Idaho Amateurs on Hand for Special Olympics Invitational Winter Games:

More than 20 Amateur Radio operators wrapped up technical and operational support for the 2008 Special Olympics Invitational Winter Games in Boise, Tamarack and Sun Valley, Idaho the last week in February. Approximately 365 athletes from 10 countries competed in five sports -- Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Floor Hockey, Snowboarding and Snowshoeing. The Invitational Games were seen as the practice run for the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games to be held in Idaho February 6-13, 2009.

The Department of Defense provided Motorola VHF analog and P25 handheld radios and temporary repeaters to support the Games. Covering all of Southwestern Idaho, the ARES VHF repeater was instrumental in providing Games radio communications and critical communications for athlete transportation to and from Bogus Basin and Boise. Crossband links were used to coordinate and provide communications to the KX7ID Boise ARES repeater from the Tamarack Snowboarding venue near the Cascade/Donnelly area, about 100 miles north of Boise.

"It was a privilege to work with the Idaho State Police, Boise Police, Ada County Sheriff, Ada County EMS, Blaine County Sheriff and others within the Public Safety community," said Chuck Robertson, KX7ID, Technical Director for Games Radio Communications. "We are grateful for the relationships built during these test Games which will improve cooperation and teamwork as we work together toward support of the 2009 Games and public service initiatives beyond the Games."

The 147.380 MHz ARES repeater was the primary system used for the event, but the KX7ID UHF repeater, D-Star VHF simplex and P25 VHF simplex were also used. In addition, D-Star VHF low speed data using D*Chat http://nj6n.com/dstar/dstar_chat.html was tested from the Boise National Weather Service to Boise area hospitals.

"Communications are a vital component to any successful event, especially one as complex as the 2008 Special Olympics Invitational Winter Games and the upcoming 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games, which are both multi-sport and multi-venue events with a lot of moving parts," said Kirk Miles, 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games Chief Operating Officer. "We are grateful to all the Amateur Radio operators that have worked or will be working to make the 2009 Games a great success."

The 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games http://www.2009worldgames.org/ will be held in Idaho, February 6-13, 2009 and will include up to 3000 athletes from as many as 85 countries and 6000 volunteers. Competition will take place in seven winter sports -- Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Figure Skating, Floor Hockey, Snowboarding, Snowshoeing and Speed Skating. Competition and activities will be in communities and venues throughout Idaho, including Bogus Basin, Boise State University, Qwest Arena, Idaho Ice World, Sun Valley Resort and Tamarack Resort.

Source:

The ARRL Letter Vol. 27, No. 10 March 14, 2008

There are no comments on this article: Post One