January 3, 2014 at 11:55 a.m.
Former Hodag to see the slopes of Sochi
vKost's love of skiing, Olympics leads to rare opportunity
Former Hodag to see the slopes of Sochi
Kelsey Kost, a 2004 graduate of Rhinelander High School, and a member of the ski team while there, was approved as a volunteer for the Alpine skiing venue during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
It's not an honor that's easy to come by.
Applications must be submitted at least a year in advance, and applicants go through interviews and tests to demonstrate that they have the necessary skills.
"A lot of it is based in the history of the Olympic movement and trying to pioneer the Olympic spirit throughout all the volunteers," Kost said.
"They're almost all on Olympics history to start out with ... and then there's one on security, one on sustainability, and then a couple on ski racing."
Prospective volunteers are given a chance to study.
"They have all the information provided to you and you have to read it all," Kost said. "I took mine when everything wasn't translated from Russian, so that was harder. If I would have waited it would have been a lot easier."
Kost had help with the translation.
"I was in a Russian class and had my teacher translate them," she said.
Kost knows little Russian, but skills in another language probably helped her achieve her volunteer role.
"I've had one class in Russian, but I'm fluent in German, so that is probably why I got the position," she said.
Only 2,000 international volunteers were selected, with 10 percent of those coming from the U.S., according to the Sochi Volunteers website. A total of 25,000 were to be selected.
Volunteering for the Olympic Games is something that has interested Kost for a long time.
"I had wanted to volunteer at the Olympics since I was a kid - we used to play Olympics growing up ... and I ski-raced in high school and college, so it seemed like the perfect marriage of the two," Kost said. She was a ski racer for Northern Michigan University where she completed undergraduate studies.
Kost wants to see not just the Olympic events, but also the country that is hosting them.
"That it's in Russia is just a bonus because I've always wanted to go there," she said, citing Russia's rich, diverse history.
"There are very few countries where you can go to a different part of the country and it just feels like you're in a completely different world. So, it's always been fascinating," Kost said.
She said she sought the opportunity to volunteer.
"Every Olympic Games has volunteers and they all go through a similar application process, at least to my understanding," Kost said.
"So, you just have to go to the organizing website and they'll have a volunteer section and you can enter an application in there and you have to do it at least a year in advance. It's a lengthy process."
The work
Kost found out she made the Alpine ski course crew Oct. 1. Following that, there was more testing and training.
Now she awaits departure on Jan. 28. She will arrive in Sochi late on Jan. 29. Her return trip is scheduled for Feb. 24.
Her work there will be completed while on skis.
"I'm not sure of the specifics yet," Kost said. "I know it will be a lot of just course maintenance, probably setting up the safety netting to ensure that the athletes are safe.
"And then there's a lot of maintenance during the races. If an athlete hits a gate and breaks it, it needs to be replaced, if they hit the panel and it comes off, it needs to be readjusted and then there will be some volunteers who have to check the courses in between races to make sure that it's a good course for them to run."
As far as potential security issues in Sochi, Kost isn't concerned.
"You can have something bad happen to you no matter where you are," she said.
Kost will be rooting for Team USA, of course, but her favorite racer is Croatia's Ivica Kostelić.
Kost has never seen an Olympic event live, but has seen a few World Cup ski races. She has been making sure she has the time for this chance.
"I have not taken a full day off since July," she said. "I've been saving up my time so that I would be able to do this, because it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
The anticipation isn't full-on just yet, Kost noted.
"I'll be excited when I get my Russian visa back," she said.
For more information on Olympic volunteers, visit http://vol.sochi2014.com/en/.
Craig Turk may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.