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.
Let me back up a few weeks. Before the start of Olympics, I recently had the privilege of writing an article for the Weekly about happenings in the Chicago “Ararat” Chapter. Longtime Chicago community member (originally from Detroit) Mark Gavoor approached my dad and complimented me on that article. He also proposed that I write an article for this special Olympics issue. Mr. Gavoor has been the unofficial, but official, Olympics reporter for the Weekly for the last decade and more. I was at once excited and then really nervous about it, but I accepted the challenge.
Now, back to the assignment…
Since this was my first Olympics as an older kid and member of the AYF, I was interested to know how other Juniors feel about the Olympics and what they like best about it. For me, being with my friends with a sense of independence from my parents is the most thrilling. The Olympics embodies the “Armenian double standard!”
I began my quest for Junior perspectives on Senior Olympics with my good friends, Ani Sarafian and Sevana Derderian, both Detroit KT Juniors. My first question to Sevana was simple: “Are you excited to be here?” She exclaimed, “Yes! All my friends are here, and I am cheering on Detroit.” Ani added, “I love being with everyone, and I love all the sports. I also love going to the dances and having fun with my friends.” I could totally relate! I knew I was onto something, and I went to seek out opinions from other Juniors.
Next, I asked my fellow Chicago “Ararat” Tsoline Papazian how many times she’s been to Senior Olympics and her favorite part. “I’ve been going since I was a baby, and my favorite part is seeing my friends and going to the dances,” she said. Tsoline speaks the truth! My mom confirmed seeing Tsoline at her first Olympics in 2011 when she was three months old. Tsoline’s mom, Houri Papazian, is almost always on the medical staff at Olympics, as she was this year.
Continuing on, I asked Haig Buchaklian from the Racine “Armen Garo” Chapter why he loves Olympics. He gave a different perspective, more focused on athletics. “Yes, I love Olympics because it’s good to see all the Armenians from different places get together and compete. I love the games,” he said. I spoke with different Juniors from different chapters, and they all had similar answers. Haig Adishian from the New Jersey “Arsen” Chapter shared, “I’m excited to be here, because all my friends are here, and I’m going to be with them all weekend.” (I totally agree!) His friend from New Jersey, Kirk Vosbikian, added, “I do love Olympics because I get to see all my Armenian friends around me and all the Armenian athletes compete. It’s a fun event to see all of us together.” I also spoke with DKT Juniors Eliza Nighosian and Mourad Bagdasarian. “I love Olympics because I love being around Armenians, and I love to see everyone from different states,” Eliza told me. Mourad said, “I love Olympics because I love to see the community all together and see all of my friends.” It was very clear that AYF Juniors love to be at Senior Olympics!
Finally, I wanted to test my conclusion on a Senior. I asked Sune Hamparian from the Washington, D.C. “Ani” Chapter what her favorite part is about Olympics. Sune remarked, “Definitely seeing a lot of my friends and family and cheering on my chapter.” As I am learning in science about variables and effects, my question was the same (or similar), and my subjects had the same (or similar) answers, so one can conclude that everyone, not only Juniors, loves to be at Senior Olympics with family and friends. It is a gathering with lots of AYF spirit, and of course, Hye sird.
Aline Killian
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