By Peter Ashkar
Students looking for a place to watch the Winter Olympics need look no further than Algonquin’s Marketplace Food Court in D building.
In a collaboration between Coca-Cola, Student Support Services, Food Services, Connections, and the Information Technology Services (ITS), Olympic coverage will run Feb 10 to 21, the video streams from the CBC website running from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Marketplace Food Court will be partially transformed into Algonquin’s Olympic Headquarters. There will be three televisions, the main screen will showcase Team Canada when competing, and the other two screens will stream various other matches and events.
“There will be giveaways throughout the two weeks. There will be prizes, contests, and fun things to create some excitement around the event,” said Mara Lowrey, assistant manager, ancillary marketing and card programs
Food Services will be promoting “giveaways, activities, and meal specials,” including finger foods and sampler platters, with a “breakfast of champions” offered in the mornings. Students on campus during reading week will be able to enjoy free hot chocolate courtesy of Food Services, running Feb 18 to 21.
The lounge isn’t the only place on campus to catch coverage of the Games, the Observatory, Student commons, and Connections will all have the Winter Games streaming. Connections will also carry a selection of Team Canada merchandise.
As most students withdraw from schoolwork and relax during reading week, a group of four Algonquin students are presently in Sochi volunteering for the Games and blogging about their experiences abroad for their Sports and Business Management Program (SBM), their Blog, SBM Sochi Olympics 2014 has daily entries by all four students.
The students, volunteering at the Canadian Olympic House are Lisa McCann, 23, Stacey Hull, 24, and Doug Best, 24, while Makaila Martin, 23, is assigned to volunteer at the Main Press Centre.
Martin, a linguist, was not originally scheduled to go to Sochi, but when the Olympic committee spokesperson learned she is fluent in seven languages, a fourth position was created. All of the students chosen are qualified in their own right having accrued high marks to be eligible to volunteer.
As of their current blog entry, posted Feb 3, the SMB students are being put to work, traveling up the mountain where events like the snowboard half pipe, bobsled, luge, and skeleton will take place, while Martin was tasked with interning at the CBC working on documents pertaining to the opening ceremonies for the French-speaking Radio Canada broadcast. With all last minute details begin put in order, everything should go off smoothly.