Friday, October 1, 2021
How Card, Board and Video Games Helped Shape Dynamic of U.S. Olympic Swimming Team
For the US Olympic Swim Team, competition looms far outside the pool.
Starting with the team training camp, card games and board games are traditionally played to help build rapport between the rookies and veterans. The games outside the pool helps establish a strong team bond and tight unity during the weeks they are away.
This Olympic Games and training camp, given the numerous "bubbles" the athletes had to stay in, the number of board, card and video games were higher in both quantity and intensity.
And in keeping with tradition, the friendly competition turns into high stakes games, challenging sprinters with their true reaction speed, and testing men and women on an even playing field.
“We played all kinds of games…Poker, Taboo, Heads Up, Thumper, Risk, RocketLeague,” says Olympian Brooke Forde. “It was pretty funny when the game was reaction-time based. The trend is that sprinters are better at that, so we all had to test that.”
Forde, who had never played Poker before the Olympics, learned the game from Caeleb Dressel and his roommates. Katie McLaughin, Annie Lazor, Paige Madden, Olivia Smoliga and Abbey Weitzeil all joined in the lengthy lesson, and from then on played every evening.
“We’d pair up and the guys would bet on Poker, the girls would play for bags of trail mix. We used nuts as chips, and called it Nut Poker” says Forde. “And the guys made fun of us for clapping for each other. They said, ‘No one does that in Poker.’
"We had a lot of fun. We thought it was so nice of them to teach us the game that we actually wrote them a thank you card and slipped it under their door. We called them our coaches,” says Forde.
Olympian Zach Harting stayed busy with intense games of Settlers of Catan. He tag-teamed with Hunter Armstrong, Erika Brown and Jordan Wilimovsky, winning in the first game. The second game he played with Ryan Murphy, Nic Fink and Armstrong, which lasted so long that it cut into the team dinner, and Harting eventually lost.
“It was the funniest thing,” says Harting. “I absolutely dominated the first game, I felt like a king. But then in the second game with Murphy, I was set up for success but he had me surrounded. I couldn’t make a move.…and Nic Fink has some sneaky moves!”
Like many elite meets, the Olympic Games is a long trip with lots of down time. The card and board games help pass the time and help relieve some stress from the meet, keeping the atmosphere light and fun.
“It’s a good outlet for Covid-safe, restful activities that we can do inside, and it was fun to beat someone,” says Forde. “This is the closest I’ve ever gotten with a guys team on a trip.”
Harting says the best way he can describe it is like the atmosphere of an 8-year-old summer league meet, with everyone having their own towels and bags laid out, saying, ‘oh, I gotta go swim now.’
“It’s like a big party. We don’t use money for bets, we just trash talk until the next time. You don’t want to lose and lead in defeat.”
Harting is looking forward to the next rematch. “We’ve been talking about it, perhaps the night before Golden Goggles. We’ll see. Team USA does great job of fast swimming and making it fun.”
Starting with the team training camp, card games and board games are traditionally played to help build rapport between the rookies and veterans. The games outside the pool helps establish a strong team bond and tight unity during the weeks they are away.
This Olympic Games and training camp, given the numerous "bubbles" the athletes had to stay in, the number of board, card and video games were higher in both quantity and intensity.
And in keeping with tradition, the friendly competition turns into high stakes games, challenging sprinters with their true reaction speed, and testing men and women on an even playing field.
“We played all kinds of games…Poker, Taboo, Heads Up, Thumper, Risk, RocketLeague,” says Olympian Brooke Forde. “It was pretty funny when the game was reaction-time based. The trend is that sprinters are better at that, so we all had to test that.”
Forde, who had never played Poker before the Olympics, learned the game from Caeleb Dressel and his roommates. Katie McLaughin, Annie Lazor, Paige Madden, Olivia Smoliga and Abbey Weitzeil all joined in the lengthy lesson, and from then on played every evening.
“We’d pair up and the guys would bet on Poker, the girls would play for bags of trail mix. We used nuts as chips, and called it Nut Poker” says Forde. “And the guys made fun of us for clapping for each other. They said, ‘No one does that in Poker.’
"We had a lot of fun. We thought it was so nice of them to teach us the game that we actually wrote them a thank you card and slipped it under their door. We called them our coaches,” says Forde.
Olympian Zach Harting stayed busy with intense games of Settlers of Catan. He tag-teamed with Hunter Armstrong, Erika Brown and Jordan Wilimovsky, winning in the first game. The second game he played with Ryan Murphy, Nic Fink and Armstrong, which lasted so long that it cut into the team dinner, and Harting eventually lost.
“It was the funniest thing,” says Harting. “I absolutely dominated the first game, I felt like a king. But then in the second game with Murphy, I was set up for success but he had me surrounded. I couldn’t make a move.…and Nic Fink has some sneaky moves!”
Like many elite meets, the Olympic Games is a long trip with lots of down time. The card and board games help pass the time and help relieve some stress from the meet, keeping the atmosphere light and fun.
“It’s a good outlet for Covid-safe, restful activities that we can do inside, and it was fun to beat someone,” says Forde. “This is the closest I’ve ever gotten with a guys team on a trip.”
Harting says the best way he can describe it is like the atmosphere of an 8-year-old summer league meet, with everyone having their own towels and bags laid out, saying, ‘oh, I gotta go swim now.’
“It’s like a big party. We don’t use money for bets, we just trash talk until the next time. You don’t want to lose and lead in defeat.”
Harting is looking forward to the next rematch. “We’ve been talking about it, perhaps the night before Golden Goggles. We’ll see. Team USA does great job of fast swimming and making it fun.”