With the presidential debate coming to campus this Wednesday, changes have been occurring all over campus, from fences being put up to building restrictions and closures.
The Pioneer athletics department has not been exempt from the changes being made on campus for the debate, as each team has been displaced from their locker rooms, equipment rooms, training and practice locations and home game venues.
Each sports team has been forced to move to a new location this week around Denver. Hockey is practicing at the Family Sports Center in Centennial, men’s lacrosse is practicing at Littleton High School, women’s soccer and lacrosse have each practiced at Washington Park and all the other teams are scattered around the city.
Hockey begins their season Oct. 6 with an exhibition game against University of British Columbia, which has been moved to the Pepsi Center downtown because new ice won’t be ready in time for the game in Magness Arena after the debate.
“It’s just crazy, because, especially for hockey, we are trying to prepare for the first game, and we aren’t going to be getting back into the building before that first game,” said Nick Meldrum, the director of equipment room operations.
“I’ve got to prepare to go on the road for two teams, so I need two sets of towels, two sets of tools, travel skate sharpeners, stuff like that. Everything I need to take, I need to take double of, because I’m going to end up having to take care of two teams at the Pepsi Center.”
Along with preparing all of the necessary equipment for this weekend’s hockey game, the transportation of all the gear has been a hurdle that Meldrum had to overcome.
“The Colorado Avalanche have been a huge help; they’re actually coming by today to help us move out of here,” said Meldrum last Friday. “They’re bringing one of their big equipment trucks that they use to pick up visiting teams from the airport, so we’ll be able to load all this stuff in there and head down there, which is a huge help on my end.”
In addition to hockey, soccer has also been affected, as the women’s team had games on Friday and Sunday at CIBER Field. The team was forced to move out of their own locker room and move into the lacrosse locker rooms.
“Specifically for men’s and women’s soccer, it’s been tough, because they’re on the road and they played at home,” said Meldrum. “We got kicked out of the equipment room on Sept. 21, so those teams have everything they need: both sets of jerseys, all their laundry, towels and all that stuff, and local parents and coaches have been doing their laundry.”
As there are only four debates per election, the opportunity to host the debate at Denver has been an honor to the university as a whole according to junior hockey forward Nick Shore.
From a student athlete perspective, the changes have been slightly inconvenient but overall worth the honor of hosting the debate, according to Shore.
“It’s obviously a little bit of a hassle to have to move out of our locker room and all, but I think everyone realizes that it’s a cool experience that nobody really gets to have, so I think we’re all taking it pretty well and it’s fun around campus,” said Shore. “Overall, it hasn’t been bad; we are looking forward to getting back in our rink, but right now I think we can handle it.”
The entire department has had to make adjustments for the debate, but the equipment team has been doing all they can to ensure a smooth transition in and out for the teams.
“There hasn’t been a team that hasn’t been affected,” said Meldrum. “Logistically, it’s crazy and something we haven’t had to deal with before, but it’s been a lot of planning on our part to make sure the teams are still successful whether it’s here at home being displaced or being on the road and being prepared for that.”
