Vancouver Olympics 2010

Perhaps the last word belongs to Brian Williams of NBC, who left behind this thank-you note on his blog:
“Before we leave this thoroughly polite country, the polite thing to do is leave behind a thank-you note. Thank you, Canada: For being such good hosts. For your unfailing courtesy. For your (mostly) beautiful weather. For scheduling no more than 60 per cent of your float plane departures at the exact moment when I was trying to say something on television. For not seeming to mind the occasional (or constant) good-natured mimicry of your accents. For your unique TV commercials – for companies like Tim Hortons – which made us laugh and cry. … For sharing Joannie Rochette with us. For reminding some of us we used to be a more civil society. Mostly, for welcoming the world with such ease and making lasting friends with all of us.”

 Things kept getting better and better, culminating in the very Canadian Closing Ceremony (we loved the lighting of the torch for a fully functional 4-legged cauldron by Catriona Le May Doan)

Euphoric End To A Bittersweet Olympics . Some commentators feel that the turning point was the Disowning of the Own the Podium slogan – once that was out of the way, they truly became the Golden Olympics.

Special kudos to the people of Vancouver and the crowds of visitors from away. The ambiance (as we viewed it), was incredible. The red mitts were inspired. And after the highly critical – if not downright nasty – comments in the British media, it was a delight to see Were these Winter Olympics the best ever? on the BBC site. Not only does the author praise the spirit that has permeated all of Vancouver and the other venues, but the comments from readers/viewers are equally laudatory.

Closing with a little fun
It doesn’t get any more Canadian than a singing Mountie named Michael Bublé.
Unless of course it’s a giant beaver, floating moose or the world’s biggest table-hockey game.
All of those themes were rolled out in the giant party that was held last night in Vancouver to mark the end of the 2010 Olympic Games.
The best comment we heard was “I think I am in an airport gift shop” But not everyone was pleased as indicated by La Presse’s Hugo Damas Mettre le couvert sur Vancouver Malheureusement, on a eu droit à une fête de deux heures et demie bourrée de clichés de cabane au Canada et de folklore dépassé. Est-ce bien l’image poussiéreuse et surannée que le pays souhaite montrer à toute la planète, soit un défilé de policiers de la Gendarmerie royale, du hockey sur glace, des feuilles d’érable, des rondelles géantes, un gros castor, des canots d’écorce, un orignal gonflable, des bûcherons et des chemises à carreaux? Pas certain. Où les organisateurs ont-ils enfoui le multiculturalisme qui caractérise le Canada partout sur la planète? Probablement sous un gros totem.
Winter Olympics End in Triumph as Canada Captures Gold Record
(Bloomberg) — A Winter Olympics that started with tragedy ended in triumph for Canada.
The host nation won 14 gold medals at Vancouver, the most by any country in the 86-year history of the Winter Games. Canada finished with a flurry of 10 gold medals in the final week of the 17-day competition, capped by the most coveted one of all — the men’s ice hockey title. And Stephen Harper was there to pose with the team for the official photographer.
No, the picture below is not Stephen Harper – it’s Robert Gibbs paying off his bet on the hockey final.

Winter Olympics 2010: Sidney Crosby hands Canada ice hockey gold over rivals USA
(Telegraph, U.K.) Canada’s fantasy has been brought to vivid life here in Vancouver. In what will be enshrined as a nation’s finest sporting hour, their ice hockey men skated thrillingly to a 14th gold medal in the climactic final event of these Winter Games to break an all-time Olympic record.
(Reuters) Triumphant ending for Vancouver Winter Games; (FT) Vancouver games end on victorious note
The 2010 Winter Olympics wrapped up in Vancouver with a nail-biting ice-hockey final between Canada and the US followed by a boisterous closing ceremony that helped erase the games’ early disappointments

23 February
Our grumpiness was completely dissolved with the gallantry of Joannie Rochette and the magical ice dancing performance Canada’s Virtue, Moir win ice dance gold. Like so many, we were impressed by the genuinely warm and courteous relationship between the young Canadian and American competitors. Maybe it’s more youth and fewer grumpy old persons that is needed to infuse the Games with what we like to term Olympic spirit. Certainly both skaters and audience set a high standard last night, which spilled over into media coverage.
Ice dancing Olympics: Virtue, Moir, and the night we were all Canadians
(CSM) The Canadian pair of Virtue and Moir won gold in Olympic ice dancing Monday night, but the inspiring competition and the pair’s close connection to American silver medalists Davis and White made it feel like a victory for more than just Canada.
(Reuters) Golden ice dancers banish Canadian blues
L. Ian MacDonald: Why didn’t we just call it ‘On the Podium’? – Instead, we went with a swaggering, bragging, over-reaching slogan – If only they’d called it On the Podium, rather than Own the Podium.
Christie Blatchford writes in the Globe & Mail … the debate over whether the OTP [Own The Podium] overpromised or is badly named – the single hard truth is that there is still neither enough money nor attention paid to sport in this country.
Of the 139 winter sport athletes who applied for funding, CAN’s survey reveals that fully a third were the best in the country and ranked in the world’s top 10; that 42 per cent had a “net negative income”; that 40 per cent were paying “team fees” of as much as $30,000 for the privilege of representing the nation; that more than half pay to travel to competitions and that more than 90 per cent had to buy their own equipment.
And that’s with all the help OTP had to give, thanks to $47-million in federal government funding, $47-million that as Mr. Rudge says, whether it increases or not, wasn’t there five years ago. When the Olympics are over, most of the athletes will leave Vancouver in debt, Ms. Roos said.
21 February
L. Ian MacDonald: Goofiness and twits at the Vancouver Games
Harper’s insistence on paying for tickets is a Reform holdover
Harper and the other four with VIP passes have a representational role at Canada’s Olympics. It is his job, and theirs, to welcome visitors, cheer on our teams, and congratulate other countries on their medal performances.
… So negative has the British press been that VANOC CEO John Furlong finally commented that “they don’t appear to be attending the same Games as everyone else.” Or more likely, just watching them from the press centre.
Well, if there’s one thing that can unite Canadians, it’s unfounded criticism from a bunch of supercilious British twits.

On the heels of the rant below, we caught a segment on Hannah Teter last night on NBC and were so impressed. Since 2006 she’s been active with causes around the world. The Vermont native sells Vermont-made maple syrup and organic cotton and hemp sweatbands through her charity, Hannah’s Gold. The proceeds help provide clean drinking water and plots of land for homeless AIDS victims in Kenya. This is what the Olympics are/should be about. She is not alone –Olympians go green as they go for gold; we have not seen similar coverage on athletes from other nations, but it must be out there somewhere.
Another great story is the First Nations Snowboard Team
19 February
Olympics model of partnering with First Nations
The four host First Nations formed a partnership with the Vancouver Olympic Committee and agreed to work together to bring the Games to Vancouver. The partnership had substance and included jobs and training. Some First Nations people worked in constructing the Sea to Sky Highway and various Olympic venues, while others are permanent employees at the Squamish Lil’wat cultural centre in Whistler.
Higher, faster, crasser
Mid-way through the Olympics we are feeling thoroughly grumpy. Some boosterism is fine with us – and appropriate. BUT we are tired of the incessant debate over the failure of the own the podium brainwashing; the seemingly crass behavior of VANOC in certain instances; the insistence on medal counts that demeans the achievements of all the wonderful young athletes who missed placing by such infinitesimal fractions of seconds that the mind can barely register the difference; the carping about coaching, strategy, techniques; the over-designed facilities that increase risk to life and limb; the close-to-glee announcements with which national commentators greet the fall of a contender whom they do not favor … The whining, or nastiness, the lack of sportsmanship and criticism by everyone, about everything.  The Americans have twice as many medals as the Canadians – Yes and they also have a pool of ten times as many people. How about saluting countries like Croatia, Kazakhstan, Estonia … who have achieved a medal? How about saluting all the countries whose best athletes are in Vancouver and honoring everyone’s efforts? How about measuring the number of medals in relation to population? Lighten up everyone. We need more Eddie the eagles, Jamaican bobsledders and remember the great Canadian bobsled team of 1964 that took gold (shocking the world) at a time when Canada had no training facilities, no official organization and no home track to practice on? How about behaving like grown-ups? Or is this too much to hope for at an Olympic event today?
Welcome to the real Olympics!
(Westmount Examiner) When Rosemere’s Alexandre Bilodeau skied down those moguls this past Sunday finally declaring Canada’s gold medal drought over, did anyone else happen to catch Australia’s Dale Begg Smith bitter expression? … There was no sportsmanship, no pats on the back, no graceful victory … there’s an ugly side to international competition, and for as long as there have been the Oly mpics ( and the eye s of the world on them), political protests, nationalism and controversy have made guest appearances.
17 February
Olympic flame visitors win fight for view — What were the ‘organizers’ thinking?
The area around the Olympic cauldron was a beehive of activity early Wednesday as construction workers made modifications to the roughly three-metre high chain-link and concrete barricade put up to keep the crowds away.
Might It Possibly Be OK If We Kick Some Ass? Why the world finds Canada’s quest for Olympic gold strange and adorable
(Slate) … the great big story from the Great White North is that Canada is really, truly, finally done with being Mr. Nice Guy/Gal/Person of Niceness. Having failed to score a hometown gold medal in either the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal or the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, Canada unloosed a $118 million project called “Own the Podium.”
16 February
World media weigh in on gaffe-plagued Games
15 February
U.K. press slams Canada’s hosting of Games
Some British media are slamming Canada as being a bad Olympic host, with much of the criticism focused on its role in the death of the 21-year-old Georgian luger.
14 February
Bilodeau wins Canada’s first gold on home soil
Mogulist Alexandre Bilodeau won Canada’s first ever gold medal on home soil laying down a near-perfect final run at Cypress Mountain on Sunday. And, our friend Robert Galbraith is twice thrilled … “Here is link to my feature and photos taken this summer in the Laurentians where Bilodeau trained for this Olympic event. My efforts covering this shy, out-of-the-spotlight guy, have paid-off with his win. In fact, I did the only story on Alex in training, even scooping the local French media. Mark another one up for the freelancer!”
Jumping to olympic heights
On any number of occasions this summer, drivers passing through the outskirts of the tiny Laurentian village of St. Hippolyte might have been treated to the sight of a person dressed in alpine boots and skis, flying above the forest canopy into the clear, blue summer sky as though catapulted from a circus cannon. … Rosemere’s Alexandre Bilodeau, the world champion freestyle skier and one of Canada’s top medal hopefuls for the 2010 winter Olympic Games.
12-13 February
A Tasteful Way to Start the Olympic Games
(NYT) VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Even the death of the 21-year-old Georgian luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili, who crashed during a training run Friday, did not do much to deflate the opening ceremony for the Vancouver Olympics a few hours later. There was a long moment of silence for Kumaritashvili, and the audience at B.C. Place stood and applauded when the grief-stricken Georgian delegation marched in, but mostly Vancouverites got on with the show. They cheered, they waved, they walked around town in red hockey jerseys. It was like New Year’s Eve, but a tasteful, well-behaved New Year’s Eve. … About Nikki Yanofsky’s rendition of “O Canada,” on the other hand, the less said the better. She has picked up the unfortunate trait of turning the national anthem into a power ballad. AMEN!

A Canadian event, shared by the world 
(National Post/CBC) VANCOUVER — Maybe the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Olympic Games, no matter its poetry, could never have been completely unambiguous. Perhaps the looming fiscal reckoning, the protests at its edges, and the typically soulless corporate opportunism that have attached themselves to these Games were always going to be enough to dampen the moment, luminous and vast and full as it might be. But we will never know, because a young man died on the field of play before the Games were officially opened Friday, and it coloured everything that came after.
U.S. Olympic coverage shows the view from down there
(Gazette) For the nearly 33 million viewers who watched the Vancouver Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony in the United States, the Great White North is no longer the Great White Unknown.
In a poignant, often profound opening segment, retired NBC Nightly News anchor and 20th century historian Tom Brokaw introduced Canada to an American audience with dignity, humility and a deep reverence. [One week later and public opinion still cannot break down whatever IOC rights barriers exist and convince NBC to post the tribute in its entirety] 
Taking part in the opening ceremony
(BBC) … the 60,000 fans inside the arena waving miniature Canadian flags did not have to sit on their hands and watch the three-hour spectacle unfold. They – and I – became our own sound and light show, integral to the pictures beamed around the world … Each member of the crowd had been handed an octagonal cardboard container – a pizza box, to you and me – inside which were a selection of goodies. [including] Drum beater to be used on the box itself. Take the beater out, close the lid, and you have a tom-tom with which to sound your approval.
Canada Redefines Itself in Olympic Opening Ceremony
(WSJ) To be sure, there were maple leaves at the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Games, including paper ones falling from the ceiling and a giant one made out of torches. But there was also an homage to Canada’s aboriginal peoples, a journey through the country’s landscapes from east to west and an extended paean to the new Canada by slam poet Shane Koyczan. ‘We Are More’ poem strikes a chord
Rex Murphy takes on the IOC, the New York Times and others – colourful, as always. Faster. Higher. Stronger. Dumber.
Gretzky lights up Vancouver Olympics
Georgian luger’s death casts shadow
Fast and Risky, Sledding Track Drew Red Flags
WHISTLER, British Columbia — The crash that killed a luge athlete at the Winter Olympics on Friday followed warning signs and a drumbeat of concern conveyed by athletes and officials since the Whistler Sliding Centre opened in 2008. The facility was marketed as “faster, steeper and more intense than any track in history.” And now the sport is asking, How fast is too fast, and what is the limit?
10 February
(Straight.com) Vancouver’s poet laureate: Why I have declined to participate in the Olympic Celebrations
As Poet Laureate I was offered time on one of the celebration stages where I would be allowed to read poems that corresponded to themes as provided to me by an Olympic bureaucrat. One of the themes was “equality” but since VANOC had blown the chance of making these Olympics the first gender inclusive Olympics in history by including a female ski jumping event I didn’t think they would appreciate a reading of the one Olympic poem I had written on equality: “In Praise of Female Athletes Who Were Told No: For the 14 female ski jumpers petitioning to be included in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.”
In fact a reading of this poem would violate a clause in the contracts that Vancouver artists signed in order to participate in the Cultural Olympiad:
The artist shall at all times refrain from making any negative or derogatory remarks respecting VANOC, the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Olympic movement generally, Bell and/or other sponsors associated with VANOC.
CBC Road to The Games:
Olympic Torch relay in Canada
No 2010 Olympics on Stolen Native Land:
With the winding-down of the Beijing Olympics, it seems inevitable that Vancouver’s organization should become a political target – at least in Canada. Thus, it is hardly surprising that the media should notice the none-too-subtle conditions attached to federal funding, not to mention the coincidental cuts to arts funding. Equally inevitable will be the debate over aboriginal territorial claims.
Olympic torch tours Westmount (from City Hall along Sherbrooke Street is not exactly a ‘tour’)
The Olympic flame touched down, albeit briefly, shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday and a huge crowd was there for the festivities. The last time this many Westmounters gathered in one place was to protest against the forced mergers, yet last night outside city hall, the theme was unity, the unity of all Canadians to celebrate the Olympic torch relay. Oh and this being Westmount, it seemed there were almost as many furry dogs as there were celebrants.
4 December
Colbert takes up Richmond on offer to attend Olympics, but not as ombudsman
Richmond officials extended an invitation to Colbert after he labelled Canadians as “syrup suckers” and “ice-holes” while picking up on complaints that staff have limited access to the Richmond Olympic Oval, and other venues, to international athletes.
In a press release Nov. 17, the City of Richmond offered Colbert a chance to serve as “an official ombudsman to monitor the treatment of Americans during the Games.”
Olympic flame braving rain, wind in Quebec City
The Olympic flame began on Thursday the second day of its relay in Quebec City [by] braving pouring rain and strong winds. But that didn’t dampen the spirits of soldiers at CFB Valcartier. More than 600 soldiers stood in the downpour outside the base’s sports centre to get a glimpse of the transfer of the flame from a miner’s lamp to the first torch of the day. The 20 torchbearers at the military base ran together as the crowd cheered.
1 December 2009
Message from one of the Torch Relay workers
I am writing this on the ferry from Baie-Comeau to Matane. I finally made it to the Eastern Time zone! Things are going very well. Thousands of people show up everyday to see us come through their community. The amount of signs, flags, red mittens and Canadian clothing is amazing. It’s hard to capture and it’s also hard to describe.
Our lifestyle is typical to summer camp. There are 300 of us who travel, eat, sleep and work together. We have a wake up call between 4-5am, pack up a breakfast at the hotel and are in our cars and ready to run by 5:30 everyday. We run and drive continuously throughout the day, eating as we go. We usually make it back to the hotel by 8pm, ready for more briefings and to get reorganized. We see our luggage every three days so we pack a small bag that we bring with us. It’s much easier to travel with considering we are only in the hotels for a matter of hours. The food has been great considering we eat buffets that feed so many people. I am starting to rely on a daily coffee to get me through the day. I think my body is still confused with the 4-hour time change. When I wake up I never feel rested and wonder how I will get through another day and if I will ever catch up on sleep. By the time I am in the first community I forget about the lack of sleep/showers/exercise, etc. Seeing people on the street waiting for us to arrive turns everything around. My motivation and energy comes from the communities and the people. Every day is so different and every community has their own character. Quebec has been so unique so far.
For the past 2 days we have been in Quebec. It’s very hard to be in this role and not be social with people because of the language barrier. I have been speaking French the best I can and people really appreciate the effort. It’s amazing how much you remember from elementary French classes!
17 November
Message from a torch bearer
I did it … and I didn’t drop the torch! My big day has come and gone, but the torch relay has moved on to Nova Scotia, with some 90+ more days left to go in the relay. In one word, I would sum up my experience as humbling. It is one of those rare experiences where you feel like you are part of something much bigger than you. Other than that, it all happened too quickly and I regret not taking a little more time when I first got the flame before launching into my run. They told me there were 5 rules, Rule 1 : smile, Rule 2 : smile, Rule 3 : do whatever you want : dance, run, cry, wave, jump up and down .. this was my moment with the torch, and rule 4 and 5 had do with enjoying yourself, having fun, and smiling.
Even though the torch relay is about the Olympic Games, it is actually not about the Olympic Games. It ‘s about so much more. It is about the promise of peace through sport … and it is about building this great nation … one kilometer and one community. Ultimately, the relay is about people, of ordinary people across this country doing extraordinary things in a unified sense of purpose. That is pretty cool.
12 November
Olympic torch gets Viking greeting in Newfoundland
(CTV News) The relay will cover 45,000 kilometres and visit 1,000 cities and towns before finishing in Vancouver in February for the start of the Winter Games.
10 November
A Torch Fit for a Cross-Canada Journey
Derek Covington – classmate of Marc at LCC – now works with the Canadian Olympic Committee and was the COC’s director of Olympic preparation and Games for the Beijing Olympics.
He writes:
On Friday, I will fly from one end of the country to the other to the small town of Cornerbrook Newfoundland. As you may know, I will be carrying the Olympic torch. It is a great honor for me to have been given this once in a lifetime opportunity. For sure, the Olympic torch relay and the Olympic movement has had its ‘not so bright’ moments over the course of its history, but overall, no one can argue that the Olympic Games and the Olympic movement is a celebration of so many things that are good in this world. The torch relay, in particular, represents a summons to the world that the Games are coming; for nations to join in a sacred truce, for the world’s athletes to come together to compete in a spirit of fair play, friendship, and respect (respect for rules, for oneself and for others).
This is a celebration about Canada too. When you are hosting the Games, it is especially magical because you have the privilege of using the torch relay to celebrate all of the small, wonderful and unique communities that make up our great nation. The torch will shine a light on so many of these communities as it travels around the country. Make sure you cheer it on as it comes through your town.
9 November
Colbert’s attack on Olympic ice access brushed off
Olympic gold medallist Dan Jansen, left, and The Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert announced the show has become the primary sponsor of the U.S. speedskating team for the Vancouver Olympics.
VANCOUVER, Aug 22 (IPS) – The 29th summer Olympics cast renewed light on China’s treatment of ethnic minorities in Tibet, and as the games wind down, a similar, if less pronounced set of controversies will follow the torch to Canada when Vancouver hosts the 2010 winter games.
Many indigenous nations in the Canadian province of British Columbia fear the 2010 games will further erode their traditional territory, opening large areas of unceded land to tourism and infrastructure development, damaging hunting and fishing grounds.
VANCOUVER: OTTAWA WANTS OLYMPICS TO REFLECT ITS POLICIES
(RCI) The Globe and Mail newspaper reports that the federal government intends to use its financial participation in the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver to showcase its policies and priorities. The newspaper bases its report on a secret memorandum written by Marie-Geneviève Mounier, assistant deputy minister in international and intergovernment affairs and sport to a Canadian Heritage official. The newspaper obtained it through the Access to Information law. It says that Canadian Heritage will invest $20 million on the opening ceremonies “…to ensure that the event adequately reflects the priorities of the Government and helps to achieve its domestic and international branding goals.” But Renée Smith-Valade of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee denies the government intends to politicize the Games, saying it is a partner and that Heritage Canada’s international expertise will help the organizers present the best Games possible. The current Beijing Games have been described as among the most political ever.
Ottawa says it is investing, not meddling in opening ceremonies
20 October
Bombardier reaches Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch production milestone
Global train and plane manufacturer Bombardier, designer and manufacturer of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch, reached a milestone today with the completion of 6,000 of the 12,000 torches that will be used in the cross-Canada Olympic Torch Relay. Production of the torch began in June 2009 and is on schedule to be completed in December 2009. More than 50 Bombardier employees have been involved in the torch design, testing and manufacturing process.
August 22, 2008 at 8:49 PM EDT
(The Canadian Press) VANCOUVER — The federal minister responsible for the 2010 Winter Olympics says the Conservative government is not trying to use its big funding contribution to dictate what goes into the opening ceremonies. But Olympic experts say it would be naive not to think the Games’ showcase event will be completely devoid of political content because it’s always been there.
The government has come under fire from critics over a memo outlining the terms of its $20-million contribution by the Department of Canadian Heritage to stage the opening ceremonies — just over half the $38-million budget.
Ottawa Aims to Put its Stamp on 2010 Games
The Harper government says the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony must reflect its agenda as the price of its $20-million commitment to the event, an internal government briefing memo says.
The memo, marked secret and released under an access-to-information request, describes the role of the Canadian government in wording that appears to mix politics and sports, despite widespread criticism of China for politicizing the Beijing Olympics. More
May 6, 2008
Canada puts environment on podium
(CBC) Each Olympics offers an opportunity for the world to witness athletic excellence. But the Games are also a chance for organizers to push the envelope on technology and design innovation, and the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver are certainly no exception. The Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is the first to officially commit to applying environmental sustainability principles to the Games — from ground-level logistics to maintaining the towering ski slopes.

27 November 2007
From Waldi to Mukmuk: Olympic mascots through the ages
Vancouver announced the 2010 Olympic mascots today. Miga the Sea Bear, Quatchi the Sasquatch and Sumi, a Thunderbird, will be joined by virtual sidekick Muk-Muk the Vancouver Island marmot. The announcement might come as a surprise to some who were expecting non-mythical creatures. Miga is a combination of an orca and a Kermode spirit bear, Sumi represents an animal-guardian spirit, and sasquatches haven’t quite been proven to exist.
The trio is the newest in a long line of mascots spanning almost 40 years, a tradition that started in 1968 with Schuss, a cartoon skier representing Grenoble’s Winter Games. Olympic mascots made their official debut in 1972, when Waldi the dachshund was created for the Summer Olympics in Munich. He symbolized resistance, tenacity and agility, and was modelled after a real dog named Cherie von Birkenhof.
Waldi was followed by Amik the beaver, Canada’s first Olympic mascot for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Amik means beaver in the Algonquin language, and the mascot was said to represent hard work. The name rang especially true for Montreal: the city spent 30 years working hard to pay off its Olympic debt.