WOC 2007, Kyiv

THOUGHTS on KYIV by TM Gross

My thoughts are more related to the non-orienteering side but I guess are just as important as you are only orienteering for 3 or 4 hours a day…

Firstly I think WOC 2007 / Kyiv might be a bit of a shock to a few people as it’s the first WOC to be held almost entirely within the City Limits & almost possible to reach all events by public transport. The arrival at Kyiv Airport sets the place up…. Stand in line for 20 minutes thinking you have the correct bit of paper then get told by the grumpy guard that it’s not printed on bog roll so go back & start again… then struggle through the masses of people parting like the Red Sea, past the taxi hustlers and into the steaming heat of the day….

So lots of people, bureaucracy, hassle & hot humid weather.

Arriving at the Hotel Tourist doesn’t improve things for the unaware too much… 25 floors of adequate accommodation but no air conditioning, no English TV, no WIFI, hot water coming from the cold tap and it could take 20 mins to go to reception and back by lift… but the ladies in charge will look after you & do your washing – eventuallyJ We were lucky in having our very own Russian speaker to smooth thing over. Actually I wouldn’t want to travel with a group to Kyiv without a translator as English is not so common & majority of street names and so on are in Russian alphabet. If a crisis occurred a translator would be a mustJ There will be a lack of social / meeting places during WOC.

Eating is difficult… why? Well the foods pretty much the same as rest of Europe, meat, rice, chicken etc etc but the cafeteria at the hotel didn’t serve the hottest of meals & vegetarians were left a bit wanting as were pasta lovers. Eating in restaurants is not only expensive but also takes ages. Breakfast in the morning wasn’t suitable for sportsmen but I discussed this with UOF people & I think for WOC it will be a more sports friendly offering. The local market & shop offered plenty of fresh fruit & lunch stuff…. And bottled water which is a mustJ

People preparing for WOC will generally be surprised at the cost of living in Kyiv… it isn’t cheap!!!

Unusually for an orienteering training camp we didn’t hire any cars but used a hire bus & the metro. It would be possible to train and only travel by metro & the metro will play an important part in WOC 2007 e.g. transport to prize givings etc. Again athletes will need to get used to travelling in very cramp, hot, smelly conditions. Our bus driver was great, taking us directly into the forest but again it wasn’t cheap (20€ per start & 25€ per hour) but driving safely isn’t really an option for the first couple of visits……..

I think that transport for WOC will be a great problem… seems there are two options, a shuttle bus service from the accommodation to the areas or metro to the end of the line & then a shuttle bus…. Given the traffic conditions in Kyiv I’d go for the metro / bus option but I guess it’s not the best way to prepare for a long final being crushed into a metro train (maybe the Japanese will feel at home). There is a new bridge being built – maybe that will help…

I found our hosts from UOF very helpful & keen to support us & other sportsmen visiting Kyiv. We got the same warm welcome as for the WC in Lviv in 2000 but I think that during a WOC the organisation will creak a little… if there are large numbers of supporters at the spectators races things might get a bit disorganised.

And finally… health. Almost everyone suffered from mild digestive problems. We tried to narrow this down to food, water, unusual germs etc but nothing seemed obvious. I mentioned this at a meeting before leaving and was advised it was also common among Kyiv locals who’d been away for sometime & was related to low level radiation in the cityJ Might be an urban myth but certainly worth getting some accurate medical thoughts on the matter….

posted by daniel @ 4:15 pm