Five decades later

   Exactly 50 years ago, athletes and fans gathered in Squaw Valley, California  for the VII Winter Olympics.
   Recently, Squaw Valley held a celebration to commemorate the golden anniversary of the VII Winter Games.
   In 1960, the Olympics were quite different.  Only 30 nations participated in 27 events, which is a tiny figure compared to this year’s 86 events and over 80 participating countries.
   One of Squaw Valley’s major events was ice hockey. In 1960, the United States won its gold medal in hockey by beating the Soviet Union and then Czechoslovakia.
   The husband of retired Granite Bay High School teacher Lucy Sak, Gary Judd, attended these games. In 1960, Judd was a student at Sierra College, working in Squaw as an usher and security guard in the ice arena.
   Judd was able to see many events, including those that took place in the ice arena.
   After the U.S. beat the Soviet Union (for the first time ever), Judd and his friend jumped over the wall and slid onto the ice to celebrate with the team. While rushing onto the ice, Judd snagged the puck used throughout the game, which is now a valuable piece of history.
   Judd said that the Olympics have drastically changed over the last 50 years. “(The ceremonies” weren’t spectacular like they are today,” Judd said.
   Judd said one of the biggest changes, though, is the spirit.
    “We’ve lost a little bit (of) the spirit of the Olympics,” Judd said. “Back in 1960, barriers between countries and athletes were broken down by the spirit of the games.”
   The athletes in the Olympics were all amateurs too; the games were not a venue for professionals. Even after the Americans won the gold medal, they had to “…rush back home to get to work the next day,” Judd said.
   Now a half-century later, men and women, professional and amateur alike, from around the world are preparing for the XXI Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia. The games are set to begin next Friday and will end on Feb. 28.
   GBHS sophomore Samantha Spargo has been looking forward to going to the Olympics for six months now.
   Spargo will be in Vancouver for four days. While she is there she will be seeing alpine skiing, downhill snowboarding and possibly ice skating.
    Spargo is looking forward to being in a new country as well as getting to be a spectator at the games instead of watching them on television.
   Spargo and her family have also some personal connections; they are family friends with Olympic swimmer, Summer Sanders. Spargo hopes this connection might allow her to meet some other Olympic athletes.
   As Spargo and her family prepare to leave, athletes from around the world are gearing up for these Olympics games.
   Fifty years have come and gone since the Olympics were held at Squaw Valley, a passage of time that has brought many new changes to the games that will take place later this month in Vancouver.