Day 12: Last Volunteering Shift!

This is it! It's Feb. 24 and it's my last shift as a Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games voluneteer. I had in fact one more shift scheduled for tomorrow, but it got cancelled. So, today, I say goodbye to Cypress. But not before I say hello to all the fresh snow that Cypress got over night! That's right... snow! Reports indicate that over 17 cm of snow have accumulated on the mountain, just in time for today's event:

• Ladies' Aerials - Finals

We got to the mountain just past 2pm. It was not only white everywhere (first time I see it like that since I started) but also foggy. We started our shift with a snow statue competition! Our team build a pretty large inukshuk but we have no word on who actually won the competition.

I got assigned to team "Bravo 10" with Caroline and Jane but due to a large number of volunteers not showing up, they put us on "Entry," which is right at the front gates where spectators come in for screening and through ticket check-points. Hence, we didn't get to see any of the competition. Thanks to today's mobile technology, however, we got to follow the Russia vs. Canada hockey game live through the spectators' smartphones! Another way that technology can reunite us? One could definitely argue for it!

The shift was long... It was a wet evening and standing around in the rain on Cypress Mountain does not keep one warm for long. Luckily, dinner time came sooner rather than later. I got to spend it with Caroline and Jane on eating and plotting our escape from the "Entry" assignment. It was fruitless. By the time we got back, we got dispatched on the path to the parking lot to control the crowds returning to the buses. As always, we made the best of it. Glow sticks: check. Reflective vests: check. Megaphone: check. Olympic van parked on the side with music blasting through its open back door: check! I think we put a smile on every single of the 10 000 spectators returning home that night! We had a blast doing it, too... making complete clowns out of ourselves and making friends with a large Australian crowd! Aussie, Aussie, Aussie? Oi, oi, oi!

Yay, Olympics!

Day 11: Sick-Day, Shopping, and Partying...

Sick-Day... I know what you're thinking but trust me, I really needed it. We got really cold at the aerials the night before and I really needed to get rid of that lingering cold. Not to mention that yesterday's shift ended close to 10pm and I was scheduled for 6am today. I just couldn't do it.

I slept in and when I woke up, I decided to hit the town and do some Olympic shopping (it's definitely a new sport and a competition all on its own...). I stood in line for the Bay (the Olympic Superstore) again, hoping they received new merchandise. Nothing. I even triple-checked the boys' section to see if they had an oversized t-shirt or hoodie. Nada. So I decided to check another HBC location: in Burnaby's Metrotown. The supplies at both the Bay and Zellers were even more scarce than downtown. Despite the reassurance from the staff that more shipments are coming in from China... I think I'm going to give up on the idea of getting an authentic Team Canada backpack or buying my brother an original Team Canada hoodie for his birthday. They are simply nowhere to be found. I did try to buy one off some random guy at a bar later that day but I don't think he took me very seriously...

I met up with Laine later for the 4:30pm Canada vs. Germany hockey game. We went to a bar (Score) to watch it on their giant TVs. The atmosphere was great! We even got free Canada inflatable baseball bats that we used as noisemakers (and toy weapons, of course). The Jackson-Triggs (official Olympic supplier) chardonnay and later some local ale were flowing freely and Team Canada won the game 8 to 2. I convinced Laine to go for a walk to Stanley Park's lighthouse area to finally get the picture I really wanted of the huge Olympic rings they installed in the water with the view of Vancouver's skyline in the background. He agreed as long as we'd stop and get a mickey of Jägermeister and some Rockstar energy drinks prior to heading to the park. Looking at it now, it was a baaad idea. A 710 ml can of caffeinated drink at 10pm will not let you have a good night sleep. I guarantee it... :P Not to mention mixing Jäger with some Vietnamese food just before going to bed. I'll just end this post here... Let's just say that the pictures turned out good! Adios... :)

Day 10: Men's Aerials Qualifications - So Close To The Action!

I never imagined to be so close to the action at these Olympic Winter Games that I would be too close to document it in pictures! Here's how this 22nd of February unfolded...

I woke up to sunny skies yet again! I got ready and headed for my afternoon/evening shift at Cypress. There was no medal event at the mountain today - just qualifications for one of the craziest sports of the Winter Olympics: aerials. When you pause and think about it for a second, there are sports like hockey and curling that take several games in multiple rounds to advance far enough to win a medal. In aerials, you ski down the hill, jump off, perform a series of acrobatics in the air in a span of about 3 seconds, land it, and call it a day! You do that twice to qualify, and then twice again, and you can win a medal within... what... 1 minute? (assuming each jump takes about 15 seconds to complete)? I also admire the judging for this event. There is so much to look out for both in the air, and at landing. I'm just thankful for slow-motion replay :)

We had 24 Olympic hopefuls start in tonight's event. Only half will qualify to the finals. Three Canadians were in the line-up: Warren Shouldice, Steve Omischl, and Kyle Nissen. Anton Kushnir of Belarus was one of the favourites to watch for.

I forgot to mention: my assignment for today was "Free 10," i.e. working the area between the field-of-play, broadcast mix zone, and spectators' standing zone. Pretty much the best place to be, right in the middle of the action. It's also worth mentioning that the 4000 standing-room tickets were not cancelled for this event (unlike for snowboard and ski cross events), so we were expecting significant crowds at Cypress.

We assumed our positions and the competition started on time. The snow crew worked hard all night to prepare the field-of-play with the scare reserves of snow. Despite that challenge, the jump and landing area were up to standards. And the athletes took it to the skies. It's quite breathtaking to witness an aerial ski jump live; to see the athletes fly way up, perform all these tricks, and land safely on two skis. I was so close to the action, that I couldn't actually take any pictures. There were too many professional photographers who paid thousands and thousands of dollars for the privilege of being able to take pictures not far from where we were situated. Not to mention all the television cameras and supervisors roaming around.

All 3 Canadians qualified to the finals. The crowds were ecstatic, especially in our standing-room section, where a group of true fans watched the competition in nothing but boxer shorts, wrapped in Canadian flags with their faces painted in red and white. I took advantage of the action to get my 15 seconds of fame and pose in front of all the TV cameras every chance I had. I think my best shot was during athlete interviews as they were coming off the course. I positioned myself behind each athlete, right in front of the CTV and NBC cameras for the interviews. I hope you saw me! A couple of other volunteers have... :)

Highlight of the evening: Warren Shouldice came out of the Athletes' Lounge after the event and before he could head back onto the bus for the village, the half-naked red-and-white cheering fans lured him to their positions for some autographs. It was my only chance in the day to actually take some pictures so I jumped on the occasion, snapping a few shots with Warren himself. Sweet!

That concluded Day 10. Full of memories and a new appreciation for this spectacular sport, I headed to bed.