Two USU students to guide at the games
With the 2002 Winter Olympic Games just around the corner, two Utah State University students are training to be audience leaders at the opening and closing ceremonies held in Salt Lake City.
Matt McNaughtan, a junior majoring in art, and Josh Mahoney, a senior marketing major, auditioned for the positions and have been attending rehearsals to prepare for the ceremonies that will be held on Feb. 8 and 24 at the Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium.
“We’re welcoming the world,” McNaughtan said.
Mahoney explained that the job of an audience leader is to greet and welcome each person, guide him or her to their seats, and hand out the special stunt packets.
During the ceremonies, the audience leaders guide their assigned sections of 2,000 to 3,000 people in the stunts, which include the wave with flags and holding up colored signs to form images in the crowd.
“It’s just to make the show look better,” Mahoney said.
Mahoney said he auditioned for the volunteer position and was unsure about the commute to Salt Lake City for the six rehearsals each leader must attend, but once he saw what the shows would be like, his excitement to be involved grew.
“It’s going to be a great show,” McNaughtan said.
“You can count on it.”
McNaughtan said each audience leader has been sworn to secrecy about the theme of the shows, as well as which famous movie stars and political figures will be attending the two events.
“I might even have the President of the United States in my section,” McNaughtan jokingly said.
The majority of the 100 estimated audience leaders who have been selected will be college students from around the area with outgoing personalities, but there will also be some high school students and older people, Mahoney said.