Bright Net News(Reporter Liu Xiyao) “The barrier-free facilities here are the most complete, providing the best services for the disabled.” “The facilities and experience are first-class in the competition here”… As the ice hockey project of the Beijing Winter Paralympics The competition venue and the National Gymnasium have been fully affirmed and highly appraised by the International Paralympic Committee, the World Paralympic Hockey Federation and all participating teams since the start of the competition.
In this regard, Lei Ming, executive deputy director of the venue operation team of the National Stadium, said in an interview that since entering the Paralympic Games, they have always adhered to the principle of “respect, support, and moderation”, put people first, paid attention to details, and worked hard for Paralympic ice hockey players from all aspects. Provide good training and competition conditions, as well as thoughtful and meticulous service.
Efficient venue conversion speed
“The first task with athletes as the core is to meet their requirements for training and competition.” Lei Ming said that since the Paralympic Village opened on February 25th, athletes all hoped to get to the venue for training as soon as possible, so they started training on February 20th. Immediately after the ice hockey final of the Winter Olympics in Japan, the venue was changed, and all the work was completed in just 5 days, ensuring the normal training of the sports teams.
Image credit: National Stadium
The ice surface needs to be thickened as Paralympic skis and hockey sticks have more damage to the ice surface. Lei Ming introduced that they increased the ice surface from 4 cm to 5 cm, which also increased the strength of the ice surface. In addition, ice is made on the athletes’ bench and the penalty bench, and the thickness is consistent with the ice surface of the competition, which is more conducive to the athletes to slide in and out more freely.
Imitation ice boards are laid in the important areas where the athletes pass, which is convenient for them to pass by sledding. Swap the pedal power bikes for a hand-cranked trainer in the warm-up area on land so they can work on upper body strength. The mixed interview area has also lowered the baffle from 1.2 meters to 0.6 meters, making it easier for athletes to be interviewed.
Image credit: National Stadium
Of particular note, Lei Ming said, was the restoration of the locker room. “The locker room is the home of the ice hockey team in the stadium, and it is also the most private space. All teams have deeply decorated the locker room during the Winter Olympics. The ceiling, walls and even the ground are covered with national flags and team flags, reflecting the We spent a lot of time cleaning up the national ice hockey culture and the posters and promotional materials of the team’s wonderful moments, and restored the locker room to a brand-new look. In addition, the entire flow line from the players getting on and off the bus to the venue , special considerations and arrangements have been made, and some hooks, handrails, ramps, and barrier-free facilities have been added.”
Special service warms people’s hearts
Ice hockey is the only sport where laundry services are provided for teams and referees at the arena. Clothes to be cleaned include competition clothes, training clothes, underwear, socks, as well as bath towels and towels. Lei Ming said that at present, 11,964 items of clothing have been washed. After washing, it is also dried, but athletes’ competition and training clothes can only be dried naturally. All laundry needs to be delivered 3 hours before the next training or game, which places high demands on laundry services. To this end, the laundry room is equipped with 2 industrial washing machines and 3 industrial dryers, which is equivalent to the functions of 40 washing machines and 60 drying machines in a household, and provides continuous service almost 24 hours a day.
Image credit: National Stadium
In addition, ice hockey is the only event that requires escort services for each participating team. The team escort should not only help the team understand the various regulations of the organizing committee, be familiar with the various conditions of the venue, but also reflect the various needs of the sports team to the venue team in a timely manner, help coordinate and solve them, and implement various specific tasks. Lei Ming introduced that in the early stage, they recruited a group of master students and doctoral students from Tsinghua University, Peking University, Renmin University of China, Beijing Sports University, and Capital Institute of Physical Education to serve as team escorts for each team. They get along with the team day and night every day, and give full play to the role of bridges and bonds. With sincerity, diligence and hard work, they become an indispensable part of the team. They are invited by the team to enter the locker room and participate in technical and tactical meetings. They have also formed deep friendships with many athletes, and many teams have given them precious competition uniforms, thanking them for their meticulous care and company every day.
Humanistic care is well received
Lei Ming said that before each game, the venue will provide 50 ice pucks for the two teams to warm up on the ice. Then the volunteers will ask the team’s opinions, use their ingenuity and imagination, and use these ice hockey pucks to display different patterns and shapes on the board wall, some are national abbreviations, some are team mascots, some are some kind of national elements, Some are trophies or victory graphics, which express a kind of good wishes and warm service to the sports team.
Hockey building blessing.Image credit: National Stadium
In addition, the athlete services team at the venue, has a special team. Sports teams are at their busiest during training, before and after games, and this mighty team is often seen in the locker room in the passageway to and from training or playing fields, in addition to 4 wheelchairs and 7 In addition to the shopping carts in supermarkets, there are also 4 flatbed trucks that originally transported goods. After being decorated with yoga mats, towels, snow-melting balloons, and Paralympic posters, because of their convenient access and spaciousness, they are deeply loved by protective gear. Favored by lenient athletes, it is affectionately known as “miniature welfare TAXI”. The transformation of these flatbed trucks is due to the attentive staff who found that some athletes are not very convenient and comfortable to ride in wheelchairs, so they came up with this method, and the result was widely praised.
Birthdays for athletes.Image credit: National Stadium
“Whenever an athlete celebrates a birthday, with the consent of the team leader, we will broadcast it on the big screen, asking the audience and staff to offer birthday wishes together to surprise the athlete, and at the same time, a cake will be placed with ice hockey. Congrats on the styling.” Lei Ming said that these considerate practices have been fully affirmed and highly appraised by all parties. Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee, came to the stadium to watch the game, saying that the event was organized in an orderly manner and served athletes warmly; IPC accessibility expert Elina expressed surprise at the speed of the venue’s transition, thinking that the National Gymnasium is barrier-free The venue with the most complete facilities provides the best accessibility services for the disabled. Canadian team leader Marshall said the event was first-class and unprecedented in terms of facilities, operations and experience.
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责编：杨帆 ]