July 13, 2024
CHULA VISTA, Calif. — The U. S. Women’s National Rugby Sevens Team is the U. S. National Team in the U. S. The U. S. is looking for a strong performance in what will be the third Olympic Games involving the sport.
As the team prepares to travel to France on Sunday to begin final preparations for what it hopes will be the first tournament to conclude with a medal around the team members’ necks, Liz Strohecker, a graduate of East Palestine High School in 2003, runs silently. the scenes with the crew to make sure all the little major points are addressed.
Strohecker is the leader of the United States women’s rugby sevens team, just as she did in 2021 at the Tokyo Games. She’s essentially a secretary’s rugby edition, as she’s in charge of things like planning, supplemental nutritional needs, and protecting athletes against too many logistical questions from their families.
While the 2021 Games took place in the COVID era, spectators, the existing Olympic tournament will be played at France’s national stadium, the Stade de France, with a total expected space of 80,000 spectators over the full three days of the tournament.
“This is going to be the biggest crowd our players have ever played before,” Strohecker said.
In 2016, at the Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the festival was held in a transitional stadium with a capacity of 15,000 seats. In 2021, Tokyo Stadium had the capacity to hold about 50,000 people, but no enthusiasts were allowed to watch in the stadium.
Strohecker, who has worked for USA Rugby since 2018, said this time he had to package all the ticket requests from friends and family two years before the Paris Games. This is part of the task when you have to deal with spectators.
“My role is similar to that of past Games, but the only difference now is that my circle of family and friends will be there,” Strohecker said.
He said a big part of his duties would be answering questions from family and friends to avoid as much stress as possible for the athletes competing in Paris. This includes preparing information packets that explain relevant transportation and accommodation information to families. She said that she was also in charge of a WhatsApp messaging organization for all friends and family so that information could be passed on to them if necessary.
And what questions are already emerging?
“Can I bring symptoms to the stadium?” Strohecker.
This is unclear at this time, Strohecker said. He said all places have other policies and they will know more once they arrive in France.
“Security in Paris will be strengthened,” Strohecker said. There will be travel restrictions. They even said that if you’re staying at an Airbnb, you need a secure QR code, otherwise you probably won’t be able to get there by car.
He said security principals fear terrorism.
“Security in Tokyo is also tight, although for a different reason,” Strohecker said.
The team will fly to Charles De Gualle Airport on Sunday and then depart for base camp in Tours in central France, about a 3-hour bus ride from Paris. They will use this time at base camp to acclimatize to the heat and put on an exhibition against Ireland at the school. On July 22, the team will depart for the Olympic Village.
The window of time from there will be a whirlwind. The men’s Olympic rugby festival kicks off on July 24 and will be the team’s first medal when it concludes on July 27, just one day after the opening rite on the Seine. The women’s festival will begin on July 28. The United States will face Japan at 10:30 a. m. m. EST and then to Brazil at 2 p. m. EST that day. The Eagles will end their organizational game with a game at 9:30 a. m. m. against France on 29 July. The elimination and placement rounds will continue on July 29 and 30. The gold medal game will take place at 1:45 p. m. m. EST on July 30.
Strohecker said the team needed commitments after the tournament and would return home on Aug. 2. The team hopes that one of those commitments will be at Champions Park, near the Eiffel Tower.
“If you’re a medalist, the next day you can stop by between 4 p. m. and 10 p. m. and there are all kinds of media and events that athletes can participate in,” Strohecker said.
And what are the consequences of the American team winning its first medal in women’s rugby?
“The same old groups like France, New Zealand and Australia (will be the favorites),” Strohecker said. “Sevens is a complicated game. Anyone can win a game at any time, so we try not to take any team too lightly. If you’re not fully focused for 14 minutes, it’s easy to miss the attack, which is why we take each and every attack very seriously.
The United States is 25-1 to win the gold medal and an 11-4 chance of winning a medal. New Zealand are the heavy favourites with odds of 11-10 to win gold.
The Eagles probably wouldn’t be without stars in the Jeux. Veteran Ilona Maher has made a name for herself on social media, especially on TikTok. Known for her direct and unabashedly fair way of showing the struggles that a female athlete faces in a game that is mainstream, Maher has used the platform to advertise well-known fitness and good looks products.
“I think it speaks really well about the game and what it’s like to be a woman in the game,” Strohecker said. “The other day I was at my doctor’s office, I opened up a magazine and there she was. It’s not what you expect, so it’s really cool to see someone from a game that probably wouldn’t be that popular in the US. receiving so much attention.
Strohecker said his relationships with Maher were 100 percent authentic and said the user you see on TikTok is the user you see in real life.
“I commend her for being true to herself and what she posts, because I don’t think it’s necessarily easy to do,” Strohecker said.
When you think of France, the quality of the country’s cuisine is one of the first things that comes up, though surprisingly, Strohecker said what is served at tournaments is rarely ideal for competing athletes.
“I’ve learned that food is never as smart as it needs to be,” Strohecker said. “It can get a little boring, which is why we do a lot of plans and preparations around food to make sure certain athletes have other options, whether they’re nutritionally restricted or just tired of the same old stuff. “
He said the heavy foods France is known for are what athletes eat.
“They eat poultry breasts, vegetables and carbohydrates, but in France there is a lot of fish, beef and rich, heavy foods,” Strohecker said. “That’s why we strive to get what they need. »
Strohecker said athletes are free to explore and pass out for whatever extra coffee or food they want, but she has to give them options.
“We have everything planned, but not everything is under our control, so we have to be agile and be able to pivot in the moment,” Strohecker said. “It’s just whatever you have to do when you’re at mass events. “
Remarks
¯ The Stade de France will host athletics competitions once the men’s and women’s rugby tournaments have finished.
Strohecker said there would be no friends or circle of relatives in Paris.
“It’s a little expensive, so I don’t have anyone coming to Paris,” Strohecker said. “People paid $10,000 just for their hotel for a week in Paris. I’ll be running all the time, so I can’t possibly spend time with anyone coming to Paris.
Like anyone in East Palestine, Strohecker said she stayed glued to the news when a poisonous exercise went off the rails in February 2023. He said that at the time of the derailment, either of his parents lived within a one-mile radius around the site of the derailment.
“I was obviously very worried about (my parents),” Strohecker said. Nobody (from USA Rugby) reached out to me about it because I don’t think anyone knew exactly where I was from in Ohio. Some other people have asked me, “Hey, have you heard of that?I told them yes, it’s my hometown. Since then, it’s less difficult for other people to know precisely where I’m coming from.
He said his mother has since moved to Virginia to be closer to her sister, since her stepfather died two weeks after the derailment. Her father still lives in Palestine.
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