Keeping up with things (at home and on the other side of the country)

There are some things about covering the Winter Olympics that are always tough to deal with and one of those things is not getting to see the teams I covered throughout the season until that point continue on with their seasons or in some cases finish out those seasons.

The Winter Olympics have, at least for the last 12 years, fallen right in the middle of the high school ski championships. That week has traditionally been one of my favorite weeks of the year, getting the chance to see ski races all over the state in quick succession. But when I'm away, I don't get to see that.

So, I am grateful to all of the coaches and parents who have sent me either results or pictures from the alpine State Meets. So far, I've gotten results for everything but the Division IV girls, so we're most of the way there. I've written up stories on the Division II and Division III boys and girls and the Division IV boys for each of my schools. I know there are four team championships amongst our local athletes in the Kennett boys and girls, the Lin-Wood boys and the Profile girls. I also know the Gilford girls finished as the runners-up in Division III.

Then there's keeping up with things here in Italy. Traditionally, even with a regular Olympics where things aren't so spread out, it's impossible to see everything you want to see, the timing just doesn't always work. We have access to a media hub where we can get quotes and watch press conferences and the televisions in the media center broadcast contests from around the Olympics if you want to watch.

With this version of the Olympics being so spread out, the coverage is even more impossible and the organizers helped to remedy that by giving us all one-month subscriptions to HBO Max, which has the Eurovision coverage of the Olympics. This allows us to watch any event from anywhere live while it's going on or after it's happened.

With that, I've been able to watch the US women's hockey team pick up a win, saw Liz Lemley and Jaelin Kauf get gold and silver, respectively, in the women's moguls and saw Ryan Cochran-Siegle win the silver medal in the Super-G. It's a very helpful tool and while the announcers can be a little rough, it's nice to be able to see most anything while I am in a media center, in a venue or in my hotel.

Congratulations to the championship winning alpine ski teams back in New Hampshire. While I am not physically there, I am there in spirit and am keeping an eye on you all from the mountains of Italy.


This is my computer in the Venue Media Center for curling and sliding sports, watching Liz Lemley and Jaelin Kauf win medals hundreds of miles away, while the televisions in the background are broadcasting the biathlon from up in Anterselva. And I am writing stories about the alpine ski championships taking place in New Hampshire. Technology is amazing.

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