Before this past week, Ridderrennet was no more to us than a challenging word to spell. Students who in years past experienced this international ski event for people with disabilities unfailingly enthused about their time volunteering, the unbelievable food, the inspiring athletes, and the beautiful venue, but it remained abstract, ungraspable – and still hard to spell!
A week ago 13 of us – 8 second year students, 2 Chinese exchange teachers, 1 Ridderrennet participant, and 2 teachers – set off on a day of travel to reach the Ridderrennet venue in Beitostølen, near Jotunheim National Park. Three times a day throughout the week, our job was to assist Ridderrennet participants through the vast array of culinary delights and negotiate them to a table where they could enjoy their meals and the company of their friends. Sounds straightforward enough, right?
What happened during this week far from the IB but close to UWC ideals was nothing short of remarkable. It permeated every ski race we cheered at, every shift we took, every ceremony and prize-giving ceremony we attended. The entire week felt like a celebration, one long family reunion which absorbed and embraced, nurtured and stretched us all, bringing out the best in everyone who participated. We approached the Ridderrennet with the expectation that we were going to help people with disabilities, but what we learned (among countless other things) was that there really was no “dis”; there was only “ability”, and plenty of it!
So what exactly was so special about the Ridderrennet? Let’s start with our “work”, which consisted of approaching diners who looked likely to need help negotiating the groaning buffet tables. “How do we manage this?” we had wondered in anticipation. The answer was to follow our guides: the participants themselves. They showed us the way, patiently and with good humour, but often without eyesight or the ability to hold a plate. Together we learned how to accompany, how to explain dishes that could not be seen, how to judge the amounts that were desired, how to estimate which desserts would please a particular palate. Our communication skills were given the opportunity to flower in new directions, as a gentle touch or a slight alteration in pace could convey as much as a sentence full of words. And just as the hungry athletes trusted us (unbelievably!) to steer them safely through the crowded corridors of food, we trusted them, quickly established “favourites”, and looked forward to our next shifts with genuine eagerness.
There was another aspect of our work which was not as obvious as our highly visible presence in the dining room. Li Haixia and Guli Azhati, our Chinese exchange teachers, offered to take responsibility for all the photocopying of daily programmes and other vital items of information. What they didn’t realise when they took this on was that the photocopier was a temperamental creature that would frequently seize up and refuse to cooperate. Their perseverance and patience were nothing short of heroic. Thanks to them, everyone at Ridderrennet was able to anticipate the next day’s events in Norwegian and English, small and large print. Incidentally, the programme was also available in Braille, generated by other means.
Out on the ski trails and slopes, we were in for another type of education. Imagine skiers with little eyesight hurtling down a slalom course, a cross-country skier with no arms gracefully gliding down a track, with a guide struggling to keep up. Picture paraplegic downhill racers in sit-skis carving out beautiful turns on a steep piste, and cross-country competitors with cerebral palsy putting in powerful performances on the 10 kilometre loop. This was about enablement as well as individual ability, and it could only happen in a country where awareness, understanding, expertise, equipment, and facilities are available. It does happen here in Norway, and it SHOULD be happening everywhere.
And what of the après-ski scene, you ask? Did the athletes have a cup of cocoa and head for bed at 9 p.m., exhausted by their exertions of the day? Not a bit of it! The SAS Radisson, a classy, well-equipped hotel where the event was based, had a number of function rooms and bars which were put to excellent use throughout the week. The dance floor was busy with athletes, organisers, guides, and volunteers, the billiard table was never empty, and the tables were always buzzing with conversation and bonhomie. At breakfast some of the competitors mildly complained about being woken by noisy neighbours staggering home at 3 a.m., but everyone understood that socializing was an important aspect of the event, and some burning the candle at both ends was a given.
In the middle of the week we had been given a slot in which to produce a “cultural show”. At the request of the organiser, and thanks to the overactive imagination of one of our students, it was renamed “a cultural explosion”, at which spectators should expect “to be blown away”! Explosion hadn’t really been part of the original plan, but it set an expectation that we were determined to fulfil. The performance was scheduled to begin at 10 p.m., so we anticipated an audience of a dozen or so, but at 10 o’clock the room was packed with over 100 souls, and the acts drew smiles, laughter and heartfelt appreciative applause. It wasn’t sharp and polished, our show, but it was a sharing among friends which reflected some of our different cultures, personalities, and in some instances, talents!
We had brought our own athlete to participate in the Ridderrennet ski events. Liu Liang (China) had learned to ski at Ski Week, but we were all amazed by the ease at which he took to the track in Beitostølen. During the 10-kilometre race on Thursday, he never stopped, but steadily completed the course as if he’d been doing it all his life. He looked very comfortable on skis, so much so that his guide had some difficulty keeping pace with him at times! During the week he finished the 6 km. biathlon, the 10-km. cross-country ski race, and the 5 km. Ridderrennet race, inspiring us with his impressive effort and good spirit. Well done, Liu Liang! We are very proud of you! You have done a fantastic job representing the school and your country, and you should be extremely pleased with your achievements!
On the last night of the week we did our best to help out at the banquet, where we learned how to balance plates and use an industrial-strength hotel dishwasher, among other skills. It was a poignant pleasure to be with our new-found friends one last time and to feel the positive energy in the room. When the tables had been more or less cleared, the waitresses, with whom we had worked harmoniously and happily throughout the week, insisted on sitting us down and serving us a wonderful meal; this was a great gift from people we’d quickly grown to appreciate and respect.
At this last meal together we each said a few words about our experiences, and a number of us said it had been one of the very best weeks of the RCNUWC experience. We learned so much – about ourselves and others – and it was indeed a real, meaningful UWC experience, one which incorporated different elements of the college. It was Nordic and humanitarian, Red-Cross related and environmental (in that we had opportunities to be awe-inspired by the incredible, snow-blanketed nature around us), not to mention creative, active, and service-oriented. In addition to all this, we had the invaluable experience of simply living together in one apartment, sharing laughter and tea bags, shampoo and laptop equipment, thoughts and anecdotes, and a sense of joy and appreciation for what we had during the remarkable week of Ridderrennet.
Angie
We students are grateful beyond words for the laughter, the good memories, new knowledge, patient teaching and love we have received from the Torsdagdansen group. Far from feeling like outsiders, we have been welcomed with enthusiasm and great warmth from the group. Despite our age, language and cultural differences we have been made to feel at home at Torsdagdansen week after week. 
To say ‘thank you’, we arranged a dance in the Leif-Høegh Centre and spent a day baking cakes and moving tables beforehand. Thanks again to the Dalsfjorden Spelemannslag and Helga Åsnes for bringing the music and all the Torsdagdansen regulars who came and danced. There were also clients from Haugland and visitors who had seen the newspaper announcement that Helga placed in Firda the day before. Over fifty-five people were at the dance and it was truly a memorable night. 
