Oregon22 transforms part of UO campus into Athlete Village, giving participants a taste of dorm life

Around the time the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 starts Friday, up to 3,700 athletes and team officials from around the world will be moving into their temporary home at the University of Oregon.

Sasha Spencer Atwood, athlete and team experience director for Oregon22, said her team is preparing six UO residential buildings for Athlete Village this week.

"We've got a robust team ready to tackle the job," Atwood said.

Athlete Village is designated for any athletes and team officials who wish to stay at UO during the competitions. She said that 3,700 is the total potential population that could be moving into Athlete Village, but there is no set number of confirmed arrivals yet. There should be a more detailed count closer to the first day of competition.

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Participants will start arriving and moving into the UO buildings as early as Sunday. Athlete Village fully opens Tuesday. However, athletes will be arriving to the residential buildings throughout the course of the championships, depending on the competitions that they are enrolled in.

"We will receive the handoff from UO to us in terms of giving us access to start moving into those spaces and putting up event dressing," Atwood said. They expect the handoff in the middle of this week. "Then we'll overlay, put our Oregon22 fingerprint on the existing facilities."

Most of the buildings to be used for the village are located in the eastern region of campus, close to Hayward Field. Three residential buildings have been designated to house athletes − Global Scholars Hall, Kalapuya Ilihi Hall and Unthank Hall, according to Oregon22. Two are designated for team officials − Bean Hall and the Living Learning Center. One building is designated for a mix of athletes and officials − Barnhart Hall.

Providing a look into college life

Atwood said the setup for the residential areas will be minimal.

"The wonderful thing about about partnering with the university on the Athlete Village is that this is a place that was built to service young people, to service students, to service student athletes," Atwood said. "There's not any major modification necessary in order to accommodate the needs of the people who are living and training in the Athlete Village."

She said the main changes will be "reimagining" certain services. For example, UO staff will clean the dorms regularly and serve meals to the athletes using a specially modified menu.

Setup before the handoff mainly comprises putting up Oregon22 signage. There won't be any dorm rearranging, according to Atwood.

Atwood said this is the first time the World Athletics Championships' village have been hosted by a university.

"Coming out of COVID isolation and also coming through 2020, we're all kind of reminded of the importance of unity and togetherness, cultural understanding and communication," Atwood said. "There could not be a more appropriate place than the sort of environment for sharing and exchange that a university campus is really purposely built for."

She added that the athletes who come from all different countries will have opportunities to embrace the college experience at UO. The college visitor's center will be open throughout the championship where athletes can schedule tours and ask questions about the university.

The Oregon22 team has prepared printed materials for the athletes that emphasize UO as a academic institution.

"We certainly hope that people will be curious about that, and certainly a great opportunity for them to be exposed to the best of higher learning (institutions) in the United States," Atwood said.

What should community members know?

Atwood said apart from following traffic signs and avoiding blocked off areas, she hopes the Eugene community shows hospitality to the international teams that are coming into town.

"Everyone in the city of Eugene and Springfield should be to be assuming the role of ambassador," Atwood said. "The people who are close by campus and have close proximity to the Athlete Village, we hope that as they see athletes and team officials moving out and about that they greet them with a friendly smile, that they welcome them to the South University neighborhood and are ready to help if someone's out on a run and gets lost or just needs directions.

"We really hope that everyone wraps their arms around athletes and team officials coming and makes them feel welcome and supported."

Atwood hoped this influx of international athletes could broaden the horizons of locals in the area.

"It's an opportunity not just for people to come here and learn more about the United States and about our community, but also for our community to be able to look around and see some different faces," Atwood said. "Hopefully that sparks curiosity and it leads them to want to learn more about the people in the places that we're welcoming as well."

The championships are scheduled from July 15 to 24.

Similarly to arrival, athletes will be leaving on a staggered schedule. Atwood expects that the largest exodus of participants to be on Monday, July 25, the day after the last day of the championships.

Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: World Athletics Championships: Inside Oregon22's Athlete Village at UO