by Jason Mlodzianowski, Asa S. Bushnell Championships Assistant
As an ECAC Intern it has been a pleasure to be part of the planning and implementation of the 29 Fall Championships we have held this year. I was surprised at the amount of travel I was able to partake in over the championship season as I have ventured to four separate Northeast championship sites in the past six weeks. My travel log includes: Williamstown, Massachusetts; Frostburg, Maryland; Bronx, New York; and Long Island, New York.
Prior to the championship season, I had spent most of September and October in the planning and preparation stages. Most of my time was filled with sorting and organizing declared teams, trophies, championship banners, selection committees and the like. I spoke with countless athletic directors, host site administrators and coaches finalizing manuals and details of specific championships. I admit while I found much of the planning an interesting learning experience, by the end of October, deskwork had lost some of its luster and it was a welcoming change of pace to get out of the office and work with some of the individuals and member institutions I had been planning with. It was a very rewarding experience to see how each institution hosted their specific championship. I enjoyed the level of enthusiasm and professionalism that institutions demonstrated in the field
Looking ahead, I’m excited to repeat the same process for our winter and spring championships. We are already well into the planning stages for winter and spring is beginning to shape up as well. Can’t wait to get out there and see what college athletics is like at new institutions in different areas of the Northeast. I don’t have complete autonomy over my travel itinerary so I’m hoping to see some new faces along the way. The Synchronized Swimming Championships held at Canisius College is of particular interest to me. Gelling, A Elements and B Figures were all new terms to me as of September and I’m interested to see what the Canisius College Campus and Buffalo, New York are like.