The promise doesn't quite match the reality

Things are not quite what one would hope here. The promise doesn't quite match the reality. We have internet cafes and wireless hotspots but:

• I've been trying to get my email (via targetshooting.ca) and that isn't accessible.
• I've been trying to update my Facebook (via a browser) and that isn't accessible (intermittent?)

Its a bit of a drag, to say the least. Hopefully, it will improve over time.

Also, the weather didn't hold out. The smog is back and visibility is about 1-2 km. When you enter the 50 metre range (part indoor, part outdoor), the smog is evident. Even in the short 25 metre range, you can see the "air". Personally, while most people are following the odd/even rules for cars, it doesn't seem to be working. Its as bad or worse than anything that we saw in April, without the traffic restrictions. So far, it doesn't appear to be affecting the shooting athletes, but it is still several days out.

Most "big name" countries are here. I've seen Nestruev (Russia), Tirode and Dumoulin (France), Sekaric (Bosnia/Herzg.), Grozdeva (Bul.), Dorjsuren (Germany), to name just a few. I've seen Katy Emmons (Czech.), but no Matt Emmons (USA) or any other Americans. I had heard that the USA team was holding a pre-Olympic training camp in South Korea. That should allow them to acclimatise from the jet lag.

Personally, I'm having a tough time with waking up. I'm juggling some work issues (own damn fault) and working to clear them through. As such, I'm not sleeping well and when I do fall asleep, nothing wakes me up. I'm sleeping through alarms, phone calls, etc. Part of the problem is that I have a roommate (great guy, Eoin white) with a snoring problem. Actually, he doesn't have a problem snoring: he does it quite well. So, I wear my shooting earplugs to block it out. It does, as well as blocking out everything else. As such, I've missed two team dinners and barely got out on time for the bus in the morning.

I went to team services to see if they could help. Their help... wasn't. They have no alarm clocks. They went to show me how to use the alarm clock on the phone handed out, but, I didn't rate one of these. Yes, there is a hierarchy at the Games, and as a partially accredited coach, I am way down the list. The moral of this story, as with everything in our sport, is simple: total self-reliance. While in the Village, I should have assumed no alarms clocks (turned out to be the case) and should have brought two (the one I did bring is insufficient). I should have also prepped myself to make sure that I had real backup. (Because you have staff doesn't mean that you have the use of the staff.)

To be honest, and this will make me seem like a jerk, I am looking forward to leaving the Village. Yes, its very nice and the staff do their best to help. But, shooting is not a priority for the Canadian staff. We have one athlete who is considered a medal contender (Susan Nattrass), according to the guy from "Road to Excellence". As such, they don't talk to anyone else before the Games.

We're finding that there are some problems, but without access to the sport medicine specialists, we arrive to the Olympics with the problems. IF we had access beforehand, we could have addressed the issues months ago and arrived stronger. Being here, highlights what little regard is held for this sport by our NOC. So, the sooner that I am out, the sooner that I can plan for the next quadrennial, again focusing on how to make the most with whatever we can patch together.

This has been a good learning experience. There is a different mindset to preparing for the Olympics. The stakes seem higher.

Well, the lights have been turned off in the internet cafe and I've been told that they are closing. If I can find a hotspot that works, I'll come back online shortly.