Olympic-Related Jobs You Might Not Have Considered
The Winter Olympics are more than a week over, but you can be sure that the people in Sochi, Russia are already getting prepared for 2014. Inspired by an article I read over at CollegeSurfing Insider during the games, I started thinking about all the equipment that the athletes use. Who makes the ice skates, skis, snow boards, bob sleds, etc. that help the Olympians win gold? Since the figure skating, speed skating and skiing events are my favorites, I decided to focus on those. The entry level job opportunities are in relationship to the Olympics are almost endless.
There are several different ice skate manufacturers but Riedell is said to be the most popular among Olympic athletes. What’s interesting is that Riedell only makes the boot, which is also worn by roller skaters. Two British companies, John Wilson Skates and MK Blades make the blades. Wilson and MK blades boast that skaters using their blades have “won more medals at international skating events than all other blades combined.”
Riedell also makes boots for speed skaters, but Apex Racing Skates might be a better bet simply because the company was founded by an Olympic champion speed skater, Mathieu Turcotte of Quebec. Turcotte makes custom-fitted boots for comfort as well as performance. I don’t know if Apex also supplies the blades, but the design manufacturing of speed skating boots and blades is a big deal to Olympic class athletes and their coaches. It would be important for hockey players, too, not to mention the design and manufacturing of all the other equipment they use like gloves, helmets, pads and sticks.
Next to the skating events, I enjoy the downhill skiing events. Skiing is a very popular recreational sport so there are plenty of ski equipment manufacturers in the US and around the world. Most skis have a wood core but the exteriors are made of materials like Kevlar, titanium and fiber glass. Particularly where athletes are concerned, design is crucial. Imagine being the one who created a high performance ski or super shock absorbent helmet.
Many of the jobs related to the making of the ice skates and skis used by Olympic athletes are manual labor jobs that don’t require bachelor’s degrees; however, research and development positions do, as would jobs in marketing and purchasing. I only discussed the entry level job possibilities related to the Olympic sports I love to watch but think about what goes into the design and development of bobsleds and bobsled tracks, snowboards and even curling equipment. Incidently, the curling stones are made from a kind of granite found only in Wales and Scotland, which is more impact resistent than regular granite.
