Winter Olympics News

Vancouver 2010

George Manty — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 12:43:04 +0000

We enjoyed covering the 2006 Olympics so much that we started this blog to cover future winter olympic games. The next winter games are scheduled for 2010 and will be held in Vancouver, Canada.

We are contemplating traveling to Vancouver either for the games or ahead of the games to take pictures and check out the local attractions. It should be a nice vacation if we can manage to get out there.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy our coverage of the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancover.

Olympic flag tour

Jill Manty — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 11:37:39 +0000

Toronto— RBC Financial Group, in partnership with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), today announced the RBC 2010 Flag Tour, a cross-country touring exhibition designed to give Canadians a taste of the excitement and spirit of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Canada.

The RBC 2010 Flag Tour is a 5000-square-foot touring exhibition that includes six specially themed areas complete with interactive sport trials and displays representing several of Canada’s favourite Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games sports including: snowboard, hockey, freestyle skiing and ice sledge hockey.

The exhibition will include an Olympic Flag authorized by the International Olympic Committee specifically for use in the RBC 2010 Flag Tour to give Canadians across the country the opportunity to share in the celebration of Canada’s Games.

“The RBC 2010 Flag Tour gives all Canadians a chance to celebrate our country’s recent success at Torino, while building momentum for Vancouver 2010,” said Gord Nixon, President and CEO, RBC Financial Group. “It invites Canadians to personally connect with the Olympic experience in a live and interactive way.”

“The RBC 2010 Flag Tour will showcase the power of Olympism to bring together Canadians from all walks of life, from all parts of the country, in appreciation of Olympic values and our love for winter sport,” said John Furlong, Chief Executive Officer of VANOC. “I am proud to be part of the first cross Canada tour promoting the 2010 Games since the truly inspiring performances of our country’s elite winter athletes at the Torino 2006 Games.”

As part of the tour, a number of Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes will be visiting schools, signing autographs and talking to Canadians about their Olympic and Paralympic experiences and accomplishments. Olympians attending various tour stops include: Brad Gushue (Curling/Gold/Torino 2006); Dominique Maltais (Snowboarding/Bronze/Torino 2006/RBC Olympian); Kristi Richards (Freestyle Ski/Torino 2006/RBC Olympian); Members of Canada’s Women’s Ice Hockey Team (Gold/Torino 2006), as well as numerous other RBC Olympians and Olympians. Senior executives from the Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee will also participate and share information about the 2010 Games.

In addition, RBC will host Olympic Business Development seminars across the country to inform Canadian business people and entrepreneurs about how their firms can do business related to Vancouver 2010. Further programming details will be made available over the next several weeks.

For more information on the RBC 2010 Flag Tour, please go here.

Flag Tour Schedule

The RBC 2010 Flag Tour is scheduled to travel to the following locations:

Halifax – Queen’s Landing – March 31 to April 2
Montreal – Place des arts – April 7 to April 9
Toronto – Dundas Square – April 14 to April 16
Ottawa – The Besserer Court Lot beside the Rideau Centre – April 21 to April 23
Winnipeg – CanWest Global Park – April 28 to April 30
Calgary – Canada Olympic Park – May 5 to May 7
Vancouver – Vancouver Art Gallery – May 11 to May 14

2010 Vancouver Olympics already stirring controversy

Jill Manty — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 11:59:49 +0000

The Turin Olympics have hardly ended and already Vancouver is plagued with controversy. From cost overruns to environmental concerns, the 2010 Olympics already has its share of problems. Amidst the controversy, there is, at least, progress, as Vancouver breaks ground on its Olympic Village.

Paralympic training center given the go-ahead

Jill Manty — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 11:32:11 +0000

An often-neglected aspect of the Olympics occurs after the torch is extinguished. It is the Paralympics that are contested shortly after the standard Olympics. I, myself, have been guilty of forgetting that they even happen. But I shouldn’t be. These are world-class athletes.

In preparation for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the British Columbia government has okayed $3.9 million to construct a world-class paralympic training center. The center should be completed by 2008 and will be one of few of its caliber in the world.

For skaters, the road to Vancouver starts in Calgary

Jill Manty — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 07:58:43 +0000

The World Figure Skating Championships followed right behind the Olympics this year. There’s a good article here on the Canadians’ hopes and dreams for Vancouver and how those start at Calgary’s World Championships.

If Worlds are any indication, the Chinese will continue to be a force to be reckoned with in pairs.

The World Figure Skating Championships continue over the weekend. Stephen Lambiel currently leads the men. Sasha Cohen, who is the only ladies medal winner to attend, is third after the qualifying round.

Did she peak too late or too early?

Jill Manty — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 19:21:31 +0000

Kimmie Meissner won gold at the World Figure Skating Championships, but is that a good thing? It’s a month too late for the 2006 Olympics and four years too soon for the 2010 Olympics. Is this the beginning of a great career or a career peak? Only time will tell. In the meantime, congratulations to Kimmie!

The Olympic flag raised in Vancouver

Jill Manty — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 08:28:05 +0000

The Mayors of Vancouver and Whistler, together with First Nations, the Federal Government and other partners were at the historic raising of the Olympic and Paralympic flags on the deck of the Vancouver 2010 Information Centre in Whistler on Friday.

Planning to attend the Vancouver Olympics?

Jill Manty — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 08:48:40 +0000

You might want to start saving now. Some of the first package deals have come out already for the 2010 games. They are charging $1400 per night for a room that would normally be less than $300. The platinum package costs just under $26,000. That includes flight, limo ride, and 18 nights accomodations. It does not include any event tickets.

Well, we have seriously been contemplating attending the Olympics, but I can pretty much guarantee that our blogging revenues will not cover $26,000 (even if was for the entire family). Even if we could afford $26,000 I can’t imagine spending the amount of money that many families make in a year on a vacation— even a working vacation.

But don’t give up hope. The official Vancouver tourism program doesn’t launch until 2008, and they plan to encourage hotels to keep their costs reasonable.

Clarke backs Gretzky to coach 2010 team

Jill Manty — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 09:01:04 +0000

Will Wayne Gretzky’s participation with the losing 2006 Turin Olympic Canadian hockey team be his last? Former Canadian coach and Philadelphia Flyers general manager Bobby Clarke hopes not. Although Gretzky shouldered the blame for Canada’s poor performance, Clarke thinks he should be given another shot.

The Road to Vancouver

Jill Manty — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 08:02:59 +0000

Most people don’t just decide to be Olympians. Most of have trained a large portion of their lives for their chosen sport. But sometimes, while watching the Olympics, someone gets the bug. Matt Deminico is one of those people. After watching the Turin Olympics, he has decided to take up short track skating, with the goal of competing in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. You can read all about his progress on his blog. Good luck, Matt, and keep us posted!

Official Vancouver site spoofed

Jill Manty — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 19:34:14 +0000

Oh, I don’t know how this is going to work out. Generally speaking, the Olympic Committee frowns upon sites that attempt to represent themselves as official sites. I don’t know how they feel about spoofs, but they don’t seem to have a big sense of humor about these types of things.

There is a site that has spoofed the Vancouver Olympics official site. Visit it quick, as it could be gone soon. Apparently, they’re not too happy with Canada, how it handles multi-culturalism, how it handles the Native populations. Well, basically, they’re just not happy. But they are funny.

Sasha Cohen intends to attend Vancouver Olympics

Jill Manty — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 06:27:48 +0000

It’s four years down the road, and in skating that can be a lifetime, but Sasha Cohen plans to attempt one more Olympics bid. She will probably skip this year’s Grand Prix events, due to commitments to the Champions on Ice tour. But after that, she hopes to return to a more traditional competitive schedule and plans to include a trip to Vancouver in her future.

Is Toby Keith the next Olympic curler?

Jill Manty — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 05:52:52 +0000

Country music sensation Toby Keith has been spending some time learning the sport of curling. He says he has ambitions of attending the Vancouver Olympics as a competitor. It would certainly be good publicity for the sport.

Environmentalists criticize Vancouver spotted owl plan

Jill Manty — Mon, 01 May 2006 14:49:10 +0000

You would think environmentalists would be thrilled that the government of British Columbia has announced a plan to save the spotted owl. You would be mistaken. Environmental groups think that the plan, which ends shortly after the 2010 Winter Olympics, is simply for the benefit of the international community as the Olympic spotlight is focused on Vancouver.

Courtney Zablocki joins National Guard

Jill Manty — Sun, 14 May 2006 09:55:06 +0000

I didn’t realize that joining the National Guard was so popular among Olympic athletes, but apparently it is. Courtney Zablocki just joined, after finishing fourth in Turin. Joining the Guard allows her to receive a stipend while continuing to train. Zablocki hopes to to compete in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Hey Canada! Get your own military!

Jill Manty — Mon, 22 May 2006 15:46:06 +0000

Canada is preparing to utilize NATO or Norad (backed up by the U.S. Airforce) for patrolling the skies during the Olympics. I hope this means that they plan to pay for the service. While I have no problem helping our neighbors to the north, I do think that the security needed to host a modern Olympics is something that ought to be taken into consideration when a location bids to host the Olympics.

Will Apolo Ohno be at the Vancouver Games?

Jill Manty — Fri, 26 May 2006 06:19:58 +0000

The short answer is— yes. But if the question is “will Apolo Ohno be competing at the Vancouver Games”, then the answer would be “maybe”. In a recent interview, Apolo Ohno said he’s been too busy to think about whether he wants to commit the next 3 1/2 years to training to compete in Vancouver in 2010.

Vancouver may have a ski jumping first

Jill Manty — Wed, 31 May 2006 08:51:01 +0000

If things continue along the current path, Vancouver will be the site of the very first women’s ski jumping Olympic medal. Currently, there are no Olympic events for women in the area of ski jumping, but this could all change soon. The International Ski Federation voted Friday to include an individual women’s event in the 2009 World Championships. This is the first step towards allowing the women to compete in the Olympics.

New Winter Olympic sports

Jill Manty — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 07:16:44 +0000

Lady ski jumpers aren’t the only ones who hope to add their sport to the Vancouver Olympics. Four other events will be considered for inclusion in the 2010 Vancouver games when the Olympic committee meets in November. The other events are ski-cross (similar to snowboard cross, which was a big hit in Turin), team luge, individual curling, and a team ski event.

Out of these, I’d be most interested to see the ski-cross and individual curling events. I can’t imagine how the curlers will push the stone and then sweep for themselves. Presumably, it must be played a bit differently.

Can Vancouver Meet Their Construction Budget?

Jill Manty — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 10:43:22 +0000

Cesare Vaciago, the chief executive officer for the Turin Olympic Organizing Committee, believes that the Vancouver organizers have underestimated the cost of construction for the Olympics venues for the 2010 Olympics.

Vancouver officials defend their budget, saying they have fewer venues to build than the Italian city of Torino.

It would be nice to think that for a half billion dollars you could build whatever buildings you needed to build for an Olympics. Apparently, that’s not necessarily so.