – 23-year-old Margaret-Anne Dyson, of Pensacola, Florida, 23-year-old Brea Armstrong, of Memphis, Tennessee, and 24-year-old Aaron Williams, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin — will blog about their learning adventures over the next seven days.