Q&A with UNC assistant athletic director for communications Kevin Best on his time in Sochi

There weren’t any athletes from North Carolina competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics, but there was at least one Tar Heel in Sochi, Russia.

Kevin Best, just returned from working at his ninth Olympics as an information manager. Before he flew back, Best took a few minutes to answer questions from senior writer Brooke Pryor via email.

Daily Tar Heel: As an information manager, what’s your role in the games?

Kevin Best: My role is to organize and coordinate all rights-holding broadcasters’ needs at the alpine ski venue. At this venue, I have a staff of 13, which includes two Americans, one South African and several Russian student workers. Americans recognize NBC as the U.S. rights holder, but nearly every country in the world has a rights-holding national broadcaster. We assist those rights holders in several areas, including commentary positions, camera positions and, perhaps most importantly, the mixed zone, where athletes and broadcasters “mix” for interviews. When (UNC football coach) Larry Fedora walks off the field, the ESPN sideline reporter gets the first interview since they own the rights. Now imagine a rights-holding broadcaster for every country in the world having a sideline reporter and wanting that first interview. We help organize that chaos.

DTH: How did you get into working the Olympics?

KB: I first worked the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. After graduating from North Carolina, I was an intern in the UGA Sports Information Office and the group that coordinated broadcaster needs was looking for assistance. I jumped at the opportunity and have been fortunate to be able to work at the Olympic Games (summer and winter) eight more times.

DTH: Have you experienced any of the mishaps that have gotten a lot of attention in the media?

KB: For the most part, my accommodations were outstanding. I stayed in the mountains in the area known as Rosa Khutor. It’s a good ski village with the potential to be great. The hotel had a kitchenette with a refrigerator, stove and brand new cooking utensils. I never used them, but they were shiny and new. The refrigerator kept my water and Coke Light (Diet Coke) cold so I couldn’t ask for much more. The only mishap was a lack of water one day that affected every facility in Rosa Khutor. That was quickly remedied over the course of the day while we were at the alpine venue.

DTH: How does working in college athletics communications help your work there?

KB: At the Olympics, I work specifically with rights-holding broadcasters, but my experience working in college athletics, and specifically UNC, has helped me understand the entire media operation. At UNC, I work with broadcasters, written press, online press and photographers. At the games, I assist the rights holders, but also realize that press media and photographers play an important role in the Olympics.

DTH: What’s your favorite games that you’ve worked?

KB: That’s an easy question. There is nothing yet that can compare to Sydney, Australia, in 2000. The people were incredible and the most inviting of any other games. The setting for my venue (beach volleyball) was on iconic Bondi Beach.

DTH: Have you tried or thought about adopting a stray dog in Sochi?

KB: I have not. I feel bad for the stray dogs in Sochi, but I don’t think I could take one home. To be honest, there were far more stray dogs in Athens, Greece, than in Sochi.

DTH: What’s the security like? Is it as stiff as advertised or is it pretty lax?

KB: The security was very good. There was definitely more of presence of security than in previous games. It was especially noticeable walking around town.

DTH: How do you get to the different sites?

KB: We were fortunate to have several options available to us. We could use dedicated busses or gondolas/ski lifts for the media or take the public transportation. I have found that it is very important in the Games to find alternate ways of transportation to your venue. The schedule is almost always slightly different from day to day. At the alpine venue in Sochi, our most common way of transportation was two gondola rides up the mountain and then a chair lift down to the finish area/grandstands.

DTH: How was your travel to get to Sochi? How long did it take to get there?

KB: The entire trip took approximately 26 hours, including wait time at various airports. I flew from RDU to New York’s JFK. From there, I flew to Moscow and then to Sochi. The flight from JFK to Moscow was nine hours and the flight from Moscow to Sochi was two hours.

DTH: What’s a typical day like?

KB: No day is typical, especially in alpine when the races changes from day to day. Our biggest challenge is always managing the mixed zone, which was operational every day. You may have seen the Bode Miller interviews with NBC after he won his bronze medal. I understand that commanded a lot of attention. That happened in the mixed zone. People may not realize that once an athlete enters the mixed zone, he or she does interviews with every live rights-holder, which in our venue was about 30. After a few more interviews in the ENG TV mixed zone (not live), the athlete speaks to the written press in a separate part of the mixed zone and then goes to a press conference. For a medal winner, the process can take more than an hour.

DTH: What’s your favorite event that you’ve attended?

KB:I enjoy all the alpine events, but my favorite is the Super G. That race combines the speed of a downhill race with more turns.

DTH: Is there anything else that you want to add?

KB: The best part about working the Olympics is having the opportunity to see how the world comes together to organize, produce and enjoy the world’s biggest sporting event. I think it’s pretty amazing for a group of people (in my case 13) to be thrown together at a venue from various nationalities and enhance the broadcast of the Olympics. Through my time with the Olympics, I’ve made great friends with people all across the globe and the experiences have been incredible. I also believe that working with so many different types of people within the worldwide media industry enhances my job performance when I’m back in Chapel Hill. Everyone at UNC has been supportive of my Olympic involvement, and trust me, I’m always talking about the Tar Heels wherever I am. Go Heels!