Sport - Sports : General

First priority, a home away from home

WELLINGTON: The first wave of the New Zealand Olympic team’s management — interior designers — left for Beijing on Friday the New Zealand Olympic Committee announced.

One of the first priorities for Chef de Mission Dave Currie and his support team will be to create a home away from home for athletes in New Zealand’s compound inside the sprawling Olympic Village.

“We get a blank canvas within the village and we’ll work really hard to make a little bit of Aotearoa in Beijing,” Currie said.

Following on from a similar initiative at the Athens Games in 2004, the New Zealand team’s base will be decorated with images and mementos from home.

Similar efforts will be made at the temporary homes of the equestrian contingent in Hong Kong, and the sailors at Qingdao.

Currie said the Beijing Olympics was unusual in the fact teams were fragmented — the soccer teams are also initially based a considerable distance away in Shanghai and Shenyang — meaning they cannot participate in the August 8 opening ceremony.

The soccer programme starts two days before the Games officially open but to make those players feel part of the team they will spend a couple of days in the village before their competition starts.

“We want them to feel part of the team and have some sense of an Olympic experience,” Currie said. It is likely the only time the soccer teams will be in the host city as only the semifinalists return.

In another attempt to bond the far-flung team, a video link will be established to involve those outside of Beijing in the official team function on August 7. — Xinhua

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