Where to Travel to Taste Olympic Glory

PHOTO: The U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, NC lets you live it your Olympic dreams. (Courtesy of the US National Whitewater Center)

I admit that as a die-hard NY Yankees and Jets fan, I hate Boston. Not the city, mind you. Not even the majority of the people, just the fans of the Red Sox and that football team that gives Foxboro a bad name. But I love the fact that Boston is going for the 2024 Olympics. I love that the mayor actually thinks they have a chance. I may even drag my NY Yankee-Hat-Wearing self all the way up there to witness it.

I will also admit freely, I love the Winter Olympics. I still watch the Summer Olympics, but I feel they pale in comparison. In fact, I like the Winter Olympics so much that I have "trying multiple sports" on my bucket list. This prejudice however will not keep me from my duty here of getting you going on your own Olympic Vacation, winter or summer.

Winter Olympics

Lake Placid is the place to be if you want to get a taste of Winter Olympic glory. Whiteface Lake Placid brings you the chance to bobsled, skeleton, cross country, and even biathlon with a ton of other activities for the less adventurous. Even if you go in the summer, there is still a bobsled and biathlon experience as well as mountain biking, wheeled luge, and something called Extreme Tubing which is basically like, well…here, watch this:

(I may be adding that one to the bucket list). There are many places that offer up ski jumping, speed skating, figure skating and ice hockey across the country, but one of the official U.S. Olympic Training Sites, the Utah Olympic Oval is known as the "Fastest Ice on Earth" and they offer up speed skating learn-to-skate classes for all ages.

Curling

Every time the Winter Olympics are on, there are a bunch of people that I talk to who think that "just anyone" could come right off the couch and curl in the Olympics. It is a lot harder than it looks. The good news is that there are clubs all across the Unites States offering up learn-to-curl classes and leagues.

The Atlanta Curling Club runs curling for the fall, winter and spring and offers up a great chance to come out and get familiar with the sport. Being that curling is on the bucket list, I will be attending the classes this fall and will report back.

Summer Olympics

Because most of the Summer Olympic sports require little more than space to do them and most of the equipment can be easily found, I am concentrating here on some of the more exclusive events.

Kayak / Canoe

Whether you are doing wildwater, slalom, sprint or freestyle, there is one place to give it a try: The U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, NC. In addition to Whitewater Kayaking, they offer up Adventure, Family and Rodeo Rafting; Whitewater Stand-up Paddleboard, and for the hardcore or training folks, Slalom Kayaking as well.

There are also land activities, festivals, summer camp and adventure dining (where they pair an adventure activity with a fireside dinner or craft beer festival).

Synchronized Swimming

Not unlike curling, synchronized swimming is really club-based and there are clubs across the country. The Seattle Synchronized Swim Team offers up a free chance for your 6-12 year old to try Syncro occasionally throughout the year.

Shooting

Ok, So I knew that there was a shooting event in the Olympics. I didn't know that there are actually 15 different shooting events in the Olympics. The United States pretty much has the sport wrapped up with 107 medals all-time and the next closet having only 59.

The National Shooting Team trains at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, but you unfortunately can't get your training there. If you are out in Colorado touring the Training Center, head on out to Blue Core Shooting Center in Lakewood, Colorado or the Centennial Gun Club in Centennial, Colorado.

Both are five-star shooting ranges that offer competitive training, firearm safety and private instruction. From there it is just a matter of practice, practice and practice. Then you compete, qualify and make the U.S. National Team (or become hella better at first person shooters).

Train Like a Champion

If the Olympic bug has bitten you a little harder than you thought it would, there are resources for you as well. Team USA will set you in the right direction and with technology being what it is, there is an app for that, right? Well there is: Coach's Eye. For the Track and Field wannabes in the crowd, "Instantly analyze athlete videos on your mobile device…improve technique for all track and field events [and] compare with USATF pro athlete videos to see how your form holds up!"

I will turn 50 in 2024 when hopefully the Olympics come to Boston. Maybe you can watch me go for gold on the U.S. Bowling National Team, if bowling can ever make it past a demonstration sport. Well I can dream, can't I?

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