A quartet of Carleton Ravens men’s hockey players, along with two skiier, are off to Almaty, Kazakhstan to take part in the 2017 Winter Universiade from Jan. 29 to Feb. 8.
Although the events are free to stream online at livefisu.tv, the 11-hour time difference between Ottawa and Almaty presents some challenges, as events will just starting when you’re usually either in bed or on your way to your 8:30 a.m. class.
For example, the men’s hockey team’s round robin games will be played at 8:30 a.m., 5:00 a.m., and 2:30 a.m.
So, if you need more for your sports fix than just what’s available to watch locally, here’s some tips to stay awake and watch those late night games, or be an early riser and wake up for the morning games.
Caffeine:
Pros: The classic—no matter how you take, there’s a ton of options for consumption. Red Bull, coffee, tea, energy shots and even chocolate now, there’s plenty of ways to keep yourself up. Plus, being in university, there’s a strong chance that caffeine is used to get you up for your inevitable 8:30 a.m. classes.
Cons: Can make you jittery and drinking that much will probable make you have to go to the bathroom during the game frequently, which just makes you miss what you stayed up for.
Adjusting a sleep schedule: This one takes some planning, start getting up earlier and earlier every day in the days ahead of the games, so that you’re up at 2 a.m. as if it’s a regular morning. This means more quiet hockey time, study time when the games aren’t on and free time where class, work, and people won’t be up to bother you.
Pros: Naturally wide awake during all the games, meaning you can pay more attention to the action and less on your eyelids getting heavy.
Cons: Big lifestyle shift, also going to bed at 7 p.m. sucks.
Afternoon naps: Split your sleep schedule in two and make alarms to wake up for the games.
Pro: Get to go to sleep twice, meaning getting to crash in bed twice and getting a reset on your day mid-day.
Con: Needing to be woken up by an alarm twice.
Finally, here are some simpler ways as well:
Online shopping: The thrill and subsequent regret of buying things online that you don’t need will keep you up at night for sure.
Movie Marathons: Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Tarantino movies—the list of possible marathon-able movies in limitless.
Wikipedia rabbit-holing: Start on the Carleton University Wikipedia page and see where you may end up. Try to get to the country of Belize in less than 20 pages.
Regardless of how you stay up to watch the Universiade, the result will be worth it. With Carleton sending six athletes along with a coach, the tournament promises to be another exciting international event with high flying and skilled Canadian teams.
– Photo illustration by Cameron Penney
