Inside the Village: Where the Olympians live in Vancouver
By Greg Wyshynski
As part of a select group of international media, Yahoo! Sports had the opportunity to explore the Olympic Village in Vancouver without many restrictions. Here's part one of our series, focusing on the college-dorm-like athletes' accommodations.
The Italian building is colorful. The Russian building is appropriately foreboding. The U.S. building overlooks the courtyard, where competitors from many nations mingle. Canada's two buildings have, perhaps, the best views of Vancouver's picturesque sights. The Aussies' flags are eclipsed by a giant banner depicting a boxing kangaroo.
The Olympic Village in Vancouver houses an estimated 2,730 athletes, coaches, officials and other members of national delegations. It is a city unto itself, with food, entertainment, medical services and other amenities. But the majority of the village is dedicated to housing.
In general, the accommodations are a series of simple, no-frills rooms — small beds in small bedrooms, and a kitchen that doesn't have an oven or stove, lest a competition-weary athlete leave the gas on after a late-night snack (that's why there's a 24-hour McDonald's on site). The process of determining who lives where in the village is a meticulous and, at times, very political one.
Only national officials, coaches, trainers, technicians and athletes stay in the village; family members aren't allowed to room there, unless they are part of a delegation. There is a "host program" in Vancouver that allows athletes to stay with "citizens of Vancouver" as well.
There are 250 non-market units that are owned and maintained by the city, and roughly 850 retail units that will be on the market after the Olympics.
The dorm-style rooms that were on display to the press in the Olympic Village this week aren't necessarily indicative of all the housing — some rooms are more luxurious than others, but with a smaller square footage. Occupancy is between two and six people, but it averages out to about four per apartment.
Inside the entrance to each suite, there's a sitting area, which evidently is a significant advancement in athlete housing, according to Dan Merkley, manager of village operations and the resident know-it-all on Olympic residences (this is his fifth Olympics).
How is the housing decided? It's a process that begins a year in advance, according to Merkley. There's a village staff whose job it is to allocate the different spaces in the village to the teams.
"They consider the size of the teams, where they would like to stay, certain criteria that's unique to their teams. We drop in the big ones first, because they're going to anchor the village," he said. "It's really only the very largest teams that are aware of their allotment before their arrival. The medium-sized and smaller teams learn when they arrive."
The blocks of rooms are turned over to the respective National Olympic Committees, who then run the buildings like their own hotels. "If there are any preferences or complaints, we leave that to them," said Merkley.
full article and pics at source
http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vanc...re-the-Olympians-live-in-?urn=oly,218827
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