The Olympics... and beyond

It's less than 60 days until the Tokyo Summer Olympics. There's a lot to be done on my end between then and now. Probably most important on that list of things to be done is the second payment on my accommodations. The invoice arrived in the Accommodation Management System last week and it's sitting on my desk with a deadline of early June, so that will get done soon.  There's also plenty of COVID-related issues that have to be dealt with prior to Tokyo. I have filled out numerous forms online and will have to download a health app that will track us while in Japan to keep people aware of any possible close contacts that might happen.  While Tokyo is coming up quickly and is on the radar, there were also deadlines to be met for the Beijing Winter Olympics next February. One of those deadlines was for the first payment for my accommodations, which was due on May 1. However, I did not even receive the invoice for the payment until after that date, so they gave me until Ma...

I have to admit, I was caught off guard a bit when I got an e-mail from the Beijing Olympics accommodation system telling me that they would be letting us know about our accommodations for the 2022 Winter Olympics this week. I guess I was too busy thinking about the Tokyo Games this summer and what I have to do to prepare for them, that Beijing wasn't on my mind. However, I checked the accommodation management system today and sure enough, they had given me accommodations for February and once I finished filling out the paperwork, they were going to send me an invoice and the first payment for the Winter Games accommodations is due by the end of this week. So, I guess I will be making a trip to the bank as soon as the invoice comes in. Like in Tokyo this summer, the Beijing Winter Games are using existing hotels to house the media next winter and I was given the Beijing Changbaishan International Hotel in the Chaoyang District of Beijing. It is about four kilometers from the main m...

Last week we reached another milestone in the countdown to the Tokyo Summer Olympics, as the calendar marked 100 days until the opening ceremonies. So, 100 days seems like a fairly long time, but in reality, it's not that far off. I am scheduled to fly out of Logan Airport in Boston in the middle of July for my two weeks-plus in Japan. The remainder of the money for my lodging is due in early June. In that regard, I've been splitting my part-time job checks between my Olympic account and my regular savings account and should have the Tokyo trip covered pretty easily and the Beijing trip also has funds already allocated. As I've made my way around the state throughout the winter sports season and now into the spring sports season, a question I get from people who know about my planned trips is "are you still going to the Olympics?"  I always tell people, that as far as I know, as it stands right now, the answer is yes. But, I am well aware that these things can cha...

When I got laid off last April and the gym closed, I started walking a lot. In the morning I'd go into Wolfeboro and walk for about 45 minutes before getting my breakfast and then in the afternoon, I'd head to the Cotton Valley Rail Trail, starting at Fernald Crossing in Wolfeboro or Clark Road in Brookfield. Those afternoon walks usually averaged somewhere between four and eight miles, depending on how much time I had, the weather and how I was feeling. As I got back to the job, I still kept walking in the mornings when I don't have to work at the Yum Yum Shop and if there was still time, I'd try to get in a walk in the afternoon, but with games, it's not always possible. However, right now we are at a break in between seasons, so I have been walking every day. And it was on one of these walks on Friday afternoon when a text message came across my phone from my Yum Yum Shop co-worker, Joe, with a video of firefighters going in the back door of the Village Players T...

It's been an unusual high school season. Perhaps the most jarring part about all of it was the lack of fans in many gyms and arenas over the course of the winter. Many schools were allowing a small number of fans, in most cases, a couple of fans per player from the home team. A few other schools allowed two fans per player from both teams. But there were a number of schools who were not allowing fans at all. The only people in the gym, besides the coaches and players were school officials and media members such as myself. This definitely took some time to get used to. It hit me the most at my first hockey game of the season, which took place at the Merrill Fay Arena in Laconia. Berlin-Gorham was in town for the game and the only people in the arena besides the coaches and players on the bench were a few Laconia-Winnisquam-Inter-Lakes parents who had been taking temperatures at the door, ADs from the schools, arena staff, the Berlin-Gorham bus driver and a couple of Berlin-Gorham pl...

And breathe... The past fall and winter sports seasons have been the strangest season's I've dealt with in my 20 years doing this job. They've also been the busiest seasons I've had. With the 10 extra schools put on my list to start this past school year, I've found myself driving all over the state to cover games, even more so than normal. Most weeks I would drive north to Lincoln or beyond at least once, sometimes twice, to cover teams in the Littleton Courier area. Add that to the teams all around the Lakes Region, then throw in playoff games, championship meets and the like and the mileage started to pile up. But, that's part of the job and I'm OK with it, as long as I remember to get some sleep so that I don't total another car. And now, the winter season has drawn to a close and I can breathe again. For a month or so. All in all, it was a fairly successful season and it ended on a pretty good note, for the most part. All three teams in my coverage ...

Another week and another update from the Olympics, this time almost a dozen years in the future. The International Olympic Committee announced last week that it was entering a targeted dialogue with the city of Brisbane about hosting the 2032 Summer Olympics. While it is not official that the Australian city will be hosting the Summer Olympics in 2032, it is likely that the Olympics will be returning Down Under for the first time since Sydney hosted in 2000. As of right now, there are still no plans for the Winter Olympics in 2030 and 2034, though there are a few cities that are rumored to be in the mix, including Salt Lake City and Sapporo, Japan, both of which have hosted the Winter Olympics in the past. It is believed that most of the cities that are exploring Winter Olympics are waiting to see just how the Tokyo Olympics go this summer as well as the Beijing Winter Olympics next February go before moving forward with their bids to host. On a personal note, last week also brought th...