Olympic Preparation - CTV Style

I've been immersing myself in my CTV Olympics preparation and crazy things are starting to happen…

• I've been having dreams about the Olympics every single night. Sometimes I'm wearing my grips. Sometimes I'm wearing a headset. I guess I'm still a bit stuck in the middle... 
• I've been having flashbacks to the competition butterflies.
• I watch old gymnastics videos for fun every single day.
• My bedtime reading material is International Gymnast Magazine.
• I carry a tape recorder with me everywhere I go to capture that new word, phrase, thought or research update.
• I listen to my yoga teachers and think, "That would be an awesome word to use in my commentary". Latest word: Levity. I love that word.
• I watch a minimum of 50 gymnastic videos on youtube a day.
• I practice commentating while I walk my dog and run. People look at me funny...
• I have a notebook that is full of questions and scribbles.
• I skim results and wiki pages daily.
• I get a burst of excitement each time I get an email from anyone with the CTV team.

I'm putting the same amount of time, energy, professionalism, obsession and enthusiasm into my preparation for this role as I did for my role as competitor. I feel a giant amount of responsibility to help our viewers understand, appreciate and fall in love with gymnastics. I know how powerful the Olympics were for me to watch and I hope that I can contribute to bringing that same sense of magic to the stories at these Games.


A couple of things:

1. Gymnastics rules are way too complicated. Seriously FIG, there needs to be a way to simplify things. Please consider the fans perspective when developing the next code of points. 
2. Trampoline rules, on the other hand, make total sense. Jump the highest, have the cleanest form and do the most flips/twists and you win!  
3. I've noticed that gymnastics has really moved away from being an artistry/orginality/virtuosity based sport to becoming more of an acrobatic/trick based sport. Watching videos from the 70's/80's/90's has really made this obvious. There is no one today who is quite as captivating as Daniela Silivas or Alexi Nemov. Oh the good ol' days...
4. I am terrified that I will get tongue tied while on air. On the upside, I used to be terrified that I would forget my routine and it never happened.
5. Some days I get so excited about this opportunity that I get overcome with happiness. It's going to be absolutely amazing and I can't wait to watch it all unfold!

As of today, there are just 51 days left until the Opening Ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympic Games. I am heading to London on July 20th to get settled in and put the finishing touches on my research and our shows. If you know of any great videos, websites, blogs or articles that I should read, please please please share them. 


The countdown is on!