Olesya Romanenko always keeps her eyes fixed on the screen as she follows the matches at each table. She is the one who calls the contestants who are about to fight. She is the one who will be “the official voice of the World Championships”. I had an occasion to watch her working during this year’s World Championships in Lithuania. What I noticed was that, unlike any other member of the crew, she had literally no break throughout the whole eliminations. Olesya has to watch everything very carefully as matches do not end at the same time and sometimes there are long breaks, for instance to deal with protests and other things.

Each and every athlete knows this voice “XY is asked to approach the table number….”

We’ve got over a month till the beginning of our championships. I’m really looking forward to seeing the whole Crew, each and every person who is working backstage and makes sure the whole event will be successful. Probably I will again be sitting next to this girl who is “the Official Voice of the World Championships.

”

Hi Olesya! How are you? How do you perceive your role at this competition?

Olesya: I’ve already got used to the fact that everyone can hear my voice, but hardly anyone can see or recognize me. This is my job, my passion and my life.

The success of the competition depends on you…

Olesya: Not only on me! I’m part of a still growing team who have been working on preparing the event for many months.

You can’t run an event like world championships without prior preparation.

I was offered that job after the European Championships in Lithuania.

Together with Igor Mazurenko we discussed all my responsibilities at the September championships in Poland. I’m really happy they trust me on that.

The competition will begin in over a month. Now I’m doing my best to get ready for this event. I’m trying to predict every possibility, every minute of the competition. For sure, a lot will be going on….

Athletes look at competitions from a totally different perspective. Very often they are so concentrated on their matches that they don’t realize how many people are involved to make sure everything is well organized.

And there’s nothing wrong about it. Athletes are supposed to compete. I’m just sometimes trying to pay your attention to those who act behind the scenes.

See you in Gdynia!

PeSzy