(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.