Quaranteam program to help Australian athletes through difficult 14 days post Olympics

Concerts, dance parties, a chat with one of the performers in Hamilton, and even mastering the art of taking a perfect quarantine selfie with one of the world’s leading photographic agencies are just some of the activities planned for Australia’s Olympians who are arriving home and heading into quarantine.

Till now athletes have been returning in dribs and drabs, two or three at a time, because of the requirement to leave the Olympic village within 48 hours of completing competition.

Earlier today the first of the big charter flights flew into Darwin with the bulk of the Australian swimming team heading to Howard Springs.

Psychologists are on call 24 hours a day for those who need it.

The Australian Olympic team quarantine program has been developed in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Sport and Paralympics Australia and approved by both the chief medical officer and the team’s lead sport psychologist.

“Quarantine following a major benchmark event and the end of an Olympic cycle, can have its ups and downs. You may have performed well and want to celebrate face to face with your family and friends. You may have not performed as well as you had hoped and wish someone could just give you a hug. Or you might be exhausted and just want to sleep. Whatever your experience, we are here to support you with the AOC Quaranteam Program,” read a document sent to the athletes explaining what they’ll be arriving home to.

With the creative assistance of the Australian Olympic Committee’s (AOC) athletes’ commission, the program will rotate over days so athletes can all access the offerings despite which day they return home.

There is even an option for family members to join some of the online sessions.

AOC chief executive, Matt Carroll, says a project called Wakasa, the name of a traditional Japanese umbrella, started the week the Games were delayed. While there was a lot of focus on getting athletes qualified and safely to the Games, plans also began on what getting them home and quarantined would look like.

“Because of the need to leave Tokyo within 48 hours it adds a degree of complexity,” Carroll said.

“In the first few days some athletes were finishing in ones and twos.

“On other days there’s a charter with over a hundred into Darwin.”

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Originally the AOC looked at a bespoke quarantine program at a single hotel but logistically it did not work. Various states in various stages of lockdown all had to be considered as well as being conscious not to affect state-by-state caps on arrivals.

Negotiations have continued throughout with the federal and state governments to confirm all arrivals are above the caps in place for other arrivals from overseas.

As much as possible athletes will quarantine in the states where they live, such as the women’s hockey team, eliminated yesterday, heading back into Perth tomorrow.

“It’s like the Opals last night, we had them booked on a flight … but they’ve made it through so they are on a later flight now.”

But it’s not just the logistics.

Emotional and mental welfare aspects have also been thought through from multiple perspectives.

Some athletes will return on a high having achieved or surpassed their goals, while others might be suffering from having failed to do so.

“Everyone’s a bit different and mental health is important, physical health is important so the program has a mixture of things where people can reach out for mental support and the AIS [Australian Institute of Sport] is working very closely in that space,” Carroll said.

“There’s also an opportunity for team members to connect with each other.

“We’re putting in place facilities where athletes can connect with each other across the net individually through to dance parties.”

Team sponsors have also become involved.

“Go Daddy is hosting ‘how to construct a website’, which might be very useful for athletes who might want to promote their own personal brand.

“Entertainers have donated their time to put on concerts and then there’s the mental wellbeing and health sessions as well.

Australian airports and hotels have also been supportive, decorating their foyers and arrival halls with “welcome home” signs to try to ease the disappointment of not being able to arrive home to family or friends.

“It’s just to say yes Australia has respected what you’ve done … whether you got a medal or didn’t get a medal you are welcomed back to Australia and we’re going to make the best effort we possibly can over the 14 days of quarantine,” Carroll said.

There is one more charter flight that will head to Darwin and the final flight is a charter from Tokyo into Brisbane after the closing ceremony.

It’s been dubbed “the last flight from Tokyo”.

While the last athletes from the summer Olympics complete their quarantine in Australia the AOC will already be in full swing making the final arrangements for Australia’s winter Olympic team heading to Beijing starting six months from today.