Competition at the XXI Central American and Caribbean Games opened today in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. The team of certified athletic trainers from ESU were busy assisting the Servicios Medico (Medical Services) Units at five different venues. Most students provided support from early in the morning (7am) until late in the evening (11pm). Sarah Coehlo* and Michael Rath* provided athletic training services at the Badminton venue in the northwest region of the island at Quebradillas. Andrew Lotocki* was part of the medical services team at Aguada, site of the CAC Games Judo competition. In the southwest region at Cabo Rojo, Anne Martens* and Mariangelie Balaguer** provided services to the athletes practicing and competing at the Fencing venue. Michael Freed* was also assigned in the southwest at San German. San German is where preliminary games in the men's and women's basketball are being hosted. In Moca, a small town in the western part of the island, Professor Lindsey McGuire joined the Medical Services team at the Weightlifiting venue. In Mayaguez, the Games' host city, Jane Scheffler was kept busy at the state of the Aquatics Center located on the campus of the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez and Professor Emily Hildebrand and James Peer* were part of the team providing services to Team Handball competitors in Mani, just outside Mayaguez.
Dr. Hauth and Professor Elaine Rodriguez spent the better part of the day transporting students to their venues and arranging transportation and meal requests at the "International Zone". Later in the day, Dr. Hauth and Professor Rodriguez represented ESU as part of the Medical Services Volunteers at the Opening Ceremonies which had been rescheduled from Saturday Night. Dr. Hauth will participate in prelimary meeting of track and field supervisors on Monday. He is assigned to assist with athletic training services at the new Baseball Stadium in Mayaguez when competitions begin on Tuesday afternoon.
The students will be reporting on their experiences in future blogs. After an exhausting day where the heat index approached 112 degrees at times, the team from ESU was ready to get a good night's rest and start all over again on Monday!
Dr. Hauth and Professor Elaine Rodriguez spent the better part of the day transporting students to their venues and arranging transportation and meal requests at the "International Zone". Later in the day, Dr. Hauth and Professor Rodriguez represented ESU as part of the Medical Services Volunteers at the Opening Ceremonies which had been rescheduled from Saturday Night. Dr. Hauth will participate in prelimary meeting of track and field supervisors on Monday. He is assigned to assist with athletic training services at the new Baseball Stadium in Mayaguez when competitions begin on Tuesday afternoon.
The students will be reporting on their experiences in future blogs. After an exhausting day where the heat index approached 112 degrees at times, the team from ESU was ready to get a good night's rest and start all over again on Monday!
Day 1 was long at badminton as many of the competitions took longer due to the equal talent of the athletes. I watched Guatemala's Kevin Gordon who is ranked 50th in the world handle his competition with pose and ease. Puerto Rico's men and women's team look strong with the Mexico side always pressuring. Fatigue and heat began to take their toll on the athletes towards the end of the day and injuries began to surface. Note badminton is played indoors however AC is turned off during competition as not to disrupt the flight of the shuttlecock. Badminton Day 3 today, singles competition begins. Mexico women took the team title yesterday and Guatemala and Jamaica were battling late into the night yesterday on the men's side.
ReplyDeleteSarah Coelho, ATC
July 20
ReplyDeleteToday was extremely eventful. Jane, Lillian, Laneisha, and myself were relaxing watching a great spectacle of olympic diving when suddenly the call "medico, medico!"exploded all around us. A person was injured in the stands and needed medical attention. After taking countless wrong turns and realizing that there was only one way to get to the stands, which was on the other side of the facility, we came upon an individual with a fractured ankle. Lani reacted immediately and ran to find paramedics and a stretcher. Jane and I followed while Lillian managed the situation with the victim. When following Lani it was apparent that many people did not know where the paramedics were. We sprinted back to where we were originally stationed, but on the way Jane and I were flagged down to assist with another victim. They were located in the AT room and the individual suffered a head wound on the back of his head. The situation was already being managed by a nurse present with the wound covered. Seeing that it wasn't life threatening and that the situation was in hand, we rushed back to find paramedics. They were already en route to the victim with Lani navigating the way. Jane and I, slightly slower and out of shape, caught up with the paramedics after battling our way through the masses of the worried crowd. When we finally caught up the paramedics, they, along with Lillian and Lani, already had the victim stretchered and were wheeling her to the ambulance. The situation was well handled by all the athletic training staff dealing with the confusion and showing the courage and initiative to act when others were still in shock. All around it was a great display of the work ethic and quick thinking that athletic trainers must possess to manage such situations.
P.S it was an absolute monsoon during the whole 20 min affair and everybody looked as though they joined the swinmmers in the pool (except Jane who wore her poncho)
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