OLYMPIC TENNIS CENTRE

1.  HIGHLIGHTS

Outline the major elements for your venue operations during the Games, taking into account the service level defined prior to the event. Furthermore, please state what (if applicable extra non-planned services were delivered after last minutes requests. At this section, it is also important to state what functioned well and what not.

The Venue

Content: Olympic Tennis Centre (OAKA complex). The venue has 16 courts in total (Centre court of 8.000 seats, Show Court1, with 3.000 seats, 10 match courts, plus 4 Practice courts. All supporting facilities were in the Centre Court. The venue was particularly well planned in that it provided all groups (athletes, T.O.s, Ball Persons, Media etc) with adequate space. This was recognized as being the major advantage vis a vis venues used in previous Special Olympics Games.

Competition and training Venue(s)

Venue Name / Competition / Training / Distance from Special Olympic Village / Travel Time
Olympic Tennis Centre / X / X / 20 Km / 60 min

Content: The venue was used for competition and training.

Venue Staff

Special Olympics
General staff at venue / Discipline specific staff / Total staff at venue
Paid / 23 / 23 / 23
Volunteers / 383 / 383 / 383

2.  VENUE MAJOR ISSUES & RECOMMENDATIONS

List all major issues encountered by your venue team during the Games and your recommendations on how to resolve/avoid these issues

No / Issue Description / Recommendation
1. / As the venue was been used daily by the public this created problems and delays during the set up period and it was extremely difficult to maintain the venue as we wanted it. / It would be preferable to have exclusive use of the venue for the Games (before and during)
No / Issue Description / Recommendation
2. / Because of the agreement the Organizing Committee had with the owners of the venue, the time we had to set it up was too limited as until the last minute they were hosting other events and we were trying to proceed in our job and we were facing delays / It would be preferable to have exclusive use of the venue for the Games (before and during)
No / Issue Description / Recommendation
3. / As during afternoons when there was no competition the venue was given to OAKA, for the use of the public, safety of our equipment was an issue / It would be preferable to have exclusive use of the venue for the Games (before and during)

3.  MAJOR CROSSFUNCTIONAL ISSUES

List all (if any) major issues encountered between the FAs working in the venue team during the Games and/or other issues observed during the ATHENS 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games

No / Functional Area / Issue Description
1 / The use of the venue in parallel for the public and the Games

4. Critical Issues Arising

Description of Issue(s) – resolved/escalated / Recommendation for Future Special
Olympic Games
Venue / The venue was of a high standard / To have created more areas with shadow for spectators
Planning Processes / The major issue was the delays of decisions we had in many areas / Systematic follow up and a good plan based on expert opinion and knowledge
Sport Command Centre / Critical to the success of the competition and there were no issues at all. On the contrary, any problem that arose was resolved immediately and the follow up was done spontaneously from the SCC.
Competition Management / No issues
Special Olympics International / No issues arose at any given point. SOI was fully supportive and understanding. / It is very important to have good communication and a straight forward approach to all issues
Transportation / Although we all had many worries regarding transportation the whole system worked very efficiently during the Games and we had no delays or problems / It would be though preferable, to plan from the beginning a better accommodation placement of the delegations in order to make easier the program of the athletes
Honored Guests / Although the volunteers working on that area were good, there was a lack of presence of the paid staff of this FA in the venue.
Also, if the VM had not planned from the beginning a list with presenters, we would most probably face many problems in terms of Awards Ceremonies / It would be better to have a dedicated person as paid staff in this position and it is also important that this person is not absent from the venue during Awards Ceremonies
Media / This was another FA that glowed by its absence from the venue / It is important to have someone involved in this area
Awards Ceremonies / Awards Ceremonies were executed in a very professional way and because of the scheduled that was planned we had a big audience / It is important to plan well in advance the schedule of the awards in order to have as many spectators as possible
Food Services / Food Services performed in an excellent way in the venue. The only problem was that we had complaints about lunch boxes and also because we did not have vegetarian choice at all / Consideration should be taken, if the competition schedule allows it to eat at the SOV. Otherwise athletes should have a better treatment for their lunch and should be definitely exist a choice for vegetarians
Sport Publications / No issues here / Plan well in advance the needs so that there is budget allocation and time for implementation especially for specialized training material that must be available.
Families / No issues here
Marketing / There was not a bump up procedure for the look elements that were added at the venue after the end of competition / There should be taken in consideration to have clear procedures in advance regarding the bump out of the look elements
Entries / It is extremely important to communicate to all delegations that they should provide the Organizing Committee the qualifying scores of their athletes in the registration forms and that it should be done by the correct way / Education should be provided to the coaches in order to understand and learn the correct procedure of providing the qualifying scores of their players
Weather / No issues here either. / Establish a very good communication line with the Weather Agency explaining the special features of the sport from the beginning.
Technical Meetings (e.g. Head Coaches Meeting) / No issues / It is very important to have as many meetings as possible and create a good communication and relation with all the coaches.
It is also important when the final divisions are announced to allow the coaches for instance to have half an hour time to say whether they agree with the divisions or if they have any objection
Technology / No issues
Staffing / The volunteers were excellent and very much motivated and they have enjoyed very much the whole event / Final selection and job assignments of the volunteers should be planned after the Sport Event. The system should allow for lead time so that if a volunteer is not good enough or is better fitted for another position, to be able to change.
Other

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