Reporting live from Vancouver: absolute precision required at the Games, an example from the U.S./Swiss hockey game
Got back an hour ago from an electric Olympic event, the U.S. hockey team's tight 2-0 victory over the scrappy and feisty Swiss team. This was my first Olympic event and it was even better than I had expected, and I am big hockey fan having played the sport since my childhood through today. The intensity and effort of the players is phenomenal, throughout the rosters. Both goalies played amazing. Perhaps the best part was that the atmosphere in the game was really cool, with rolling chants of usa, usa often overpowered by the swiss chants, which were pretty liberally picked up by the many Canadians in attendance.
The game was super exciting, with only one goal without an open net and two reviews by the referees of possible goals, one for the U.S. and one for the Swiss. The Swiss goal was off the far post, and did not go in. I have to confess that it was impossible for me to be 100% sure even though the play took place at my end of Canada Hockey Place. The referee was able to quickly check the review, provided by Omega, the Official Timekeeper of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and determine that the puck did not cross the line. Overall, a pretty straightforward process.
The first disallowed/reviewed goal was really interesting/complex, as the U.S. was initially awarded the goal at the end of the second period on a bouncing puck that went in right at the buzzer. However, after careful review by the ref, it was determined that the goal did not cross the line until after the period had expired. Now, this was within a tenth of a second, so it was absolutely essential that the review was perfect. The whole process got me thinking about the system for review. Basically, the referee had to have complete confidence that the video and time was perfectly synced up, so that he could view the replay and make an informed and correct decision. All this with over 18,000 spectators in the arena and millions more watching around the world waiting with baited breath.
This timing system and similarly secure systems at all of the venues systems require absolute precision and synergy. This timing system is managed by Omega, which is the Official Timekeeper of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. In this capacity, "Omega ensures the accuracy of scoring and competition results, and that results are delivered promptly to the public at the venues and through broadcast, print and online media to audiences around the world."
Avaya's role in this process, with Bell Canada, Exclusive Telecommunications Partner for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and Atos Origin, the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, is to provide the network backbone, for which Avaya supplied the equipment, so that these replays get transferred and dispersed throughout the Olympic network, where they are transmitted, stored and archived, depending on the stakeholder. It is crazy to think of the complexity and interoperability of these network components, and it is pretty cool that so many companies are able to contribute across the network.
Don't forget to follow green avaya on twitter at @greenavaya.
Posted 24 Feb 2010 at 07:50 PM
Comments
It seems like Avaya is doing so many things for the broader social community. I applaud Avaya for not only caring about the environment and other sustainability issues, but also supporting the Olympics. Without corporate sponsors like Avaya, the Olympics could not be the World unifying, happiness building, and integrative event that it is.
Posted 24 Feb 2010 at 10:32 PM