Sochi-bound Halifax couple plan for worst, hope for best
Scott and D'Arcy Warnica planning Olympic trip with safety in mind
Scott and D'Arcy Warnica have Olympic fever. The Halifax couple flies to Russia next week and will stay on a cruise ship off Sochi to take in the excitement and competition of the Winter Games.
D'Arcy, a personal trainer and motivational coach, said attending the Olympics has been a lifelong goal.
"I've probably watched every Olympics — summer, winter — since I was a very little girl," she said.
"Olympics are a big deal to me. I watch them from beginning to end and this is sort of a dream come true."
Still, the closer the 2014 Games get, the more she worries about the possibility of a terror attack in Sochi.
"I'm certainly frightened. Certainly it's in the back of my mind constantly," she said.
Scott Warnica is a staff sergeant with the Nova Scotia RCMP and an incident commander with the highly-trained Emergency Response Team — capable of employing specialized weapons, equipment and tactics to resolve high-risk situations.
Warnica knows how quickly things can go bad and how motivated terrorists can be, but said he's comfortable taking his wife to the Games.
"Most of the terrorist threats occurred after we bought our tickets," he said. "I think if you keep your wits about you and pay attention to your surroundings I think you'll be fine."
Warnica is already planning this trip with his training in mind.
"We have to get from our cruise ship in Sochi to the Olympic park — a distance of 12 kilometres," he said.
"We're going to avoid public transportation, avoid a lot of the public areas if we can."
Scott Warnica believes the games will be safe, but he knows a terrorist would see spectators as valuable targets. His wife said all the talk about the danger is already a win for terrorists, especially because athletes are thinking about it.
"I think it's a distraction, I feel for them. I hope it doesn't interfere with their goals and their success," she said.
The Warnicas say as their trip nears, they're also thinking about another issue — hockey. The avid team Canada fans are leaving Sochi the night before the gold medal game, but have tickets for the bronze medal match.