- Romanian Tournament Official at Junior World Wrestling Championships

At the 1999 FILA-Junior World Wrestling Championships in Bucharest, Romania, there were a number of potential problems that hit both the U.S. Greco-Roman and the Women's freestyle teams. The Greco-Roman team had flight problems in Paris due to overbooking of a flight on Air France. Two coaches had to stay overnight in Paris and 11 members of the party were rerouted by taking a flight on Luthansa to Frankfort, then to Bucharest. As a result none of the team's luggage arrived. The Greco team was forced to workout in their underwear and socks until their baggage arrived a full 24 hours later.

The Romanian Wrestling Federation put the team up in the Parc Hotel, which was substandard even for members of fraternal organizations on college campuses across the United States. With no air conditioning, the heat approaching 100 degrees, and on the fifth floor of the Parc, few of the athletes could sleep at night even after putting in full intense workouts in preparation for the world championships.

Weigh-ins for the women's freestyle wrestling were scheduled for 6:00 pm. One of the American wrestlers still had one kilo (2.2 pounds) to cut at 11:00 am. Not a problem with seven hours to go. After an hour on the treadmill doing three minute intervals, I was met by the Canadian coach who was in a panic.

"They changed the weigh-ins! They changed the weigh-ins!," he screamed.

"To when?," I asked.

"Two o'clock for medical checks, and three o'clock for weigh-ins!," as he ran off to find his over-weight 54 kilo wrestler.

I then rushed down to the lobby of the Parc Hotel trying to locate a member of the Romanian Wrestling Federation to find out what I heard was true. Our 46 kilo wrestler had placed fourth in the world championships the year before - I wanted to be sure so she would make weight and wrestle in the championship. My heart rate was at its maximum. I was filled with anxiety of having one of our best wrestlers not make weight - because of a scheduling change.

I grabbed the Romanian by the arm, he must have sensed my panic, and at once he stopped speaking to another member of the Federation and directed his attention to me.

Out of breath, I asked, "Did the schedule change? Are the weigh-ins now at three o'clock?"

The Romanian representative trying to calm me down, patted me on the back and said, "Coach, no change. Only modification."

As a result of the "modification" many foreign athletes failed to make weight for the world championships, including a returning world bronze medalist from Canada. Fortunately our athlete made it, weighing in right at 3:30 pm, getting on the scale at 46.0 kilos. The stress of forcing our athlete through the mental barriers to continue to workout, keeping moving and staying positive while time was running out took a greater toll on me than the physical nature of the workout did on her.

Be Prepared

Preparation mentally and physically is unquestionably an important undertaking in the planning of overseas travel and competition. Do not take anything for granted. Proper, prior, planning can help you have a pleasant travel experience.

Passports

Your passport is your life line for entering a foreign country and for returning home. It is the only official document which certifies your identity and citizenship, plus it authorizes your travel abroad.

In 1988, two-time Olympic medalist Dennis Koslowski was in Bucharest for a Greco-Roman wrestling competition. In the hotel Koslowski put down his travel bag on the floor beside him as he talked with other wrestlers in the lobby. When he turned around to pick up his bag, it was gone, along with his passport and money.

When preparing for overseas travel it is a good idea to make a couple of photocopies of your passport. Keep one copy in your carry-on bag, and give the second copy to the team leader or your coach. If by chance you lose your passport you still will be able to get home on time with the team.

Packing Your Carry-On Bag

In numerous trips to Europe with USA Wrestling there has been many documented cases of lost and missing luggage. On a winter tour to Sweden, one athlete was missing all of their luggage for three days of a five day trip. Another athlete did not receive their luggage at all in France. In fact they did not get their luggage until two weeks after arriving back home from the tour.

It is extremely frustrating for anyone to lose their luggage, but even worse for the athlete who is trying to prepare physically and mentally for competition. The loss redirects the athletes focus from the upcoming competition to the personal injustice of losing their belongings.

To prevent this problem from happening to you, you need to prepare for the worst. In your carry-on bag you need to pack the following items: competition shoes; one set of practice or work-out gear; competition uniform and warm-ups; one change of street clothes; your personal items such as toothbrush, comb and brushes, shampoo, etc. Wear your running shoes on the flight so that you have something to use as workout shoes. It is also a good idea to pack your walkman, magazines, and books to read on the long flight and the down time.

If by chance you do lose your checked luggage, you will be able to adequately survive the trip with your limited essential belongings.

Packing Light

International travel usually involves multiple side trips. Remember everything that you take and pack you have to carry. Over-packing can be a strenuous burden.

I recall a story of an American wrestler who traveled with a team to Russia one summer. He traveled with his carry-on bag and two huge suitcases, which neither of the bags had wheels. The weight of his baggage was well beyond his 63 kilos of body weight. One of the suitcases was filled to the brim with food, as he was a very fussy eater.

At the start of the trip this athlete was quite protective of his food, and failed to share with anyone. As the trip wore on, this wrestler slowly fatigued in hauling his luggage, to the point of offering food or money to his teammates for helping him carry his bags.

On many trips abroad you will be forced to move about from airport, to bus, to subway, to train, to taxi cabs, to ocean going ferries, up stairs, down stairs, and all about. Carrying too much luggage is an unnecessary pain.

On a trip from Paris, we were on a train to Claremont-Ferrand - which was about a six and one-half hour trip. We had already traversed the airport, a bus to the subway, and a considerable walk to the Paris train station. Once on the train we had settled in already quite exhausted from our flight that had left Colorado Springs, Colorado almost 24 hours earlier.

An hour into the ride we were informed that we were in the wrong train car, and that the car we were in was going to be uncoupled from the train at the next station. The French conductor told us we had to move up through twenty cars to be in our assigned seats. This was not an easy assignment for most of the team who were over-packed, as we moved through a maze of cars, stepping around and over chickens, dogs, and not to mention children who were playing in the aisles.

The best system is to travel with your carry-on and one wheeled medium sized suitcase. I would also recommend bringing a backpack, the typical ones used for carrying books to school. Backpacks are functional, easy to carry and can be stuffed with gifts to bring back home.

Jet Lag

Jet lag refers to the physical and mental effects caused by traveling rapidly across several time zones. The changes in time zones, illumination, and environment prove somewhat disruptive to the human physiological mechanisms, particularly when one flies through five or more time zones which happens in European or Asian travel. The symptoms can be sufficiently disruptive to interfere with your ability as an athlete to perform maximally in competition. In some cases athletes will become ill for a short period of time with anorexia, severe headaches, blurred vision, dizziness, insomnia, or extreme fatigue.

You can minimize the effects of jet lag by paying attention to the following guidelines:

• Depart well rested.
• Drink fluids to avoid dehydration which occurs because of dry, high altitude, and low cabin air humidity.
• Caffeine should be avoided when traveling (coffee, tea, Coke, etc.) while cause dehydration.
• Reset watches according to the new time zone upon boarding the plane.
• Upon arrival, immediately adopt the local time schedule for training, eating, sleeping, etc. Forget what time it is back at home.

Part II: of "Overseas Travel" will discuss... What to Expect....Food and Water...Time Schedules... Securing Your Gear... Being an Ambassador... Making Friends... Sampling the Culture... and Trading.

The author, Doug Reese is a veteran of overseas travel having traveled and coached with both USA Wrestling and Athletes In Action to over 18 countries in Europe and Latin America.