Beijing Blog – Here we come!!
Getting Ready to Pack
We are now just a day away from the Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the magnitude of this world wide event is really starting to sink in. Sue and I have never been this in tune with everything Olympics. Newspaper articles, web sites, TV spots featuring athletes, Olympic venues, Chinese culture and other issues have all taken much more importance than any other Olympiad. I still have a hard time grasping what Lindsay has accomplished. We are extremely proud of her and her work ethic. Only now am I getting an appreciation on how hard she works every day in the pool.
Making the Team
At about 6:30 PM on April 6th, our family life was turned upside down. Lindsay’s win in the 200m backstroke changed her life. I remember watching the race and thinking that after 100m I was afraid she had gone out too fast and was hoping she could just hang on for a good finish. Hopefully her time would qualify her for the Junior Worlds in Mexico. After 150m she was still a body length in front and then it started to sink in that she was in line to make the Olympic Team. At the finish line we were in shock. She was only 15!! She was too young to make the team. After the medal ceremony, she was on deck , signing autographs on the volunteers tee shirts. That was probably the weirdest thing I have experienced as a parent. I yelled and got her attention and asked her to sign mine. She laughed. The next two days were a whirlwind. Unbeknownst to us on the Sunday, all Olympic Team members were required to stay in Montreal for two days of orientation. Sue and I looked at each other not really knowing what we should do. Finally we decided that I had to head back to work. Sue stayed behind with Lindsay and flew back home on Tuesday. It was overwhelming for Lindsay and Sue. Neither of them got any sleep that night.
Back to Newmarket
After the chaos of making the team in Montreal, it was back to the chaos of home. Lindsay came back Tuesday to a small party at our home with the rest of her Stingray teammates. There were requests for interviews from newspapers and television outlets and speaking engagements (which we politely declined). We tried to get Lindsay back to the regular routine of school, swimming and just being a teenager. She handled it all admirably . She had her moments but all in all ,stay pretty composed.
A busy summer
Within a few weeks of making the team, her summer schedule came together. First a week in Vancouver to compete in The Mel Zajac Bell Grand Prix event followed by her first Olympic Team training camp. Lindsay came back from that week much more confident and really felt like she belonged on the Olympic team. After a few meets in Ontario in June it was off to the Junior Worlds. The Canadian team ( coached by Newmarket Stingray Head Coach Alan Swanston, as well as having his son Matthew make the team on the Men’s side)had their staging camp in Houston before heading to Monterrey Mexico. Although Lindsay will say that she didn’t have the meet results she expected, she swam well and it was just another step towards competing on the ultimate world stage. A few days at home and it was off to Winnipeg to join up with Alan and the rest of the Stingray team for the Summer Nationals. A silver in the 800 free and a bronze in the 200 back made it a short but successful meet. I travelled with her to Winnipeg as her “handlerâ€. I handled her luggage and ultimately handled all the unneeded clothing and equipment back to Newmarket. On Sunday I took her to the Delta Winnipeg where the Olympic team was assembling for a Gala Dinner and then departing the next day for Singapore. It was at that point where it really hit me. Saying goodbye to her in the lobby, realizing that the next time I would see her would be in her 200 backstroke heat at the Olympics!!
We Gotta Go!!
From the outset, Sue and I have always said that we had to go. Even though Lindsay is young and has potential of making other Olympics, it was quite apparent at the suddenness of the trials, that there is no guarantee. To be the fastest in the country at the right time is tough and who knows if there isn’t another 15 year old four years from now beating her to the wall. We began making preparations. After a few weeks of phone calls and emails we managed to book flights. A direct flight to Beijing is 13hours. For a savings of $2500 we opted to take 17hrs and a short stop in Chicago. Meanwhile, Sue was exchanging countless emails with other swim parents. Lawrie Johns (father of swimmer Brian Johns and a veteran parent of past Olympics) graciously began the lobbying efforts to secure tickets for all the parents. Keep in mind that there are 18 sessions and approximately 17,000 seats available for each session – that makes a total of 306,000 tickets for swimming. The initial allotment for Canadian parents was -26! After a couple of months, with lots of work by Mr. Johns and others, over 300 were obtained and looks like every swim parent going will be able to see their kids compete. The next step was acquiring our visas from the Chinese Consulate. A few emails from other parents prepared us for potential delays and problems. Luckily (after firming up our accommodations) Sue managed to get our visas with little fanfare. Now that we are days away, we have subsequently obtained tickets for Track & Field, Trampoline and Rowing. After a few more weeks and more emails, I managed to connect with a Chinese Grad student (through a friend of a friend of my brother Peter) to pick us up at the airport and act as a Tour guide for a few days. If plans work out we will be trying see the sights, i.e. The Great Wall, Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace and the La Ma Temple to name a few. We will be there only a week , but an action packed week it will be. I will try and report back daily with pictures and a report on both the Olympics and daily life in Beijing.
Stay tuned…the next time we post it will be after a long flight. Below is a picture of Lindsay in Singapore about to do a 150 m time trial.
Enjoy the Opening Ceremonies everyone!!
Go Canada!!
Greg & Sue Seemann
P.S A big thanks to all the Stingray swimmers, parents and coaches for all their support and well wishes.
