The Armenian Youth Federation or AYF is an important organization in our family. My parents met at an AYF Convention. I met my wife at an AYF dance in which our band was playing. The central event of the AYF is their Annual Olympic Games held every Labor Day weekend since 1933. It has grown from a humble track and field meet to three days of sports and dances. It was just AYF members in the beginning which quickly became a multigenerational event. It moves from city to city and we plan our lives around it. It is special in that we gather and create our own Armenia, a uniquely American-Armenian Armenia, for a weekend. We arrive on Thursday evening or Friday full of excitement and anticipation and leave on Labor Day sleep deprived and ready to feel sad for several days it ended so quickly.
Our Olympics is the longest running ethnic athletic competition in the US. It must be noted that the other Olympics, you know, the international and globally televised one that occurs every four years is a bit touchy about other organizations using calling their events the Olympics. We may be the only organization that actually has permission to call our games the Olympics.
My Dad and his brother as well as my sister and maternal aunt are AYF Olympic legends. They have been named Olympic Kings and Queens… a huge honor. My aunt was the women’s high scorer for like twenty years to be surpassed by my sister. My son was a good swimmer in the Olympics who outscored his great uncle to be the highest scoring Gavoor male. My Dad? He was a good athlete but a phenomenal coach and served on the Governing Body of the Olympics for several years.
Me? I participated but never ever scored a single point. But I have made up for by coordinating the reporting of the Olympics for the Armenian Weekly. I write many articles and take about a third of the photos. I have a team of four others that assist with the articles and photos. Our team of Bob Tutunjian, Harry Derderian, Sona Gevorgian, Tamar Kanarian and yours truly do an awesome job if I do say so myself.
Did I say the AYF Olympics has happened every year since 1933? Well, in this pandemic year, the Olympics were supposed to have been in Worcester where the first Armenian Church in the US was founded in 1891. The 2020 Worcester Olympics were postponed until 2021.
But, we still had an Olympic Special Issue of the Armenian Weekly. We made it retrospective and reflective. People shared their touching and humorous memories. Our stalwart historian and statistician created the All Decade Teams from the 1930s through the 2010s. We continued our writing and reporting labor of love. My role was to collect and report memories. Two of the oldest living Alumni, Varoujan Karentz and his sister Karentz Varadian of Providence, wrote beautiful articles as did Heather (Detroit originally) and Ara Krafian of Boston.
Here is my favorite Olympic memory which was first published in the July 22, 2020 Armenian Weekly.
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Like many of you, I have many wonderful memories of the AYF Olympics. In the case of my favorite or most special memory, one came immediately to mind. It is a memory from the 85th Annual Olympics Games in Philadelphia. Yes, my favorite Olympic memory is from 2018, two short years ago.
It is special because it involves my first-born grandchild, Aris Gabriel Gavoor. He was just four years old at the time. It also involves my father, Aram “Sonny” Gavoor, who passed away in June of that year.
We were having breakfast at the hotel on Sunday morning. I was sitting next to Aris. We were eating waffles and we were talking. My wife Judy, his grandmother, asked him if he was excited to be running in his first kiddie race at the Olympics. He nodded and said, “yes.” A bit later, he turned to me and said, “You know, I am very fast.” He said it in a kind solemn whisper and full of confidence at the same time. I got the impression he was sharing some important privileged information with me. I eloquently replied, “I see. Thank you for telling me, Aris. I can’t wait to watch you run.”
Later at the track before the opening ceremonies, I was taking photos of the long jumping, field events, and track prelims. I found myself repeating Aris’s words to myself, “You know, I am very fast.” Then, I was even repeating it out load. I loved it. I know Coach Sonny would have loved hearing his great-grandson say it. I was smiling each time I repeated it.
My Dad loved the Olympics, he especially loved the Track and Field, his favorite part of the games. All our family in attendance was a swirl of good emotions that day. The emotions swirled even more, when in the opening ceremonies, the Detroit Team all sported t-shirts that said, “It’s Always Sonny” on the front and “Gavoor” on the back. Coach Sonny would have loved that. I loved that. The entire family loved and were touched by this wonderful tribute.
When it came time for the kiddie races, both Aris and his sister Lara, two years old at the time, came down to the track. They had on their “Future AYF Member” t-shirts. Their father, my son Aram, passed them over the fence to me. When I set them down on the track, they both took off running. “You know, I am very fast.” We had to catch them both and bring them back to the starting line.
The toddlers, the under four years olds, ran first. Lara loved it. She ran with a big smile on her face. At the half-way point she stopped and waited for another little girl to catch-up. Then, she ran right into the arms of her Gunkamayr (Godmother), Melanie Mesropian at the finish line. The parents and official began the process, and it is a process, of getting the older kids lined up, Aris was at the line in a set position from the first call until the start of the race. I was impressed with his focus and look of determination. “You know, I am very fast.”
When they started the race, Aris ran well. Alas, he was not the fastest because he was amongst the youngest in the race. He was no a match for the six and seven year olds. He did, however, finish in the top third. But, he was not done. He ran past his Gunkamayr and kept running. He was not the first little guy to keep running. It happens almost every year. Most stop when someone catches them or they hear their parents telling them to stop. No one stopped Aris. He kept running. Family, at first, called out, “Aris stop!” He didn’t hear or more likely ignored those calls. He was in a zone. He kept running. After 100 meters, cries to stop ceased and Aris kept running. At the 200 meter mark, half a lap, it was clear Aris was intent on running the whole 400 meters. And, he looked great doing it. I loved his steady, four year old, pace and form that looked much older. Coach Sonny was beaming from heaven as his great-grandson was running a victory lap for him. “You know, I am very fast.”
Olympic King Alec Sarafian, a coaching protégé of my Dad, was in the press box as part of the announcing crew. I texted him to let him know who the little guy running was. Alec announced, “This runner is Coach Sonny Gavoor’s grandson, Aris Gavoor, completing this lap. Sonny is no doubt smiling down on this, let’s cheer him on as he finishes.” The crowd did applaud and cheer Aris in his last 50 meters. It was pretty awesome moment.
My family is Olympic royalty all the way. My maternal aunt, Suzie Merian Arzoian, and sister Nancy Gavoor are Olympic Queens and long standing high scorers. Coach Sonny and his brother, Buddy Gavoor, are Olympic Kings. Our son, Aram Gavoor, is on the high scorer list just above his Great-Uncle Buddy. Our daughter Armene was tennis player and swimmer. Me… not so much or rather not at all. I participated in several Olympics and never ever scored a point.
The other Coach Gavoor, Aris’s great-aunt Nancy, was very impressed with his form and that he was not winded at all at the end of lap. She has been giving Aris some age appropriate workouts ever since. Who knows, Aris may become the next great Gavoor trackman.
All our family in attendance in Philadelphia on that Sunday, September 2, 2018, was completely delighted and totally in awe of what we witnessed. At the age of four, Aris ran a victory lap for his great -grandfather at the AYF Olympics. Aris’s mother Anoush, Judy, and I keep quoting Aris to each other, “You know, I am very fast.” What an Olympic memory for us all.
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