Two Fraters at the Olympics

July 29, 2012

LONDON, England – Summer Olympic hopefuls from more than 200 countries are battling it out to bring home the gold in a number of sports. Two Fraters had the opportunity to be a part of the 30th running – one as an athlete and the other as a member of the opening ceremonies.

Frater Michael Tayler (Tau-Omega, Carelton Univ.) competed in the Canoe/Kayak Slalom Sunday. The 20-year-old began kayaking over a decade ago at the young age of eight through a week long summer camp. Since then, he has gone on to win five Junior National Titles, achieve a Bronze Medal from the 2010 Oceania Open, as well as attaining the best ever Men’s Kayak result by a Canadian at the Junior World Championships in 2010 (13th place). He began the transition into the senior category in 2011 by earning a spot on the National B Team and winning the 2011 National Championships later that year. Michael erupted on to the National A team in April 2012 where he won the highly contested battle for Canada’s only Olympic kayak spot.

He did not finish where he wanted in his heat, where only the top 15 move on to the next round.

"It’s tough," said Tayler, from an e-mail I received from Canoe Kayak Canada. "It did not go exactly as I had planned but at the end of the day it was a pretty good experience."

Many experts believe, Tayler has a very bright future in the sport and they look for him to be a medal contender in the years to come.

Seizing an Opportunity

For the past 34 years – or at least as long as Frater Jeff Lovejoy (Tau-Psi, Univ. of West Florida) can remember – he’s wanted to watch an Olympic event in person. Lucky for Jeff, his dreams have come true. The California-native, who moved to the U.K. three years ago, secured a key role in what he says will be the most dramatic, breathtaking segment of the opening ceremonies.

He told fellow co-workers, "I just wanted tickets. When I didn’t win a chance in the lottery to buy tickets, I decided to follow the Olympics’ Facebook page in case they had opportunities to win them."

After a few weeks passed, Jeff saw a post calling for actors, drummers and dancers to audition for roles in the opening ceremony. "If I couldn’t buy tickets, I figured it was my only chance to be there, so I signed up," Jeff said. "I played the drums and was involved in drama in high school, and since I’m not afraid to dance when out with friends, I didn’t figure I had anything to lose.

"You can image how I felt dressed in my street clothes when I walked into the dancing auditions to see a room full of people wearing tights and leotards, stretching and warming up," Jeff said with a proud chuckle. "I don’t know why, but I didn’t score a dancing gig. They did call me back for acting, though, and I’ve been attending rehearsals ever since."

Jeff appeared as a featured performer in the production, directed by Danny Boyle, who also directed Slumdog Millionaire. If you were unable to see the opening ceremonies or want to see Frater Jeff again, he is performing in the first 17 minutes of the show.

The Offices of the Grand Chapter congratulate these Fraters on representing their country and the TKE Nation well on one of the grandest stages of them all.

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