July 6: Training & Opening Ceremonies

Today in Gibraltar started off pretty slow. We had breakfast in Athletes Village before heading off to our Marshal training session. In this training session we learned exactly what our duties are going to be during the races. We will all be responsible for a small section of the course and our main duty is to keep vehicles and people off the track while the races are going on or cyclists are close.

We are also supposed to direct riders if they are approaching a turn or warn them of caution ahead. They way we will do that is by waving a yellow flag as they approach. We can also wave a red flag but that is only under extreme circumstances and the only person that can tell us to do that is the race commissaire. If there is a crash in our area we can help move a bike out of the way if necessary but we are not supposed to touch or attempt to help the riders. If a rider gets injured and cannot get up we need to call for medical assistance and then we can stand in front of the rider and direct other riders around the injured rider. We are not allowed to provide medical assistance and must wait for medical personnel for and first aid. Overall this training session lasted about an hour and we were told we will be given more in depth details about our roles in our briefing with our team leaders before our respective events.

After training we had a few hours of downtime and I decided to explore some of Gibraltar and the surrounding facilities. The beach volleyball facilities are pretty close to our room and right next to a rocky coastline that also has a sectioned off rocky beach for people to go swimming. I also got to visit the lighthouse at Europa Point. A few locals have referred to this point of the rock as "the end of Europe."

The cultural experience of the night was definitely the Opening ceremonies we got to take place in. We helped create an alley that that the competitors walked through as they entered the stadium between us and the crowd. The entirety of the crowd was very welcoming and supportive to every team and athlete as they entered. The island of Gibraltar has been very welcoming to all of the people not from the island and always offer help when we seem lost or are looking for places to go visit. Another issue the games are trying to push is cleaning up the world's oceans. The motto of these games is "Clean seas. Our future." The closing performance of the opening ceremonies was a choreographed music and dance performance that was beautifully done. All of the instruments used though were recycled items found along the beaches and among the rocks around Gibraltar. These ranged from oil drums to plastic bags to metal pipes. The performance was amazing and really showed how committed Gibraltar and these games are to trying to improve the state our oceans.

I am definitely looking forward to some of the other events going on around the island and I hope I can see plenty more throughout the week.

- Justin