I never thought I would go home with a stack of used tickets from this Olympic Games. We were told numerous times that all tickets were sold out as soon as we arrived in Beijing. Thousands of people had waited in line for almost two days in hot, humid weather to buy their tickets. The Games are officially over and I can gladly say that I have seen about eight or nine different events, including a large amount of America’s new favorite sport, fencing. The most significant event I witnessed was probably Usain Bolt winning the one hundred meter final and crushing his own world record.

But now the 2008 Olympic Games are over and the Olympic Green is back to looking like a ghost town. Venues are empty, stores are closed, and the torch is out until the Paralympic Games begin on September, 6^th.

Working for the Olympic News Service helped me realize a few different things. First, I discovered that journalists are actually a different breed. They will do anything and everything to get the information that they need, and for the most part, they will step on anyone in their way. I had been told this before but you cannot actually understand this until you have been in the mixed zone or in the press tribunes with some of the Italian journalists. Another thing I learned is that majority of the time being prepared to interview an athlete is less important than just thinking on your feet and allowing the athlete to verbalize what they are thinking. Both of these things could probably be said in a classroom numerous times but not truly understood until you are in this environment. I also realized I made the right decision in staying away from studying journalism as my major. 

Back to the States in two days.

So fencing officially wrapped up on Sunday night. You know even after working that many consecutive long days I am a little bummed that it is over. It was amazing to see the sport up close and personal. I think that one of the most amazing things for me was the chance we got to be so close to the athletes. There were not usually hoards of journalists crowding the mixed zone and as far as some countries were concerned I was getting one-on-one interview time. It was amazing to actually make some connections with these people. I mean, they are just people. I had a long talk with Mariel Zagunis and when we ran into her last night she actually remembered me and said hi. Where else would I have gotten an experience like that.

So we all ran into Michael Phelps last night. I must say it was a pretty interesting experience. He wasn't as tall as I was expecting him to be but his hands and feet are so large its pretty intimidatinig (I guess 8 golds are as well but he didn't have those on). It is unbelievable to think of myself here with some of the world's most prominent people. Standing in the same place as them. It is truly an unbelievable experience.

With just a week left to go in this trip I can honestly say that I am a little sad to be leaving. I have really enjoyed the people I have met, the friendships I have made and the new world I have been able to explore. One more week, so I might as well make the best of it.

    So my work as a fencing flash quote reporter has ended.  It really just hit me today that all the preparation, hard work, and interviews all came to an end in a flash (no pun intended).  In a week and a half I will return to Ithaca College to begin another year so before I hop on a plane for a 13 hour flight I want to briefly reflect on my past few weeks and my current view on the sport of fencing. 

    Since starting as a flash quoter I have developed an immense amount of respect for the sport of fencing.  Coming into it I thought it was just going to be a bunch of country club guys hitting each other with swords.  It didn’t sound too exciting but I must say that I was entirely wrong in that assumption. These fencers are not only outstanding athletes, but their personalities range from down to earth and polite to over confident and sometimes belligerent.  I can let the holes in the walls all over the mixed zone speak for the latter.

    The fans are what they would be in any sport.  They get dressed up in their countries colors, wave flags, and sing songs and chants during the matches.  It really does get very exciting and extremely loud in the Fencing Hall, especially when Chinese fencers are out on the piste.  As a flash quote reporter I must remain impartial to any one countries’ fencers so my questions for each fencer can be fair and unbiased.  This standard of professionalism had me resisting the urge to chant “U-S-A” with the US fans in each bout, even though I would have loved to support my countries fencers who impressively won 6 medals and were tied with the powerhouse Italians on the fencing medal count.

      Being a flash quoter has also given me an understanding of journalism even though we weren’t the ones writing articles.  After talking to many of the journalist in the mixed zone, and seeing how my quotes were used in articles and daily event reviews, I now better understand the process.  After all, getting the quotes to use in your article is half the battle.

      Now that fencing has ended I have a little bit of time to myself.  I can sleep more than 5 hours a night and say goodbye to those long 17 hour days.  It is kind of bittersweet and I am really glad I was able to have such a great experience. Maybe I will be working for LOCOG (London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games) in 2012, who knows?

Fencing. Who knew?

Have hardly had a free second over the last week to blog but it’s been one of the better weeks of my life. First off, there was the Opening Ceremonies. I could write 10 pages on the night but it would largely consist of superlatives, mainly the words ‘unbelievable’ and ‘incredible’. But the unexpected treat of the week has been the fact that Fencing is actually pretty damn fun to watch once you understand it.

This is probably true about Cricket, Equestrian and Field Hockey as well, but the drama of Fencing is unparalleled in dare I say, any sport?

Tied at 14-14, Becca Ward wearily eyed her opponent. The next lightning-quick strike of the sword meaning the difference between flying home with a medal around your neck or the weight of failure on your shoulders. The room was dark except for the narrow, dramatically lit piste in a room full of 4,000 faceless spectators waiting to explode at the sound of blade on flesh...

Ok, it doesn’t actually hit the flesh, but I hope that was at least somewhat more interesting than reading about a pre-season NFL game. I don’t see myself looking up Fencing box scores a year from now, but I think we’ve all very much enjoyed covering it so far.

Oh, and Becca won 15-14. She went nuts. It was pretty darn cool.

Two days into competition fencing and I am hooked! And how can you not be after seeing three American women sweep the podium in Saturday's Women's Individual Sabre competition?! It's the first time any country of either sex has swept the podium in any weapon. It was unbelievable the speed and grace with which these women compete. And seeing President George H.W. Bush wasn't all that bad either. 

I have learned so much about fencing in the last six months it is astounding. I have actually been able to help several American journalists in both the press tribunes and mixed zones. It doesn't seem like many of the American journalists are fencing experts.

I got a chance to interview Team USA Women's Foil coach Mike Pederson yesterday and it has definitly been the highlight of the fencing hall as of yet. Not only was he more than willing to talk with me he was also extremely excited to share his knowledge and expectations for the sport. I know he is not the only one hoping that fencing will begin to catch on in America. And a sweep like we saw Saturday night is just the answer they have all been looking for.

I have been able to speak with so many world class athletes it makes my head spin. I honestly cannot believe I am here at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. What an opportunity! All the hard work, training, flying, and jet lag has paid off. Watching the Opening Ceremonies the other night we all just kept repeating how shocked we were that are here. I am really happy to be able to enjoy this experience here in Beijing this summer and I am looking forward to more fencing and more fun.

~Jules~

Many were able to watch the evening unfold on television screens all over the world and some fortunate enough to be on the fringes of the excitement.  From glow in the dark drums, to Chinese costumes, to the final eight person torch relay up to the traditional torch cauldron the ceremonies were amazing.  However, I was not able to get a free ticket to the event nor could I afford to hand over the thousands of dollars necessary to receive one so I had another idea for watching the ceremonies.  I decided to head over to the Olympic Green and take in the Olympic atmosphere.

On my way over to the green with Brant and Adam, I recieved a call from Drew and Dave (Bauer) that team USA just got off their bus and went into the Fencing Hall. The Fencing Hall that we work at is on the Olympic Green, so I have been able to see much of the preparation for the Opening Ceremonies unfold. When we arrived this evening, I looked up to see an Olympic Green that I was not too familiar with.  When we got there the area was packed with close to 100,000 foreigners, media, Chinese, and volunteers.  Since it was night time it was also lit up in a way I had never seen nor imagined.  It looked like Las Vegas with all the flashing lights and colors.  There were spot lights going in every direction, the National Aquatics Center lit up with changing colors, the National Stadium lit up as well, and the International Broadcast Tower constantly flashing.  They even managed to have the sections of the sidewalk blink different colors as well. 

Since we had access to the Fencing Hall we flashed our credentials and bolted into the lobby to wait for the US athletes to come back down. Thirty minutes had passed when I first sighted the American athletes as they came down the escalator.  I was in complete awe as I saw the entire USA basketball team come down and gather right in front of me.  I walked towards them to try to get a picture but I was immediately met by security and told to stay back.  I just had to settle with taking pictures of them and not with them, but that is hardly “settling” when you are standing just feet away from some of the top athletes in the world.  I did however talk to a woman on the USA water polo team and I asked her what they were doing on the second floor of the Fencing Hall.  She told me that they all met up there because President Bush wanted to shake each of their hands before the games began and wish them good luck.  I could not believe that I was in the midst of such great athletes, and that our President was on the floor above.

When the American athletes were finished, they started walking out of the Fencing Hall into the “parade” route where they would gather at the National Indoor Stadium, and go country by country into the National Stadium (Bird’s Nest).  We figured we would walk with the team and see how far we could get before security pointed us another way.  One thing led to another (A.K.A Professor Guan worked his magic and got us into the parade) and we were let into the area with the athletes and walked with many countries as they carried their flags to the stadium. On each side was a barricade swarmed with security and workers to keep people no less than 30 feet from these athletes. There were thousands of screaming people who were singing songs, yelling names, and jumping up and down with excitement. 

We walked along side stars like Dirk Nowitzki of Germany, and Roger Federer of Switzerland.  However, the greatest moment was when China turned the corner and headed for the stadium tunnel.  Yao Ming carried the flag through thousands of excited Chinese who were yelling things one minute and crying the next.  It was truly an emotional moment for the Chinese people who had worked so hard up until that moment to ensure a successful Olympic Games.  Even Yao Ming got choked up and had to stop for a moment to regain composure.

The night ended with a twenty minute fireworks extravaganza.  They were shooting the fireworks from out of the stadium, on the Olympic Green itself, and from the tops of various buildings in the immediate area.  It made the fourth of July look like children playing with sparklers in their backyards.  When the smoke finally settled, everyone around me was looking up at the Olympic flame and cheering.  The games had begun.

    I am starting to feel more comfortable with flash quoting. My first interview I was pretty nervous, but with the help of  INFO 2008 I can look up biographies of all the athletes and try to get background information to familiarize myself with them and  help formulate questions. I grab my legal pad, a pen, and start jotting a few questions down. Are you single, can you teach me how to fence? Scratch that.  How has training been going for you so far, what are your goals and expectations, you came close to getting a medal in the Sydney games, how are you preparing yourself differently this time? Deep breaths, grab the ONS bib, and down the elevator I go, looking around for one of my teams that I have been assigned; Spain and my athlete is Javier Menendez. He doesn’t look anything like the picture online but I think this is the one. “Excuse me Javier, my name is Shanell Cuddy I am from the Olympic News Service, may I ask you a few questions”?  “Si si. My English is not very good”, as he points to his teammate who will translate for me. I got some good quotes from him shook his hand and smiled. Back to the office and go and I am ready to type in my quotes and have my ONS style checked. For my first try I did a fairly good job, and my quotes were published into the database.  I have gotten help coming up with questions, making the questions I ask during training more of a conversation; which helps take a lot of the pressure off the athlete and myself.  I have been interviewing athletes from Hungary, and Belarus as well. We were able to take advantage of our language specialist with the Belarus team which was helpful for the most part, but some pieces get lost in translation and  the quotes that were said were not good enough to be used in a story.  With 3 days till the games, we anxiously are awaiting our work schedules.  Each day that I go into work and Menendez is training he spots me smiles and waves, and sometimes throws a wink in there. I am starting to feel somewhat important!

~Nellie

Only 4 days left until the Opening Ceremonies! The Olympic Green is full of people rushing around trying to finish up every last minute detail. Today we got a chance to visit the official (and now finalized) Field of Play, or FOP as our ONS supervisors and managers keep calling it. In only 3 weeks it has changed dramatically. I cannot believe how elaborate the decoration of our venue has become.

I have really enjoyed getting a chance to talk to more athletes. I spoke with one of the Hungarian foil fencers today. It was cool because I finally had a chance to test out some of my french skills. I guess several years of classes really did pay off. I am amazed at how many different languages people from other countries speak. I knew that Americans are often criticized for speaking one or two languages and I didn't understand until now. The women I spoke with today spoke Hungarian, Italian, French and English. I really want to learn more languages now. It has such a multi-dimensional use in such a global world.

Last night a group of us traveled to see the Flying Acrobats Show at the Chaoyang Theater. It was AMAZING! It was the best thing I have seen so far on this trip. Each acrobats unbelievable patience, balance and skill took my breath away. If anyone is looking for something fun to see in Beijing I will definitly be recommending that to them. 

With only a couple of days left the ONS office is beginning to get busier. More fencers come in each day to train and see the venue. I had no idea the fencing world was so large! And it seems our SIS Egon knows everyone. I don't know how he manages to keep track of all the rules and teams as well as players and fencers. I really am learning how much of an honor it is to be chosen to work alongside some spectacular journalists and sports commentators. I am really looking forward to the start of the games and competition. Training is neat to watch but I would really like to start seeing the bouts begin. 

We have been here one month officially and I am still finding myself lost in this massive city. Every day is a new adventure and I can't wait for the biggest adventure yet to unfold.

~Jules

We are all becoming more confident by the day with our flash quote reporting skills. With three or four successful interviews with real athletes, interviewing doesn’t seem as terrifying as I thought. One thing that makes interview easier is that most of the athletes that we will be interviewing don’t speak perfect English. Yesterday I interviewed an athlete from Morocco and he asked me if we could do the interview in French. I obviously told him no, because my four years of high school French have basically dissolved from my brain at this point. You might think that hearing broken English would be harder to get quotes, but the athletes are not spitting out sentence after sentence provides more time to write down the quotes.  

We have also finally figured out how to navigate around the fencing hall. We can now get to the dinning hall from the ONS office without turning around five times. A new addition has also made it into the dinning hall. Western food! Sounds exciting, but it is actually a Chinese version of pizza and some croissants. The Olympic Green is still relatively quiet and most of the stores look ready to open.

There is still no news about the Italian fencer Andrea Baldini and whether he will be able to compete in the games. Officials are still waiting for the second part of the banned substance test to return.

    Today started out as just another day at the office as we like to call it but turned into something much more.  We arrived at the Fencing Hall at around 10 A.M. like we always do to prepare questions for the various fencers and countries that decide to practice.  When we arrived at our office our ONS reporter (Jaqueline Le) informed me that the questions and quotes I asked Swiss fencer Michael Kauter were published and used in a small news article (http://news.xinhuanet.com/<wbr>english/2008-07/30/content_<wbr>8862344.htm).  It was pretty cool to see and I am really looking forward to seeing all the quotes my fellow FQR’s and I receive being published in future fencing articles.

    After checking in to the office, we printed out biographies of the Spanish fencers because we were told that they were practicing on the training pistes (a piste is the fencing field of play).  So we quickly jotted down whatever questions we could think of and interviewed the fencers.  I interviewed the lone Spanish epee fencer, Jose Luis Abajo. He talked about his preparation for this year’s games, the most competitive epee fencing countries that he will go up against, as well as his hopes for this years Olympic games.  Now he may not be a Sophie Lamon or a Yana Shemyakina, but he was a nice guy none the less.

     After submitting our quotes into the INFO 2008 database that we use, we were told that today we would be leaving the Fencing Hall for a very special lunch.  I can guarantee you that each and every one of us was pleased about that considering that we have been getting tired of the same Chinese microwavable, lunchable, airplane-esque...-able food that we get from the Fencing Hall cafeteria.  So we hopped onto a shuttle bus along with much of the venue management staff with the destination of a 5-star hotel.  We pulled up to the Marco Polo Parkside hotel and were immediately greeted by well dressed, English speaking, friendly hotel staff on a rolling red carpet.  As we walked up to our private dining room, I kept thinking about how good the food was going to be, and how I may need a good nap after stuffing my face with it.

    The meal had everything from fish and octopus to Peking duck and dumplings.  In fact there was a time where I remember wondering if they were going to stop bringing out food because I was beyond stuffed.  Being stuffed lasted only minutes until the pastries came out for dessert.  Of course I managed to eat my pastries…and Katherine’s… and some of Jacqueline’s, and then ventured off to the lobby for our fencing group photo with the venue management.  Looking back on today, the only thing that would have made today better would have been not finding out that Italian fencer Andrea Baldini will miss the Beijing Olympics after testing positive for a diuretic during last month's European Championships in Ukraine. Baldini was not participating in any team events so the news isn't as big of a blow to the Italians as it could have been.  However, it is going to be interesting to see some of the responses they give when I am intervieiwing them regarding his disqualification and what affect it has had on both the concentration and morale of the rest of the Italian team.