Co-ordinating the championships

Organising the travel and accommodation for more than 2000 athletes, officials and coaches at the IAAF World Championships, Beijing 2015 as the IAAF competitions co-ordinator is a far from easy task.

It is a role which requires a astute problem-solving abilities and a personable nature to manage people from all corners of the globe, not to mention a naturally patient disposition.

Perhaps that’s why Celine Bianchi – a Frenchwoman with an engaging smile and a seemingly unquenchable curiosity in people – is perfectly suited to a multi-faceted but nonetheless critical behind-the-scenes role.

As the IAAF generously cover basic travel and accommodation costs for all competing athletes, much of Celine and her team’s energy has been devoted in recent months to making this process as smooth as possible for all of the IAAF Member Federations who will be in Beijing.

With Beijing boasting a multi-terminal major international airport, the travel plans for the latest edition of the biennial championships are a lot more straight-forward than one of two other championships in living memory.

However, dealing with more than 200 teams can still prove challenging.

“Sometimes it is impossible to issue tickets in advance,” she explains. “For example, we never know when Bhutan will depart because they are leaving from one of the smallest airports in the world high in the mountains, and we never know the weather conditions.

“One country, which attended the recent IAAF World Youth Championships, issued their own air ticket, but booked to land in Colombo in Sri Lanka rather than Cali, Colombia. You can imagine the follow up work we then had to make.”

Another element Celine and her colleague, senior competitions manager Carlo de Angeli, manage is the coordination of all entry aspects, including checking birth dates and other criteria which need to be met, which can differ from event to event, and eligibility is sometimes determined at the discretion of the technical delegates.

Diplomacy and understanding

“One country recently entered an athlete aged 23 for the World Youth Championships and didn’t understand that there was a problem,” she added, with her ever-present smile.

Celine will also work closely with nations to secure visas, an issue particularly relevant to China which operates a strict immigration control system.

Another area of her responsibility is to check that all final entries are submitted via the IAAF online system, which manages the whole process. Basic entry system tutorials also form part of her multi-faceted role.

Once she and Carlo arrive in Beijing, she will be based in the accreditation centre to provide the documents and information linked to the competition and act as a staff liaison because of her knowledge of the entries and entry process.

Once the starting gun is fired in terms of the competitive programme in Beijing, Celine will then shift to work at the first call room at the warm-up track to check all is present and correct with the athletes while her colleague, Carlo, will be based in the stadium call-up room.

The days are long and the work can be stressful, but Celine typically reflects on any championships with pride and satisfaction at a job well done.

“Sometimes the job is a little bit like that old phrase about opening a box of chocolates in that you never know what you get,” she explained. “It is sometimes tough, but it is rewarding and I’m always happy to see the outcome of many months of hard work. For example, when you know that some athletes aged 16 or 17 at the recent World Youth Championships were travelling overseas and getting on a plane for the first time, then that is great to see.”

Her role can also be humbling and sobering.

“I recently had an email exchange from a guy in Afghanistan who hadn’t been able to connect to the internet for three weeks because of a blackout caused by the conflicts in that country,” she said. “Instances like that remind you of what life is like for some people. This is the reality of the world. We often forget the many sad realities. It is only then you realise how privileged we are (coming from the western world).”

Celine has little doubt the job has exposed her to many new experiences.

“The job helps open your mind. You see things from a different point of view and I feel very lucky to have travelled the world and met people from so many different countries.

“One official was so thankful for the work I had done, he asked me to marry him!” she added with a laugh, diplomatically not revealing her suitor or her answer.

Steve Landells for the IAAF