February 14th – Victory Ceremonies – An Awesome Evening!

This event was incredible. In my mind I had anticipated lovely medal ceremonies for all of the events of the previous day. I did not anticipate a full-blown wicked-cool event. For the victory ceremonies, each evening has a designated province. BC Night was being celebrated on our evening in attendance.

While things were underway, we were told of the gold medal win by Alexandre Bilodeau and the entire crowd in BC Place went absolutely, frickin’ nuts. It was electrically charged and amazing.

There was a wonderful range of artists and performers from British Columbia who were able to showcase their incredible talents. It began with a moving performance of native singers and dancers. Next up were energetic Irish step-dancers and fiddlers. Then we were amazed by: sexy bollywood-type dance performance; a Canadian fashion runway show featuring unusual materials like birch bark and newspaper; business leaders were recorded commenting about the strength of BC’s economic future and played on a huge video screen. Next intense steel drummers accompanied a group called ‘Kung Fu-sion’. They were incredibly acrobatic and had some electric capoeira-like moments. We were then treated to a beautiful piece of choreography by the Goh Company. Former Nationall Ballet of Canada prima ballerina, Chan Goh, started her company once retired from the National Ballet. Up next was singer Dallas Smith, backed by the ‘Sarah McLachlan Outreach Choir’. They sang a great version of Bryan Adams’ “Never Be Another Tonight”. After all of this, it was time for the medals.

As expected the crowd went totally bonkers for both Jennifer Heil and Kristina Groves. It was fantastic and very moving. Of course I was crying a little bit when the flags went up; it really brought out sentimental patriotic pride in everyone. Two very fantastic and memorable moments.

Nelly Furtado performed after the medals were given out. She was sparkly, cute and perky but I have no idea how she managed to walk and dance in her teeny, tiny stiletto heels. They were about quarter inch wide and 6 inches high. Whacked!

Jennifer Heil came out onto the floor area and was immediately mobbed. My step-son Joey managed to get right beside her, find John (photography winner) and have a great photo opportunity. I think he was quietly thrilled.

For every moment that passes, this all gets better and better. Who thought this to be possible??

Tragic Death of Luger Nodar Kumaritashvili During Practice Run

The death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili in training at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games highlights the many dangers of a sport practised by only the most fearless competitors. Kumaritashvili flew off the track and smashed into a metal column, leaving him unconscious, bleeding from the face and needing on-site resuscitation that ultimately failed.

There have been several other casualties on the track at the Whistler Sliding Centre widely regarded as being one of the most difficult on the circuit.

There was a scare for men’s reigning double gold medallist Armin Zoeggler of Italy, who crashed and later described the course as having “character and very fast”.

On Wednesday, there were several crashes during women’s training runs, notably Romania’s Violeta Stramaturaru, who was knocked unconscious and taken to the hospital.

Luge and skeleton competitors both lie on a rectangular fibreglass sled – supine (feet first) for luge and head first for skeleton. Skeleton involves one racer but luge, which made its Olympic debut at the Innsbruck Games in 1964, can be one or two.

With groomed runs, luge has become increasingly fast and the aerodynamic sleds themselves have no brakes as the course is supposed to guide the competitors down at speeds of up to 140 kilometres per hour or more. Racers rock back and for in a bid to burst out of the start and on pulling away they use spiked gloves on the ice surface for extra acceleration before they lie down on their backs with their feet stretched out in front of them.

Luge racers steer using slight shifts of their legs and shoulders, and brake by putting their feet down and pulling up on the sled’s two runner blades. There are two individual or ‘singles’ luge events in the Olympic Games, one for men and one for women, and one two-person or ‘doubles’ event. Earlier in the week, other luge competitors admitted the course at the Whistler Sliding Centre was one of the most challenging.

US luger Tony Benshoof, who was fourth at the Torino 2006 Olympic Games, said lugers were close to reaching a speed ceiling. “The tracks are getting faster and faster. It’s getting pretty crazy. There’s that word (dangerous), it’s like that word ‘fear’,” said Benshoof. It’s getting down to that. 100mph is pretty quick. I don’t know how much faster we can go. Because of the physics of the curves….there’s a really small margin for error. The speeds are very high. (Whistler) is very challenging. From the top down, you have your hands full. There are a lot of tricky corners.”

And he also spoke of the dangers to less-experienced athletes in the sport. “They just don’t have the experience, they don’t have the coaching, sometimes they don’t have the sleds. But at the end of the day, we’re all going out there and doing it.” His teammate Chris Mazdzer said: “(The) big difference with this track (is that) you are travelling really fast from curve one. Around curve two you are going 60mph.”

Canadian luge coach Wolfgang Staudinger said: “Whistler is the fastest. It’s technical, but it is drivable. It is challenging, but that makes the sport more interesting.”

Event Tickets Finally Revealed!!

Yippee!

The plethora of loot continues. Here is what I was given:

13th of February – Figure Skating (training) for the Pairs and Men’s events

13th of February – Freestyle Skiing (women’s moguls) – medal event featuring Canada’s Jennifer Heil

14th of February – Evening Victory Ceremony featuring awarding of medals and concert by Nelly Furtado

15th of February – Women’s Ice Hockey, Sweden vs. Slovakia

16th of February – Men’s Ice Hockey, Russia vs. Latvia

16th of February – Victory Ceremony featuring awarding of medals and concert by Barenaked Ladies

17th of February – Men’s 1000M Speed Skating (medal event)

I was also given passes for Molson Canadian Hockey House for the 16th of February and VIP passes to The Globe and Mail special event night at Molson Canadian Hockey House for the 15th of February. These are very hot commodities and I feel lucky to have them.

11 February 2010 – One Day Left

Okay, this is going to look a little wonky, not sure what’s going on with the site, but I will post away and edit later.

This was a full day. Full of firsts, full of excitement and full of new people and new friends. I am meeting so many amazing individuals. I will take a break from the hour-by-hour moments for this post as so much has happened. I want to try and get caught up to the current moment so will use this post for a shorter briefer forum for the highlights of the day!

Highlight Number One:

Zip line over Robson Square. I don’t know what more to say about this, except it was thrilling. It wasn’t scary at all. I felt safe, secure and happy as people on the ground whooped and hollered, while snapping pictures.

Highlight Number Two:

While waiting to begin our editorial meeting we spot Sully Sullenberger in a food court. Yep, a food court. We approach him say hello and he kindly chats with me for a few minutes. He is humble and gracious and signs my notebook. Coolest dude ever!

Highlight Number Three:

No line up to get into The Bay’s Vancouver 2010 Super Store. We manages to purchase a Canada turtleneck sweater and baseball hat for me and a surprise for Joey for his arrival this Saturday!

Highlight Number Four:

Awesome Greek restaurant, Stefano’s, one block away from our hotel. We have a late dinner and glass of wine and relax after another incredible day.

Holy cow!! I am a lucky, lucky girl.

Feet on the ground, for awhile…10FEB10 part two

11:00 am – flying

11:30 am – flying…etc…you get it!

1:15 pm – we begin our descent to Vancouver. It is s bit of a grey day with a blush of fog everywhere. The mountains are obscured. The airport has a throng of 2010 volunteers, all extremely eager to be of help. We get our bags and head for the taxi stand. Impressed with all the taxicabs lined up – all hybrid vehicles. Nice!

2:00 pm – We arrive at the hotel – THE MET. It is a lovely boutique hotel in New Westminster. It is three doors down from the Columbia Station and only a 25 minute ride on the Skytrain to downtown Vancouver. The hotel houses a pub and a liquor store too. Make mental note!

2:10 pm – Unpack and relax for a few minutes then head next door to the pub for some food. We are really hungry. Not even a bag of pretzels on the plane. I overheard the flight attendant explain to another hungry passenger that they only serve snacks on flights shorter than an hour and a half. WHAT? That seems backwards to me. Anyway, I digress. The Met Pub was great. We get free breakfast every morning and food is 15% off all other times. Husband and I scout out the dishes we intend to sample.

3:00 pm – We hit the Skytrain to head downtown. The International Media Centre is located in Robson Square and I can’t wait to pick-up my accreditation. The Skytrain is a much more civilised way to travel than the Toronto subway. There may be some thought Toronto could give to converting the Gardner Expressway. We wind along the coast of the Fraser River and, at one point, travel (briefly) through a very treed area. Huh! Skytrain through the forest. Cool.

3:45 pm – Oh Ya! Official media accreditation picked-up and in my hot little hand. Happy to learn I am allowed to sign in a guest with me. Husband please, but wants a red one like mine (all access) rather than the blue one he is temporarily issued.

4:00 pm – After a walk about through the media centre, we are about to leave when I notice swag bags. All media are gifted with one. I excitedly receive mine and appreciate all of the stuff inside.

4:15 pm – We head back outside. It is pouring rain now. Across the way is the Vancouver Art Gallery. Starting on the 12th many attractions in Vancouver will be free or half price. The VAG is included in this. We have a short browse around the gift shop and make plans to return.

4:30 – We have walked to Granville Station which is conveniently located within the Pacific Centre. The Bay has their Vancouver flagship store located here and within they have set up the Vancouver 2010 Olympics Super Store. We have the notion of browsing and picking up a few items but, once we arrive at the barricaded department, we rethink this idea. The place is swarmed with mad-happy shoppers. You can only access the Olympic super store by the Seymour Street entrance. We head out and see a snaking line-up it grows down the street and disappears around a corner. Yikes! It is all very orderly and people seem to be mostly in good spirits but the line is very, very long. Hmm, maybe tomorrow?

5:30 – We arrive back at the hotel, tired and ready for a good rest.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

10 February 2010

3:00 am ~ although the alarm is set for 5:00 am, I lie in bed awake crossing off items on my mental checklist. Today I leave for Vancouver: headed to the Olympics and headed toward my Journalism Dream, courtesy of The Globe and Mail. I give up the pretence of sleeping at 3:45 am and head for the shower. There is still a lot to do before the car arrives to take my husband and I to the airport for our 9:00 am flight.

5:40 am ~ in an almost ironic gesture, mother nature gifted Toronto with our first major snow fall and while in previous years an accumulation of 4 inches wouldn’t be particularly special, this year it is the most flaky precipitation we have seen. Before sunrise the neighbourhood looks eerily beautiful covered in a blanket of snow. Vancouver has experienced warmer than usual temperatures. Flowers are blooming and grass to lovely and green. Olympic Games organizers resorted to Plan B in mid-January and closed Cypress Mountain in an attempt to preserve the existing base of powder. They have also been using the past many weeks to fortify the course with bales of hay, dump trucks full of snow and snow brought in by helicopter from higher altitudes.

5:45 am ~ the car to the airport was to have been here five minutes ago. This is not good. Those guys are always much earlier than called for. I start to experience something akin to panic. The husband is out pacing the sidewalk looking for a vehicle that appears lost. I call the dispatch office and am reassured the driver is only a few minutes away. The weather is slowing things down.

5:55 am ~ still no car. Something akin to panic now makes room for full-on anxiety. I call the dispatch office again. The gentleman puts me on hold while he contacts the driver. He comes back on the line and sheepishly tells me the driver turned around and headed back to the garage. Something is wrong with the car. I ask as to how quickly a replacement will be sent. Dispatch, after checking my address for the fourth time says “We have no cars in the area, why don`t you take a cab?” Durr!! I bite my tongue and hold back on releasing a stream of unhelpful yet sure to be good feeling expletives. If it weren`t for the fact that we live in the country and don`t have access to cab service I would not now be controlling my hyperventilating.

6:00 am – in a move becoming less and less familiar with each new technological gadget I acquire, I pull out the Yellow Pages. A, Ab…Air conditioning… Airport Taxi…. I find a phone number for an airport taxi service that is the closest to our home. A kindly woman answers my call and I am reassured a car can be at our door in ten minutes. I breathe a hesitant sigh of something that is not quite relief.

6:25 am – no sign of newly arranged airport taxi. I call my lovely new friend back. “Well he should be there.” she tells me. Suddenly I hear a sound more familiar on the streets of New York City than in the small country hamlet we call home. It’s husband. He has spotted the taxi and let loose with an impressive whistle. Good morning neighbours, in case you overslept today!

6:30 am – We load into into the car, luggage in the trunk and are finally headed southbound for Pearson Airport.

7:10 am – While a little behind schedule we arrive safely. Our flight is on time. The airport is bustling and people everywhere are sporting their Olympic finery. Coats, hats sweatshirts; it is a sea of support for our athletes before we even get off the ground. I am travelling with a cane. An Air Canada representative notices husband and I and suggests, rather than wait in the long line up, we should check-in at the special assistance desk. I tell her I think we are okay but she gives a conspiratorial nod and explains that the waits are long and we could be served much quicker at the AS desk. Before I can thank her husband has beetled towards the fast-track lane. While busy and hectic, each AC staff member we encounter is friendly and helpful. We breeze through check-in and head for our departure gate. Security is moving steadily and we get through this screening equally fast.

7:40 am – sitting at the gate. It is still looking rather stormy and raw outside. Our flight reamains on schedule and more happy AC people announce they would like to thank all of the athletes, support staff and their families for flying with them today. WHA?? Quickly my head snaps left and right. “Who is on our flight”, I wonder? Surely there can’t be athletes travelling so close to competition time. With that thought come and gone I catch sight of a new trio of dudes just arrived to our departure gate. They look suspiciously like bobsledders. I kick myself for not spending more time reading every Canadian athlete’s profile on the official Vancouver 2010 web site. I have spent a lot of time there, but clearly not enough. I won`t be able to verify my hunch until after landing in Vancouver. I also notice Tina Srebotnjak waiting to board. She hosts Imprint, a great book show, on TVOntario. Canada, books, me!! Ahhh. This day is getting better and better. She catches me smiling and returns the gesture. Thanks Tina!

8:30 am – we are on time and begin boarding. We got lucky with our seats and enjoy the extra legroom offered by our row 18 seats. We are in the first row of coach class. Immediately in front of us are the “pod” seating. They look like a perfect way to enjoy a 4 1/2 hour flight but we have done really well getting the extra leg room with our seats.

9:00 am – the captain announces that, due to the poor weather conditions, we will be delayed 10 to 15 minutes as the plane requires deicing before take-off. We trundle along and our plane takes its place in line.

10:10 am – while not quite the fifteen minutes predicted, we are finally headed for the runway. Woo-hoo! We are up, up and away.

10:30 am – having your own personal viewing monitor is so great. I scroll through the menu, curious about which movies are available. I get very happy when I see Ricky Gervais’s recent film The Invention of Lying. Gervais can make me pee my pants with laughter yet also manages to somehow elicit the same response due to discomfort – I am never sure how far he is going to push a joke. I don’t know why I question this. He always pushes it THAT far. This is the genius of Ricky Gervais.

10:35 am – while the film previews roll, I am find my brain wondering about. I am still in disbelief my entry in The Globe and Mail’s Journalism Dream contest has gotten my butt in this seat, with husband beside me. I have butterflies of excitement and moths of anxiety. I have so many people who supported me in my quest to do well that I am worried about letting family and friends down. I know I am being silly but having the upcoming responsibilities of coming up with interesting ideas, writing and filing of said interesting tidbits of Olympic entertainment with a Globe editor, and meeting tight deadlines has brought on the moths. I will do my very best and hope it is to the liking of my boss. Shoot. I haven’t had a boss in more than ten years. My tolerance for stupid has heightened dramatically in this time. It is low. Very, very low. I make a mental note to bite my tongue, should the occasion arise. Not that I am expecting stupidity, it is “The Globe and Mail” after all. However, being hugely out of practice in reporting to an official boss, the stupidity could come from me! No, not really…oh, wait, I do have that nervous talking and inappropriate comments thing that happens sometimes? Ach, it will all be swell. I won’t let you down!!

More to come…links, photos, the rest of a day. Here’s a little teaser though:

All access media pass makes Jennifer a happy girl!

Major Downer for 1600 Fans

Today, I was speaking to a dear friend who lives in Oregon. He travels the Pacific-Northwest a lot for work and, given the closer proximity with us being in Vancouver, we are hoping to work out a visit. We were talking about accommodations in Vancouver and how: a) scarce they are and, b) expensive the few remaining places are. I am lucky that my accommodations are being provided by the Globe and Mail as part of the prize package. Not so lucky, though, are the 1600 people who had booked their accommodations on board the NCL’s Norwegian Star. Yesterday these people learned their accommodations had been cancelled and the ship would be unavailable.

Norwegian Cruise Lines had leased the boat out to Newwest Special Projects for the run of the Olympics. The ship was to sail from Los Angeles to Vancouver, dock for two weeks then sail back to LA. While in Vancouver the boat was to be docked at the Kinder Morgan industrial dock in North Vancouver.

While this is a bad situation for everyone who had booked cabins on the ship, it is nearly heartbreaking to learn thirteen families, being supported through the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Canada by granting Olympic wishes to their ill children, are part of the disappointed group with no place to stay in Vancouver.

Organizers are scrambling to pull together appropriate accommodations and are feeling confident the trips are all still going ahead. One day after these families watched their Olympic dreams crumble, Make-A-Wish foundation organizers say a national outpouring of support might salvage their once-in-a-lifetime experience. “Canadians are a kind and caring people,” said foundation national director Jennifer Ritter. “I’m very confident all the accommodations needs will be met.”

This is a huge bump on the road to helping make some amazing dreams come true. I look forward to hearing all of the positive stories about people in Vancouver reaching out to help those left marooned by the cancellation of the Norwegian Star. Ritter is right when she talks about our kind and caring nature so I really hope this compassion is extended to everyone in need of a place to stay as a result of the cancellation.

Down to the Wire

As I write this, there are only nine days left before I fly out to Vancouver to begin my Journalism Dream. The whole thing is still feeling oddly dreamlike but, as pieces fall into place, it is getting more and more real and more and more exciting.

Yesterday I received my official media accreditation approval. ACK!! This is so big for me. With this accreditation I am able to access a huge amount of resources being provided to the global print and broadcast journalists. There is a massive media centre located at the Robson Square Plaza, right in the heart of downtown Vancouver. The International Media Centre will become a second home for me, I think.

Today I received my airline e-tickets; they are finally in my hot little hand so there is no stopping me now! All that is left, as far as “the winnings” goodies go, are the event tickets, the laptop and the cha-ching. All are to arrive in the next couple of days, well ahead of the departure.

I am plotting out some story ideas ahead of time. One advantage to having media accreditation is access to University of British Columbia professors, who are available to 2010 media for expert commentary on a wide range of Winter Games-related topics including:

* Sports Science, Technology and Doping
* Security & Law
* Business, Economics and Marketing
* Transportation
* Sustainable Cities
* Olympic and Paralympic History
* Social Issues
* Vancouver, B.C.
* Canada’s First Nations

I have a huge interest in Social Issues, particularly in relation to the population of Vancouver’s downtown lower east side. This area and it’s people have been demonized, marginalized and, for the longest time, ignored. A couple of years ago, I was fortunate enough to attend an author’s event featuring Dr. Gabor Maté. Currently he is the staff physician at the Portland Hotel, a residence and resource centre for the people of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Many of his patients suffer from mental illness, drug addiction, HIV or all three. Dr. Gabor Maté is the author of four books — When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress, and Scattered Minds: A New Look at the Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder. The third book, Hold on to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers, he co-authored with developmental psychologist Gordon Neufeld. Most recently published is In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction. It was this last book, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, Dr. Maté spoke about and read from during the event I attended.

He is an extraordinary man with an almost unimaginable degree of empathy, outside-of-the-box thinking and compassion. Dr. Maté was crucial to the creation and ongoing work of Insite, North America’s first legal supervised injection site. Since opening its doors in 2003, Insite has been a safe, health-focused place where people can go to inject drugs and connect to health care services – from primary care to treat disease and infection, to addiction counselling and treatment. Insite is an integral part of Vancouver Coastal Health’s continuum of care for people with addiction, mental illness and HIV/AIDS in the community. Insite currently operates under a constitutional exception to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The BC Ministry of Health provides operational funding for Insite through Vancouver Coastal Health. This project, while very controversial, has seen positive outcomes within the population it serves. Many critics focus on only the injection component of the clinic, overlooking the many other important service Insite provides to its clients.

While not particularly relative to the Olympics, as a community within the municipal boundaries of metropolitan Vancouver I have a specific interest in what organizers and government officials are doing concerning the downtown lower east side during the run of the Olympics. While I may not get a chance to have a story about this subject printed in February, there may be an opportunity to bring more awareness about the area down the road.

Double Threat Clara Hughes ROCKS!

Clara Hughes, an Olympic champion speedskater, cyclist and humanitarian activist, has been named Canada’s flag-bearer for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games. Ingrid Paul, a Dutch native who is a coach with the Canadian long-track team, revealed the flag-bearer’s identity via Twitter. “Clara will carry the flag for Canada into the stadium. Good choice,” she said in Dutch.

The 37-year-old Winnipeg native, who now makes her home in Glen Sutton, Que., is Canada’s second most decorated Olympian with five medals. She is the defending long-track champion in the 5,000 metres and a silver medallist in the team pursuit.

The official announcement was set for later Friday. A Speedskating Canada spokesman said she could neither confirm or deny the flag-bearer’s identity. The opening ceremonies are Feb. 12.

Hughes is the sixth Canadian speedskater to be an Olympic flag-bearer. She joins Catriona Le May Doan (2002), Sylvie Daigle (1992), Gaetan Boucher (1984), Ralph Olin (1964) and Gordon Audley (1952). Hockey player Daniele Goyette carried the Maple Leaf at the opening ceremonies of the 2006 Turin Games.

Hughes is the only Canadian athlete to win medals at both the Summer and Winter Games. She is an Officer of the Order of Canada and received the International Olympic Committee’s sport community award. The Vancouver Games will be Hughes’ fifth Olympics. She won two bronze medals at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games in cycling and also competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She qualified as a speedskater for the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City and won bronze in the 5,000 metres.

Four years ago in Turin, she donated $10,000 of her own money to the humanitarian group Right to Play, this at a time when the Canadian Olympic Committee did not give cash prizes for medals. Hughes has gone full circle in her career. She fell in love with speedskating as a teenager watching the 1988 Calgary Olympics. She skated for a year, then switched to cycling.

Away from the rink, Hughes does extensive work with Right to Play and speaks out on environmental issues. “I want to stay connected to humanity and contribute to the human condition and try to make it a little better maybe,” Hughes said in a recent interview with The Canadian Press. “That’s always been a goal of mine and I feel like as an athlete I have this incredible platform to try and make a difference for people.”

Hughes follows figure skater Brian Orser (1988 Calgary Olympics) and 800-metre runner Abby Hoffman (1976 Montreal Olympics) as a flag-bearer on home soil.

Olympic History & Statistics

Just a bit of background for you on the history of the modern Olympic Games: Pierre Frédy, Baron de Coubertin, (1863-1937) a French aristocrat, educator and athlete, viewed sport as integral to the development of character. He strongly believed that sport’s contribution could transcend nations and proposed a revival of the ancient Greek games as a modern elite international sporting event. He founded the International Olympic Committee in Paris in 1894 and two years later the first Olympic Summer Games of the modern era were held in Athens, Greece.

The spirit of the Olympic Movement is reflected in the 3 pillars of Sport, Culture and Sustainability. Sport has the power to educate, manifest change and bring people together. Culture refers to the wonderful diversity of the human experience. Canada is home to many cultures, each with its own history, traditions, values, spiritual beliefs and language. Our ability as Canadians to celebrate diversity is one of our greatest strengths, and earns us respect around the world. Sustainability encompasses our objectives to manage the social, environmental and economic impact and opportunities of the Games in ways that will create lasting benefits. For example, the Southeast False Creek Olympic Village project that has transformed a former industrial brown-field into a showcase for sustainable living.

There will be 17 days of Olympic Games from February 12 to 28, 2010. 15 sports will be represented including: Alpine Skiing; Biathlon; Bobsleigh; Cross-Country Skiing; Curling; Figure Skating; Freestyle Skiing; Ice Hockey; Luge; Nordic Combined; Short Track Speed Skating; Skeleton; Ski Jumping; Snowboard; Speed Skating. Nine competition venue sites in Vancouver and Whistler. 86 medal events in total.

The history of the Paralympic Games dates back to 1948, when Sir Ludwig Guttmann organized a sports competition for English World War II veterans with spinal cord-related injuries. Four years later, competitors from the Netherlands joined these games. Later, Olympic-style games for athletes with mobility impairments were organized in Rome in 1960 and are today considered the first Summer Paralympic Games. The inaugural Winter Paralympic Games were held in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden in 1976.

In 2003, the International Paralympic Committe(IPC) adopted a vision statement that reflects the ultimate aim of the Paralympic Movement and a mission statement that formulates the long-term goals of the Movement and the universalizing role of Paralympic sport. Their mission: To enable Paralympic Athletes to achieve sporting excellence, and to inspire and excite the world. Their motto: “Spirit in Motion” expresses the inspirational character of the movement, as well as the elite performance and strong will of every Paralympian. The spirit of the movement is to contribute to a better world for all people with a disability.

There will be 10 days of Paralympic Games from March 12 to 21. Five sports will be represented including: Alpine Skiing; Biathlon; Cross-Country Skiing; Ice Sledge Hockey; Wheelchair Curling. Four competition venue sites. Snow events in Whistler: Alpine Skiing; Biathlon and Cross-Country Skiing. Ice events in Vancouver: Ice Sledge Hockey; Wheelchair Curling. 64 medal events in total.

How big are the Games? The Vancouver 2010 Winter Games has been designated a “Mega Event” by the Federal Government and as such, will be the first mega-event in Canada in the post-9/11 era. They will test our security and law enforcement agencies,
who will have to balance security requirements and civil liberties.

There will be:
• 5,500 Olympic Games athletes and officials
• 1,350 Paralympic Games athletes and officials
• 80+ countries participating in Olympic Winter Games
• 40+ countries participating in Paralympic Winter Games
• 1.8 million event tickets sold
• 10,000 accredited media representatives
• 3 billion worldwide television viewers
• 250,000 or more visitors
• 55,000 workforce
• 25,000 volunteers
• $10 billion in economic benefits.