USAA Nationals : Part I
Posted By Jennifer Housley on 26 July 2004
Once our minds were sufficiently fried and my need for food overwhelmed both me and my two fellow judges, we headed out to find nourishment. Tired brains and bodies made for an interesting dinner. Knowing that was ahead of us, we enjoyed a few drinks and stared into space between humor spasms. Shortly thereafter, we headed back to the house where we were staying for some sleep. But, sleep didn’t come for any of us any time soon. None of us could rest even though we tried; there was too much on our minds.
Competition: Day 1 Dynamic Apnea
Competitors, volunteers, judges and organizers were supposed to converge on the pool promptly at 7am. Tony and I were staying at the same house and thus carpooled to the event. A coffee stop (tea for me) took only minutes and we were on our way. Thanks to my lack of spatial prowess, we were late. Cursing ourselves because of how we each hate to see “those in charge” showing up late to important events and meetings with coffee in hand, and then doing that ourselves, we walked onto the pool deck hunched over and in a hurry.
I began introducing myself to people and was pleased to finally meet folks with whom I had previously had only phone or e-mail contact. I met the volunteers, spectators, athletes, family members, and pool staff. Personally, I considered my job as a co-organizer as also one of hosting, and as a host, I wanted to do my best to ensure our guests were welcomed and treated well. We had a solid group of interested, competent people in attendance and they proved this over and over again during the course of the competition. I collected the remaining liability releases, medical forms, and other paperwork and tucked everything away into my red and blue clipboard, which ended up to be a permanent attachment of mine throughout the competition. – I highly recommend them !
Grant gave the competition briefing. Because we had so many new competitors, he went into far more detail than one normally would. Tony, Matt and I participated as well, each throwing our two cents into the hat in an organized fashion. There would be 4 judges (Tony, Grant, Matt and myself) and one competition lane. Matt would be the in-water judge and safety for the competition lane with the help of two volunteers. I would be the on-deck safety and judge. Grant and Tony would focus solely on judging. Warm-ups would occur one lane over. We went through zero time, timing and how it all worked. Grant gave an overview of rules and regulations. Papers were passed out. Questions were answered.
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