One of the privileges of academic life is the freedom to make a commitment to the world outside the University, indeed it is often expected. For me, this commitment has included a formal engagement with the British Olympic Association, culminating in the last two Olympic Games, Atlanta and Sydney. Having been involved in the preparation of teams for both of these events, I can reflect on both Games by way of contrast, and on the impact the research activity within the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences has made. Since 1992 among my responsibilities as Chair of the BOA's Exercise Physiology Steering Group, was the task of determining the acclimatisation strategy for British participants in both summer and winter Olympics. Guidelines for coping with new environments have to be based on sound science, but then translated into working recommendations. The research on 'body-clocks' and 'jet-lag' at JMU provided the British Olympic Association with a head-start over other European countries. Indeed the BOA provided the means for setting up three studies of jet-lag in travellers to Australia between 1998 and 2000. The opportunity to work on this research was accepted with relish by Ben Edwards, now a Research Fellow in the Research Institute. For those of us included, the appointment meant more week-end and after hours work. In October 1999 it was my turn to test-run our draft recommendations for coping with jet-lag and acclimatising in Australia. The strategy was to base the British team at a holding camp on the Gold Coast of Queensland, then go into the Olympic Village in Sydney as near as possible to competition time for the various sports. Facilities on the Gold Coast were excellent: the waters of the Hinze Dam used by the rowers were the envy of many other nations including the Australians. The track-and field athletes used facilities at the new running track at Griffiths University. In 1996 the British athletes had used the Florida State University's campus at Tallahassee as an acclimatisation camp prior to the Games in Atlanta. At Tallahassee we had been engaged 'hands-on' in monitoring levels of hydration in participants and observing physiological stress levels. The 'day-job' at JMU took priority for a few days as I returned for the University's Graduation Ceremony, in particular to introduce Professor Jan Clarys for his Honorary Fellowship. Then it was back to Atlanta for the competitions, accompanied by Chris Boardman, the last British athlete to leave the U.K. for the U.S.A.. This time the Sydney Games were two months later, Australia was too far away to repeat the half-time respite, but I was able to delay my departure until the Annual Conference of the British Association for Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) was over, hosted superbly by Don MacLaren and his team. So on the second day of September it was off to Australia once more, this time with the largest single party, 120 in all, heading for the 'holding camp' on the Gold Coast. Travelling almost anonymously in 1996 was in sharp contrast to this year's journey. The 'stars' strutted nonchalantly around the departure lounge at Heathrow Airport with a virtual aura of 'champion' around them. Linford Christie had his own group within his protective wing, being unusual for him to be likened to a mother hen caring for her chicks, whilst other managers allowed their charges to stroll around the public areas in a leisurely way. On the plane the travellers were obviously attentive to our guidelines, moving around on the plane and regularly doing their stretching exercises to avoid deep vein thrombosis. Life at the 'holding camp' appeared relaxed compared to other training camps I had been to. The design of the whole environment represented a 'home away from home'. To avoid losing focus, there was a 'Sydney simulation' room where athletes and coaches could experience what accommodation was like within the British teams' block at the Olympic Village. Morning meetings with team managers started each day. Any issues or problems were picked up at this stage. The exchanges were succinct lasting only about 10-15 minutes, in contrast to the longer meetings in Tallahassee in 1996. The managers knew their goals, were completely focused on the purpose of the camp and were not distracted by extraneous events. Any issues were handled by the BOA's head-quarters staff quickly and discreetly. The sports science personnel kept to their philosophy of discretion, being available on call as and when required. After all, it was too late now for scientific interventions. Work was unobtrusive, built around discussions with athletes at mealtimes or informally in the athletes' lounge, or (despite the camp being 'dry'), with the coaches in their own evening hideaway where stores of liquor were stashed away. Second article: http://cwis.livjm.ac.uk/jmunews/templates/printable.asp?ref=200011101501320206539300000000 There was an apparent relaxed atmosphere in the camp, in between the training session of each of the groups. The training facilities were excellent, from the provision for the boxers and taikwondo competitors to the police escorts for the cyclists on their daily rides. The chance to accompany groups to their training and to mingle with the best in the sports was an opportunity not to be missed. Invasion from the press and TV was controlled, some sports personnel taking the opportunity to gain publicity, whilst others preferred to retain their privacy. Where appropriate, I was asked to deal with the media (one of the extra-curricular duties was to edit the material from the Internet, which was posted daily on the athletes' bulletin board, so that negative reports did not appear). Whilst weight-lifter Tommy Yeo (a Ph. D. student at Manchester Metropolitan University) was the subject of a documentary by Eurosport, we allowed the commentator to tire himself on repeated Olympic-style 'snatches' until he had the technique nearly right. Then he was diplomatically told he had his 'lactic acid' story wrong. Exhausted, he changed tack to a more passive illustration and a scientifically acceptable narrative. Another potential intrusion was the presence of doping control representatives. All sports were visited, without warning. On one vening I was in the restaurant with Tommy Yeo and his coach John Lear when the call came for Tommy to report to the medical centre. Two hours later I encountered Tommy walking into the athletes' lounge, still clutching his sample bottle tightly, as yet unable to deliver the required volume. Visitors to the holding camp were also regulated. The Minister for Sport, Kate Howey, spent about ten days with us, mixing with the back-up head-quarters staff and the various sports groups. The philosophy was to fine-tune the final phase of training at the camp and depart for Sydney as late as possible. By the time the opening ceremony commenced there were more people still at the 'holding camp' than there were in Sydney. A complementary opening ceremony was organised so that athletes would have empathy with the events in the Olympic Stadium. There were addresses from Kate Howey and David Hemery, whilst BBC cameras relayed footage from our alternative ceremony (and interviews with Brendan Foster) to viewers back home. Whilst our 'head-quarters' staff had considered all contingencies at our team-building 'away-weekend' in South Wales in July, there was one we had not envisaged. The media picked up criticisms of the swimmers from Jonathan Edwards' website, stating they were at the Games for fun and had no serious competitive ambitions. A contrite Jonathan, (who apparently was unaware of the reports or of his website text) was obliged to apologise unreservedly to the swimmers. The rest of the camp`s personnel attempted to reboost the morale of the swimmers, turning out in force as they left the training complex for the local Coolangata airport. As the training camp emptied of personnel with the departure of groups as their competitive schedule kicked in, it was essential to preserve the same level of service for those remaining. At peak there had been about 500 in the party, excluding the many personal coaches who were day visitors. The project was supported by 403 local volunteers, mainly from the nearby Griffiths University and the local community, who did trojan work on day-to-day tasks. These included checking our rehydration stores (30,000 litres of sports drinks alone were consumed), assisting in physiological monitoring where required (most notably with the rowing squads), helping with equipment at training venues and with security arrangements. The university students had academic projects built around their tasks, and I was happy to have been involved in the construction of their modules during my visit in 1999. At the training camp, the BBC TV pictures were fed into the athletes' lounge. Oh the relief as Jason Queally won the first of the gold medals, in sharp contrast to the awful wait for the single gold medal in Atlanta. The concept of "Team GB" (every individual working at the camp was given the full team outfit, including the local volunteers) was obviously alive as the 'foreign' pentathlon coaches cheered on the rowers or the other athletes. The space on the news board was depleted day by day as details of successive medal-winning performances were posted. On Monday, in the final part of 'Olypmic Review', Tom oversees the athletes departure from Coolangata airport to the airport at Sydney and reflects on the contributions made by JMU staff to the overall success of the British Olympic team. Third article: http://cwis.livjm.ac.uk/jmunews/templates/printable.asp?ref=200011131136330885372300000000 During the latter half of the stay at the camp my responsibilities moved on to overseeing departures from Coolangata airport to the airport at Sydney. Transferrable skills from JMU included tracking down decathlete Dean Macey's pole and ensuring it got to the Olympic Village, and diplomatic translations of 'hurry up' to late departing 'elite' individuals. With the large groups, it was interesting to see those that sought solitude on the coach and those that wanted vocal company. Whilst driving the smaller groups to the airport (we had booked all the available Terragos on the Gold Coast), there was opportunity for a final reflection on their stay at the camp, or with Gavin Stewart, Chair of the Lottery panel, discuss the next cycle of lottery support for elite performers. The collaboration of airport personnel at Coolangata was exceptional, (meeting so many key people in the operation was a challenge to short-term memory and so a resort to 'good-day Bruce' was a safe tactic). The large groups were checked in before leaving the Radisson complex, and their unwanted baggage (32 kg) air-freighted back to the UK. A private lounge at the airport was decked out with BOA paraphernalia: here the traveller could relax, watch the Games on Australia's Channel 7 (nearly as biased as the U.S.A. channels were in 1996) and partake of snacks and sports drinks. Old timers were amazed at the meticulous arrangements, David Hemery remarking about his altogether different experience of Mexico 1968. Conscious that I was the last person from base camp to bid farewell to the performers, I wished each individual well as he or she walked the last 30 metres to the waiting plane. The change in mind-set was discernible- the preparation is over, now down to business. Although I did not travel to Sydney, I can claim to have been at the Olympics. I watched South Africa beat Brazil and then defeat Japan in the soccer matches at the Brisbane cricket ground. At Atlanta I had watched from the stands as Carl Lewis won the long jump and Michael Johnson ran his immaculate 19.22 200 metres. I was also witness to Linford and his relay team return to our lodge, having dropped the baton. Who says history does not repeat itself, the current relay squad also fluffing its handovers? As the positive results rolled in, reflections on the contributions of JMU staff were inevitable. Phil Graham-Smith and Adrian Lees were mindful of their work with the jumpers, Martin Eubank with the archers, Don MacLaren with the female middle distance runners and Greg Atkinson with the Bronze medal of cyclist Chris Newton. Ben Edwards will have recalled the esteemed rower who responded to his questionnaire on steps taken to help sleep on the plane: Answer: "I close my eyes". Also, there were the gold medallists Audley Harrison and Stephanie Cook who complied with our rigorous schedule of measurements 4 times a day, every day for 10 days during the studies of 1999. The debriefs have now begun, but against a backdrop of unprecedented media acclaim for the participants' achievements in contrast to the comprehensive negative comments in 1996. The Paralympic competitors did even better than their able-bodied counterparts, coming second only to the host nation. Whilst coaches and managers were uniformly positive about this year's preparations, they recognise that these will be difficult to replicate in Athens in 2004. Nevertheless we have already started on the planning cycle for the next Games. The impetus already gained should open up exciting possibilities for the next generation of scientists keen to engage in sports science support work.
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