Tinkerblue

Whistler Canada Olympic House

Next weekend is a busy weekend in Whistler.  The Torch Relay is on town on Friday night, the House of Switzerland opens on Saturday, and Whistler Canada Olympic House also opens to the public on Saturday.

The Whistler Public Library will be host to Whistler Canada Olympic House.  Like Canada Olympic House at The Bay Downtown in Vancouver, access it limited by accreditation or invitation.  However, unlike the Vancouver Canada Olympic House, the Whistler community will be invited to the following events:

Saturday February 6th - 11:00am to 2:00pm - Celebrate the Torch Relay 

• find out about the Whistler Canada Olympic House programming
• meet athletes
• photos with the torch
• talk to torchbears
• face paining
• Olympic sport competitions on Wii
• Make your own torch

 

Saturday February 13th - 9:00am to 11:30am - Celebrate First Nations and Sport

• Community pancake breakfast
• explore First Nations Culture
• meet athletes
• make your own uniquely Canadian souvenir
• Native drumming, story telling and bannock making

 

Saturday February 20th - 9:00am to 11:30am - Celebrate Sustainability and Culture

• Community Breakfast
• learn about the importance of sustainability
• arts and crafts
• Bobs and Lolo
• meet athletes

 

Saturday February 27th - 9:00am to 11:30am - Celebrate the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and Our Athletes

• Community breakfast
• look back at the success of the Games
• experience the Games through the eyes of Canada's 2010 Nordic Combined Olympian, Jason Myslicki
• what's next for Whistler

 

Sunday February 28th - 5:00pm to 10:00pm - Celebrate the Closing Ceremonies

• enjoy a traditional Whistler Apres while watching the closing ceremony on the big screen.

 

 

 

The Torch Relay Comes to Whistler on February 5th

The Olympic Flame arrives in Whistler on Day 99 (February 5th) of the Torch Relay and Whistler will be celebrating in style.

The Torch Relay will be coming from the Sunshine Coast and will join the Sea to Sky Highway in Lions Bay on February 4th.  It will wind it's way through Furry Creek, Britannia Beach, Stawamus before overnighting in Squamish.

On Friday February 5th, the Torch will make its way from Squamish to Whistler via Brackendale, Brandywine Falls Provincial Park and Whistler Olympic Park. It will be carried on foot, logger climbing tree (?) and snowmobile.

 

3:30pm - 5:45pm Village Square

• Barney Bentall and the Cariboo Opry will perform
• Joined by local musicians Dana-Marie Battaglia, Greg Reamsbottom, Jon Shrier and Rachel Thom.
• The Olympic Mascots will stop by for a visit
• Visit the Spirit Tent and have your face painted.

 

 

6:17pm Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre

There will be a ceremonial pass off between a Squamish and a Lil'wat torchbearer in front of the welcome figures of the main entrance on Blackcomb Way.  Join in the celebration, wear red, and bring your drum.

6:00pm - 8:00pm Skiers Plaza

• Squamish Nation Eagle Song Dancers
• Ali Milner
• The Whistler Children's Choir and the Whistler Singers will sing "There's a Light/Cette Flamme"
• The Flame is expected to arrive at 7:00pm
• The community torch bearer, Tyler Allison will carry the Flame on stage and light the celebration cauldron

Check out Whistler2010.com fand Vancouver2010.com for the route and more information.  

I'm excited to see the Torch Relay again.  Although right now the plan is for me to be in Vancouver later this week so it looks like I'll be in Vancouver while the Torch Relay is in Whistler.  And I'll be in Whistler when the Torch Relay is in Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody. I'm having trouble getting all the schedules to match up!

Australia at the Winter Olympics

Australia has a rich sporting history. But we haven't done so well at the Winter Olympics.  Australia first competed in the Winter Olympics in 1936, and with the exception of 1948 have participated in every winter games since.

Our athletes mainly finished in the bottom 25%. Admittedly not very stellar results.  That changed in the 90's.  In 1998 the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia was formed by the Australian Olympic Committee and the Australian Institute of Sport. The OWIA provides training in alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, snowboarding, short track speed skating, and figure skating. 

Australia's Medal Tally (6)

1994 Lillehammer 

• Bronze, Men's 5000m short track relay speed skating

1998 Nagano

• Bronze - Zali Steggall, Alpine Skiing (slalom)

2000 Salt Lake City

• Gold - Steven Bradbury, 1000m short track speed skating
• Gold - Alisa Camplin, Aerials

2006 Turin

• Gold - Dale Begg-Smith, Moguls
• Bronze  - Alisa Camplin, Aerials

 The Australian team for 2010 is still being selected, team should be finalised by February 2nd. Leaving it a bit to the last minute?  I call it giving everyone as much chance as possible to qualify. The first Australian athletes will start arriving in Vancouver on February 4th.

The team is expected to represent Australia in short track speed skating, skeleton, snowboard halfpipe, long track speed skating, alpine skiing, luge, cross country skiing, bobsleigh, aerials, moguls, snowboard, snowboard cross and ski cross. The team so far:

Alpine Skiing - Craig Branch, Jono Brauer

Biathlon - Alex Almoukov

Bobsleigh - Duncan Harvey, Duncan Pugh, Jeremy Rolleston, Anthony Ryan, Chris Spring

Cross Country Skiing - Esther Bottomley, Paul Murray, Ben Sim

Freestyle Moguls - Dale Begg-Smith, Britteny Cox

Freestyle Aerials - Jacqui Cooper, Liz Gardner, Lydia Lassila, Dave Morris, Bree Munro

Freestyle Ski Cross - Katya Crema, Scott Kneller

Luge - Hannah Campbell-Pegg

Short Track - Tatiana Borodulina, Lachlan Hay

Skeleton - Anthony Deane, Melissa Hoar, Emma Lincoln-Smith

Snowboard Halfpipe - Torah Bright, Holly Crawford, Scotty James, Ben Mates

Snowboard Cross - Damon Hayler, Stephanie Hickey, Alex Pullin

Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom - Johanna Shaw

Speed Skating - Sophie Muir

It could be Australia's largest team and we have a couple of solid medal prospects. Australia is the only country in the Southern Hemisphere to win a gold medal at the winter Olympics.

By comparison Canada has completed in every Summer Olympics since 1924 and won 449 medals.  

We are also the only country in the Southern Hemisphere to have hosted any Olympics, summer or winter. Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000. (That's changed now that Rio has been awarded the 2016 Summer Games.

Sydney earned the title "Best Olympics Ever" from Juan Antonio Samaranch.

Did you know Australia is one of few nations to have participated in every Summer Olympics of the modern era?  Others are variably listed at Greece, Great Britain, France and Switzerland, depending on what you are reading.

 

Team Great Britain

This one's for you Morag.

Earlier this week Team GB named their team. They had expected to send 50 athletes across 11 sports -Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Skeleton, Curling, Luge, Figure Skating, Short Track Speed Skating, Cross Country Skiing, Freestyle Skiing, Snowboard and Alpine Skiing.

52 athletes have been named:

• Alpine skiing - Andy Noble, Dave Ryding, Ed Drake, Chemmy Alcott
• Biathlon - Lee-Steve Jackson
• Bobsleigh - Nicola Minichiello and Gillian Cooke, Paula Walker and Kelly Thomas
• Bobsleigh - Henry Nwume, Allyn Condon, John Jackson, Daniel Money
• Cross-country skiing - Andrew Musgrave, Andrew Young, Fiona Hughes
• Luge - Adam Rosen
• Skeleton - Kristan Bromley, Adam Pengilly, Shelley Rudman, Amy Williams
• Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom - Adam McLeish
• Snowboard Cross - Zoe Gillings
• Snowboard Half-pipe - Ben Kilner, Lesley McKenna
• Freestyle Skiing Aerials - Sarah Ainsworth
• Freestyle Skiing Moguls - Ellie Koyander
• Ski Cross - Sarah Sauvey
• Curling Men -  David Murdoch (skip), Ewan MacDonald, Euan Byers, Peter Smith, Graeme Connal
• Curling Women - Eve Muirhead (skip), Jackie Lockhart, Kelly Wood, Lorna Vevers, Anne Laird
• Short Track Speed Skating  - Jon Eley, Tom Iveson, Anthony Douglas, Paul Worth, Jack Whelbourne, Sarah Lindsay, Elise Christie
• Figure Skating Ice Dancing - John and Sinead Kerr, Nick Buckland and Penny Coomes
• Figure Skating Pairs - David King and Stacey Kemp
• Figure Skating Ladies - Jenna McCorkell

 

 

Morag, just so you can keep up with Team GB while you are here:

Team GB microsite

Team GB blog

Team GB on Facebook

Team GB on twitter

Team GB on Youtube

UK Olympics

Oh and for London 2012 the Aussies and the Brits have a bottle of bubbly (or two) at stake.  The president of the Australian Olympic Committee wagered his British counterpart a bottle of champagne for every medal that separates the two countries in the medal tally. Australia has won more medals in 3 of the last 4 summer Olympics. But in 2012 GB will have the home team advantage.  I still think Australia can do it. (Umm not so much. Team GB won 65 medals, Australia won 35)

Atlanta 1996 - Australia 41, GB 15

Sydney 2000 - Australia 58, GB 28

Athens 2004 - Australia 49, GB 30

Beijing 2008 - Australia 46, GB 47

London 2012 - Australia 35, GB 65

And last but not least the BBC trailer for their Vancouver 2010 coverage.

 

House of Switzerland Vancouver and Whistler. I Need Chocolate.

 

 

I'm a sucker for chocolate.  Really.  And Swiss chocolate?  It's good.  But there's more to Switzerland than just chocolate. Cheese.  Oooh I like cheese. And Fondue.  And Raclette.  I want to go back to Switzerland. Now!

A trip to Switzerland is not in the calendar.  Or the budget for that matter.  Not to worry, a taste of Switzerland is coming to Vancouver and Whistler. 

Bridges Restaurant on Granville Island in Vancouver and the Mountain Club in Whistler are being transformed into Swiss Hospitality Houses. I've walked past the Mountain Club every day this week, and it's changing fast.  

 

The House of Switzerland Canada 2010 will officially open on Friday February 5th in Vancouver and Saturday February 6th in Whistler from 4:30 to 6:30 pm.  And the general public, meaning me and you, are invited.

 

There is so much going on, that I am just going to cut and paste from their press release:

From February 5 – 28^th 2010 at the House of Switzerland Canada 2010 in Vancouver and Whistler there will be on-going events, activities and contests, including:

• A Grand Opening event for media, VIP's and the public SAVE THE DATE! Friday, Feb 5^th in Vancouver & Saturday, Feb 6^th in Whistler (4:30 – 6:30 PM)
• Medal ceremonies and celebrations for Swiss Athletes
• Lindt & Sprüngli chocolate giveaways, demonstrations and contests
• 'Swiss Days' celebration of traditional Swiss culture
• Daily give-aways from Zimtstern – Switzerland's most technologically advanced and stylish snowboard and streetwear clothing company
• Swiss Chef's, who have added Swiss specialty dishes to the local menus
• Live broadcasts of Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games
• Complimentary Pure Swiss bottled water for each guest
• Children's Entertainment by the famous Globi – the "Mickey Mouse" of Switzerland
• Personalized Nespresso coffee, served by World Barista Champion Sammy Piccolo
• Ricola give-away day
• Free samples from Cheeses of Switzerland
• 'Swiss Biscuit Day' with free samples from Swiss biscuit maker HUG
• Live music with musicians from St. Moritz – daily ten-minute sets
• Switzerland's Official Broadcast studio set-up in Bridges Restaurant
• VIP treatment for media, including complimentary laptops and wireless internet
• A Digital Host providing an instant line of contact through twitter and facebook – watch for twitter contests and "tweet-ups"
• A VALENTINE'S DAY SURPRISE – yet to be revealed SAVE THE DATE! Sunday, February 14^th in Vancouver and Whistler
• A chance to win a trip for two to St. Moritz Switzerland in Whistler and Vancouver – valued at $10,000 including 5-star accommodation at luxurious Hotel Kempinski or Hotel Badrutt's Palace
• And much more!

My schedule right now looks like I'll be in Whistler for the Vancouver opening, and in Vancouver for the Whistler opening.  I'll have to see if I can rectify that.

 Love the Aussie Flag hanging above the House of Switzerland!

Find out more at:

www.houseofswitzerland.org

HOS Facebook group

or follow Bettina and Anita from HOS on twitter

The Vancouver schedule is here (link opens PDF file)

and the Whistler schedule is here (link opens PDF file)

Vancouver City Featuring Linda Ganzini

This has been making the rounds of Facebook, twitter and the blogs.  It's amazing.  I love the fog.  Watch it all.

CTV Believe Ad - For Our Country and Our City

 

 

Almost makes be proud to be almost Canadian.

Sarah McLachlan - One Dream

For those of you who don't know, Sarah McLachlan is a Canadian singer/song writer. She is awesome. At least I think so.  Between hubby and I we own pretty much every CD she has released.  Way back when, one of the first dates hubby took me on was to her show at the Orpheum, I think.  The summer of 97 he took me to the first Lilith Fair at Thunderbird Stadium. (wow that makes me feel old). We heard (but didn't see) Sarah play at the One Year Countdown to Vancouver 2010 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre as part of last years' Cultural Olympiad.    

Her song, One Dream, is going to feature in the NBC coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.  One Dream is inspired by the athletes striving to reach their goals. Download it from itunes.

Whistler Olympic Park - home of Ski Jumping, Nordic Combined, Cross Country and Biathlon

(it's not a blurry photo, that's snow on the letters.)

I have been at Whistler Olympic Park for the last 3 days overseeing the setup of the retail kiosks.  they are looking good.  So now's a good time for a mini tour of the venue. 

Whistler Olympic Park (WOP) is a huge venue.  There are three separate stadiums - the Ski Jump Hills, the Biathlon Stadium, and the Cross Country Stadium.

WOP will host 28 Olympic events, that's 1/3 of all Olympic events.  Whistler Paralympic Park (WPP) will host 32 Paralympic events, that's 1/2 of all events.

Ski Jump - there's the normal hill, the long hill and the men's team event.

 image VANOC

Nordic Combined - as the name suggests is a combination of Ski jumping and cross country.  There are three events - two individual and one team.

Biathlon - is a mix of cross country skiing and target shooting.  Athletes need endurance, speed, a steady hand and accuracy. There are men's individual events, women's individual events, men's relays and women's relays.

image VANOC

Cross Country - Did you know there are two different types of cross country? No?  Well there is.  Classic or Free.  There are men's individual events, women's individual events, men's relays and women's relays.

During the Paralympics there will be Biathlon and Cross Country events.

I am quite excited about being at WOP.  There will be a lot happening.  I don't know how much of the events I will get to see, but I think the atmosphere will awesome.  And the venue team that I work with is a really great group of people.

A little more about the venue.  Venue capacity:

 

• 12,000 at ski jumping
• 12,000 at cross country
• 12,000 at biathlon
• 6,000 during Paralympics

WOP also has it's own website, go check it out.  www.whistlerolympicpark.com

Getting there:

• From Vancouver take the Olympic Bus Network.  The departure hub is BCIT in Burnaby.
• From Whistler take the Whistler Olympic Park Express from Whistler Village.
• There is no BC Transit to this Venue.
• From bus drop off point, there is a 500m walk to the decision point.  At the decision point, you will chose the path to the Ski Jump (400m), Cross Country (600m) or Biathlon (700m).

 image VANOC

There is a lot of interesting information regarding the terrain, the equipment, the snow making, the trails etc.  Take a moment to read it at Vancouver 2010 or at the Whistler Olympic Park website.

Mum, Dad, Dave and Morag have tickets to the Men's Long Hill Ski Jump on February 22nd.

Tate has tickets to the Women's Cross Country on the 25th.

Dave and I have tickets to the Paralympic Biathlon on March 13th.

Pretty sure Australia is not a medal contender in any of the Nordic Sports, so we'll be cheering for Canada.

  

 

Ziptrek in Vancouver. And it's Free.

 image Ziptrek.com
 

Yep, you read that right.  Free.  Which will no doubt mean long line line ups.  But how cool is that?  It'll be 550ft (170m), 6 stories up, over Robson Street.  If I didn't have to work I'd go. 

Ziptrek Vancouver will operate from February 12th to 28th, 10:00am to 8:00pm.

 image Ziptrek.com
 

Or if you are in Whistler, Ziptrek will be operating two special tours during February 2010. During the Olympics, Ziptrek will transport their guests to the tour area via the Blackcomb Gondola and heated snowcat.

 image -Ziptrek
 

 The Spirit Tour:

• 4 ziplines
• varying in length from 200 ft to over 1000 ft
• connected by a a network of canopy bridges and boardwalks
• tour is 3 - 3.5 hours in length
• $129.00

The Golden Eagle Tour:

• 5 ziplines
• Zip all the way back to Whistler Village
• includes a 2000ft zipline
• tour is 3 - 3.5 hours in length
• $149.00