When Jaime Cruickshank competed in bobsled for Canada at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, her parents stayed in a seedy area and got lost en route to their hotel one night.

"They were essentially in the red-light district of Torino, where they would never, ever stay," Cruickshank recalls now. "They got what we lovingly refer to as the Olympic discount, which is about four or five times what it would be on any given day.

"When it came to going out to Cesana in the mountains where we were competing, they ended up getting up there fine, but on the way home . . . they end up accidentally getting on the wrong train and going two hours in the wrong direction. Could you imagine if that was on the way to seeing me compete and they completely missed the competition?"

The experience planted a seed for Cruickshank that sprouted almost three years ago.

The 30-year-old from Saskatoon and her father Alan co-founded an event management company that caters to those travelling to watch a child, parent, spouse, sibling or friend compete in international sports events.

Cruickshank says the Celebration Club will handle over 200 friends and family of Canadian athletes competing in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

"We've lived this experience. We know what this is like," Cruickshank said from Saskatoon. "We have that intimate knowledge of knowing what it's like to want to see your family after you're done competing or for a parent needing to see their child compete."

Cruickshank's company is wrangling clients for rowers, paddlers, equestrians and track and field athletes at the Rio Olympics, which open Aug. 5.

It's also an official travel partner of the Canadian Paralympic Committee for the Paralympic Games in September.

Rio marks the first Olympics for Cruickshank's company. The mosquito-borne Zika virus and the city's reputation for crime were taken into consideration in preparing clients, she said.

"There are a lot of variables on the table which the media has addressed such as Zika, the water issues, the favelas (shantytowns)," she said. "We take all of that very, very seriously. Safety is definitely our number one priority and then having a fantastic experience.

"We want to make sure our travellers are in the safest parts of the city . . . . that we'll be able to find efficient routes to get to the Olympic venues. You have to put in the transportation piece as well and also ease of access to public transportation and amenities."

Cruickshank said Zika hasn't caused mass cancellations, but it is on clients' minds.

"There's definitely some people that are concerned, but I think as we watch the updates from Health Canada, it's a very specific type of person who should potentially be concerned to travel," she said.

"For a lot of the parents, they're definitely not having kids anymore."

Dairy farmers Jeff and Kenda Nurse of Georgetown, Ont., have not been deterred from going to Rio to watch daughter Cristy row in the women's eight.

Kenda says arrangements made for them by Celebration Club make her feel more comfortable.

"I know someone's going to be at the airport to pick us up and take us to the hotel," the Olympian's mom said. "I know some parents who are staying at the same hotel they've arranged for us.

"We'll go along as a group and we'll get transportation to the venue and back. It's a security blanket."

Parents, siblings and spouses often don't know until a month or two before the Games that they'll be going as their athletes are still trying to qualify.

"It's really nerve-wracking because you're playing this game against the clock," Cruickshank said. "'Is my child going to qualify? Is there going to be (hotel) inventory? Will we be able to find something?"'

Some gamble and book travel before their athlete is confirmed to the Olympic team. Cruickshank says her company is set up to handle the uncertainty.

"For a lot of travel companies, they want all of their inventory gone well in advance," Cruickshank said. "We're holding onto inventory knowing family and friends still have to make up their minds if they're going to be travelling or not.

"If they decided to go and their athlete didn't make it, we'll help them transfer that package to another family to ease the burden of expenses. There's a great (insurance) product out there called 'Cancel For Any Reason' which just came out, which is perfect for family and friends."