Junior perspectives on AYF Olympics

From August 30-September 2, 2024, the AYF celebrated the 90th anniversary of the Senior Olympics. This year’s hosts, the Detroit “Kopernik Tandourjian” Chapter, did an amazing job all around. Besides the main events of the athletic competition, this event has always been a family affair, with siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins coming together to support their chapter athletes. This year was my third Senior Olympics and my most memorable. It stood out not only because it was the 90th anniversary, but it was also my first Senior Olympics as a member of the AYF. I joined the Chicago “Ararat” Chapter two years ago, immediately after my 10th birthday. I was a Junior at the Senior Olympics, and boy, did I feel the spirit.

My family and I arrived Saturday afternoon, because my parents did not want my younger brother and me to miss school (the school year started before Labor Day; clearly AYF alumni are not district superintendents in Illinois). The drive from Chicago was practically unbearable — I could not wait to get there! When I walked into the hotel lobby, I saw my close friends from Junior Seminar and Camp Haiastan, who also happen to be DKT Juniors. This is awesome, I thought. I love this! The huge hotel lobby brimmed with Armenians talking, laughing and even dancing. Sounds of the dumbeg and oud filled the air. My fellow Chicago “Ararat” AYFer Alek Surenian and Michael Kalamian of Wisconsin had quite the jam going. It was amazing to see people dancing to Armenian music in the lobby of a hotel in downtown Detroit. I have been to many Midwest Junior Olympics, but at that moment, I understood that there is a huge difference between Senior Olympics and Junior Olympics, and I had yet to attend any athletics.