Another upgrade from the previous year was the addition of misters around the house, mainly because it was so darn hot for the 1996 games. Well, early in the morning of this Olympiad there was a light rain and then a gentle mist, but it was enough to keep the grounds wet. Just when it looked like the rain was going to stop, it started rain again!! However, as it turned out, Brian Nowell turned on the misters outside the back door to full blast to create a somewhat convincing illusion (very funny). Luckily the weather did clear about a half-hour prior to the opening ceremonies, the games were able to begin, and the weather was about 77 degrees with a mild wind for most the day.

During the games this year, there were two incidents. The first was the cauldron (a wrapped up Weber BBQ) caught on fire and Darin had to break out a hose to extinguish the flames (but he kept the Olympic Flame burning). This incident was dubbed "Urnbay". The second small mishap was a fender bender accident that happened out front of the Olympiad Complex involving an Olympiad attendee, Kathy Nowell. Nobody was injured, but we did dub this incident "Ashcray".