At the heart of the Canada Winter Games Athletes Village, competitors loll on couches or bean bags, some listening to music but most deep into video games on one of the 65-inch TV screens.
At the entrance to the Prince George Public Library's top floor, they're greeted with dozens of board games to play, stacks of free comic books, and - as they wend their way through the rows of library books - table tennis and several life-sized Jenga sets.
The idea said Adam Spurrell, coordinator of the village services, was to create a space where athletes could escape.
"Whether it's pre-competition where they need to just shut down for a bit or it's post-competition and they need to reflect, it's hard to do that in a hotel room or out at the Plaza," said Spurrell, adding that the UNBC Residence Life team was the key coordinator of the space. "So what we wanted to do, and make sure that we had, is just a sanctuary for these athletes to escape to."
The space is quiet during the day - there were about 50 kids in the upstairs enclave Thursday afternoon - but it picks up to several hundred at night, Spurrell said.
Spurrell said they borrowed ideas from past Games venues, but that there were still hiccoughs along the way: some equipment, for example didn't come in time.
"I thought we had planned for everything," he said.
The advice he'd give to the event's next organizers?
"It's impossible to over-plan and over-prepare," he said. "Be flexible and be ready that things aren't going to go your way and that's fine. At the end of the day as long as the athletes and participants are having a great time and they're safe and they're healthy, that's all that matters."
Just next door at the bottom of the Civic Centre is perhaps the most important room to energetic young athletes: the place where they get their food.
Volunteers scan each person's Games ID upon entrance.
At its peak, 1,650 athletes were fed in one hour on the day of the opening ceremony.
"They're a very efficient operation," said Lana Keim, chair for the Athletes Village.
It's run by 72 staff members, 22 of whom are Red Seal Chefs preparing meals that are typically decided ahead of time by teams.
There's a cereal, fruit and bagel and bread station on one side of the room, and rows and rows of 700 seats on the other. Athletes can drop in any time from 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Upstairs at the Civic Centre, the Poly Clinic is a quiet space for the treatment of minor injuries and illness, as well as therapy - as a way to relieve any pressure on the hospital by the influx of athletes.
Despite the calm, the clinic has had a flurry of activity over two weeks, having just treated patient 1,000 on Wednesday.
For the most part, doctors treat between 50 to 75 patients a day for soft tissue injuries and pulled muscles, but they have also seen a case of acute respiratory distress. Robert Stewart, the chair of the medical centre, said there have been 11 ambulance calls for athletes.
The area has two examination rooms, a therapy room, an observation room and medical communications centre that also serves as headquarters for St. John Ambulance and BC Ambulance.
Athlete Nathan Shuh spends most of his time in the training hall at the College of New Caledonia, but said the volunteers at all the venues, including the Athletes Village, have made a difference.
"All the little things that they do have really made our week wonderful," said the 17-year-old from Ontario, who competes in trampoline.
"The people in Prince George, I'm blown away by how friendly they've been. They've been so hospitable and everyone's been involved in the pin trading so it's kind of been a catalyst for all the people connecting with other people and making new friends.
"It's just been such a good experience."
