Day 2: Canada Finally Strikes Gold Home

I was finishing my plate of vegetable medley in the volunteer cafeteria at the Old Day Lodge at Cypress when the men's moguls final was nearing its end. Alex Bilodeau from Quebec was about to go down on his final run of the day. We got dressed quickly and headed out to see if he could write a new chapter in this country's sports history books...

3, 2, 1... Go! He flew off from the gate and zipped down those moguls to a crowd of close to 10 000 cheering fans. First jump: completed... Second mogul stretch... he's as steady as ever. Second jump: perfect. Just a few more seconds... and he crosses the line. The crowd is clapping and the next 30 or 40 seconds feel like an eternity. The moment the score came on, the crowd went crazy! Not just the spectators, but so did the sercurity workforce, bus drivers, volunteers, and anyone really who was able to see Alexandre do it: write that new chapter in Canadian Olympic history. The first gold medal on home soil and the first gold for Canada at these Winter Games.

It is really the main highlight of the day. The fact that it was warm and sunny, that the spectator and bus flow went smoother than last night, that the volunteers and leaders were better prepared today... it's all secondary details. We all went home tonight feeling proud. Tired and cold, too... but mostly proud. And those smiles that VANOC kept asking us to always have on, well, they came naturally.

Let's be inspired by this great day.

Go, Canada, go!

Day 1: First Day at Cypress + Canada & Poland Get Silver

I woke up with a bit of a hangover to rainy skies but... that has not come even remotely close to wiping the smile off of my face. Today, I finally get to put on my sexy uniform and do what I came here to do: be the "face of the Games," as they call the Event Services (EVS) folks here, and greet the world to Cypress Mountain: the venue for all the freestyle skiing and snowboard events.

I got dressed and headed downtown, where I had a quick lunch with Andrew and some of his friends who just got down from the zip-line at Robson Square (one thing that I have to go on before I leave!). At 15:20, I boarded the SeaBus, which brought me to Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver. The Olympic Bus departs from this location, bringing spectators and volunteers up to Cypress Mtn. as no private vehicles are permitted at the venue. We left at 15:45 and got to Cypress about 40 minutes later. It was a funny site... There is really no snow anywhere except for the runs and the peak. Also, I don't think I have ever seen so many buses in one spot. Most were plated with California licence plates but some were also from Utah. I heard there are also about 30 coaches from Quebec. It's a big event... :)

After checking in at the Workforce Check-In tent for my 17:00 shift, I headed up to the Venue Operations Centre to meet with my team, our leader Sandra, and the VANOC crew. The site was already buzzing with all the freestyle skiing action. What was on today?

• 16:30 - Ladies Mogul Qualification
• 19:30 - Ladies Mogul Final

I was assigned the role of a Ticket Validator for the evening. It's fun because you get to mingle with the crowd and watch the event at the same time (the run was clearly visible from the validation area). A couple of other volunteers and I were fortunate enough to see the actual silver and gold medals runs! Seeing it live is absolutely amazing! Both Hanna Kearney (USA - Gold) and Jennifer Heil (CAN - Silver) flew down that mountain to an incredible support from the thousands of fans on site.

In other news, Poland's Adam Małysz also got silver today in Men's NH Individual Ski Jumping, losing only to Simon Ammann of Switzerland by 7 points.

What else can I tell you about... They fed us well! I had a potato & bacon soup, sun-dried tomato and basil pasta with caesar salad (with real Canadian bacon), an apple, and a granola bar. It was really good! What else... My team, Bravo20, is really fun. There is one more Quebecker in it, Christian, from Richelieu, so I get to practice mon français. The whole EVS team is really energetic and enthusiastic, which is important since we really have to rely on team work to get things done and... we need to keep moving to stay warm. Even though the temperature today was above zero, it was windy and really wet. The uniforms are waterproof and quite warm (thank you, HBC!) but it's really the action that kept us warm throughout the evening. Since the crowds vacated the venue quicker than we anticipated (probably because they were cold and hungry as wait time at concession stands was over an hour), we got to go home an hour early.

We left the rain-soaked mountain at around 22:10 on an Olympic bus. I met two more fellow Montrealers on board. They were also volunteering at the venue, fixing up the moguls in between runs. When I got back downtown, I visited the torch again and continued down along the shore to check out the Olympic rings that are floating in the Burrard Inlet, between Vancouver's Waterfront and North Vancouver. I will take some night shots of both sites tomorrow, when I bring my camera with me...

It was an awesome day, really. I'm exhausted but that smile I woke up with is still on my face, only bigger! Can't wait to do it all over again tomorrow... :) Good night!

Day 0: The Opening Ceremony

2010-02-12. Not an ordinary date in Canadian history. This is the third time we're hosting the world for the greatest sporting event, and today we're kicking it all off! 17 incredible days are ahead of us. Years of waiting and preparation are behind. Let's party! But only after we pause for a moment in silence...

That's because today is also a day of mourning, for Georgia, after Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed in a horrific crash at Whistler, on the luge track, just hours before the opening ceremony. A grim start to this rainy day...

I kicked it off by meeting with an old friend from Montréal who's here working with CTV/RDS at the International Broadcast Centre. Pierre-Luc is one of many junior journalists contributing to the stories you read about on the net and see on TV.

We took the SkyTrain down to Main/Science-World station where Russian House (Sochi 2014) is located. From there, we walked along False Creek towards BC Place, where crowds were already lining up for the opening ceremony. After a brief pause for few Chinese dumplings, we continued through the downtown core, enjoying all the street action. And there is plenty of it here: from LiveCity areas to celebration sites to international houses, pavilions, and cultural centres... the city is buzzing! Police forces from all over Canada are patrolling the streets (I saw a few of our own Montréal cops!) but there aren't many protests and it's incredibly safe in the city, even late at night.

After the stroll, Pierre-Luc went to work to cover the main event and I headed home to change, pick up the bottle of my free wine (volunteering perk #28), and head to Kate, Dionna, and Marion's place on Quebec Street, for the opening ceremony house party! Why there? Well, A) they are 3 really cool girls I had just met on Wendesday, and B) the view from their 11th floor balcony gives straight onto False Creek, BC Place, and the downtown core. It's absolutely spectacular (and no, I still have't figured out a way to transfer pics from my camera onto my work laptop... but when I do, you will see what I mean.)!

The party was wild! I won't get into the details but watching the ceremony with a large crowd (there must have been at least 30 people there) of rowdy Canadians, drinking and cheering, and looking out the window to see the place where it's all happening... I mean... words can't describe it! Hopefully, my pictures will :)

My buddy Adam finished his shift at the main ticket place and joined us around 11:30pm. The party went on until about 1am at which point we headed out to see the torch (see picture) that Wayne Gretzky had lit up earlier on. My friend Andrew and two if his buddies (Dustin and Dan) joined us. Adam went home 'cause he had an early morning shift the next day and I hit the party scene with the boys. We had some drinks and watched parts of the ceremony that was replayed on all networks and all screens at the bar, to finally end up at some club called Odyssey, where we partied well past 3am. After some well-deserved pizza, I made it home without remembering much of how exactly that happened, and crashed at 5am...

So there you have it! The Games are open. The parties are on. The world is watching.

Tomorrow, I start my volunteering journey! Stay tuned...

I am already having an absolute blast here and I hope the tiny bits of it that I can share here with you are enough for you to enjoy these special times we live in with me...

Enjoy the Games, Canada!

Day -1: Uniform Pick-Up & Celebrations

Another rainy morning. That won't stop me from getting up, though! Today's mission: uniform pick-up.

I hopped on the bus, which is free now with my accreditation card, and headed downtown for lunch with Adam. Sushi, of course! After lunch, I went back east, to the Pacific Coliseum for the best souvenir a volunteer could ask for. I skipped the accreditation pick-up line (since I already have my card) and headed to the fitting rooms, where I got to try on various uniform sizes and find the best fit. Once that exercise was completed, I headed to the depot with my 'prescription' to get my uniform, along with some other goodies! At the check-out cash, my giant Vancouver 2010 bag contained: snow pants, a jacket, two long-sleeve shirts (made of extremely comfy bamboo cotton!), a vest, a toque (une tuque, pour mes amis franco), a stainless steel travel mug, a bottle of Cold-FX pills (seriously?), a volunteer pocket guide, and some Olympic post cards from the IOC! Love it!!

I took the bus back home, unpacked, and headed downtown to meet up with another friend for dinner, and some trekking around downtown. Vancouver looks great at night, especially now! I am dying to post some pictures - haven't found a way to transfer them from my camera yet but be patient! I will come up with something...

So, Andrew and I wandered around the city, visiting some of the Olympic hot-spots to check out the action:

• Robson Square (where one can still buy tickets to some of the events, skate around on an ice rink, or fly through the air on a Ziptrek zip-line! Oh yeah, I'm definitely trying this one out!),
• the Irish House (where - according to the news - the Irish athletes and fans party until 3 in the morning every night, stealing the precious peace and quiet from the locals who live near by... Would you expect less of them? I love the Irish!),
• a part of the Olympic Torch Relay on the Granville Bridge (the second time I got to see the Olympic Flame, first being in Montréal at Place Jacques Cartier),
• Vectorial Elevation (very cool robotic searchlights set up on both banks of the English Bay - check out the videos on www.vectorialvancouver.net), and
• Vancouver 2010 Countdown Clock (located in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery, the clock was showing just over 19 hours to go until the opening ceremony begins when Andrew and I took some pictures there tonight around 10PM)

Tomorrow is Day 0. The day it all begins. The day I've been waiting for for 2 years when I signed up to volunteer in Feb. 2008. Where will you be? Are you going to watch the opening ceremony? Who do you think will ight the cauldron? Leave some comments... :)

... and let the Games begin!

Day -2: The Arrival

At 10:15AM Pacific Time, the wheels of Air Canada's Airbus A321 flight AC111 touched down on Vancouver airport runway. Thanks to favourable winds, we made it here 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Cool! I get a head start to this crazy Olympic journey!

Arriving to Vancouver through YVR is an experience in itself. Parts of the airport are converted into VANOC's accreditation centres and media hot-spots. And every single ad is Olympics-related!

I hopped on the newly-built Canada Line, a light, fully-automated rail system linking the airport with Vancouver's downtown core. Just over 20 minutes and $8.75 later, I arrived at the Vancouver City Centre stop. When I walked out of the station it hit me: I landed right in the heart of the action! The Bay building is covered in enormous pictures of models in their official Olympic clothing line, some streets are closed to traffic and filled with sculptures, sports gear, flags, tourists and locals taking it all in...

After I settled in at my friend's place, where I'll be staying for the next 16 days (thanks, Adam!), I went to the Uniform and Accreditation Centre (at the Pacific Coliseum) to pick up my accreditation card. I couldn't get the uniform that afternoon because there just wasn't enough time: we had to make it down to BC Place for the dress rehearsal of the opening ceremony of the 21st Winter Olympic Games! As I mentioned previously in a post, all volunteers got a complimentary ticket to watch the rehearsal. I hopped on the SkyTrain and met up with Adam at the Stadium-Chinatown stop, from where we trotted down to BC Place. Once we passed through security and hot-dogs stands, we located our section (447), row (RR), and took our seats (101 and 102). BC Place is enormous! It seats over 60 000 spectators. The stands were illuminated in blue and the floor was covered in artificial snow. I'm not really supposed to talk about the show but let me just say this: it's going to be grand!! Expect an awesome kick-start, a fantastic light show, plenty of good music, and a touch of magic... actually, plenty of magic!! And of course the lighting of the cauldron remains a big secret. The rehearsal ended just before that part, so don't ask me who will be lighting it! I have no idea... Polls on the streets reveal that most people would like Betty Fox (Terry Fox's mother) to do the honours, while others voted for Wayne Gretzky. Time will tell... (I won't 'cause I really don't know!)

After the show, we headed out to meet up with some friends at a house party. We also made plans to watch the opening ceremony from their place as it’s facing False Creek and BC Place, and the view from the balcony guarantees a spectacular show! From there, we headed out to Gastown’s Met karaoke bar, where after a few rounds of pool and pitchers, we called it a night.

Hello, Vancouver! Hello, World!

The 2010 Winter Games are just 2 days away…

Where Is the Snow?

So, all the volunteers got a memo from VANOC (The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games) earlier today that each one of us coming from outside of BC is required to bring at least one suitcase of snow to help in the efforts of building up the courses on Cypress Mountain.

OK... jokes aside, this is the third time in modern Olympics history that there is not enough snow at one of the venues with less than two weeks left before the opening ceremonies (the other two times were in 1932 at Lake Placid and again in 1964 in Innsbruck, Aus.). The weather has been really mild over the past couple of weeks (in the 7 to 9°C range) with rain and drizzle as the main form of precipitation.

You can read this CBC article to see how VANOC is dealing with this situation and what their interesting contingency plans are:

• CBC Article

On my end, there is only 1 week left ‘till my departure and 9 days until Michaëlle Jean declares open the XXI Olympic Winter Games. I’m going through some final prep for transportation options and my training manuals. The board is sharpened and waxed. Things are coming along. And the countdown continues!

À la prochaine…

We Have a Flagbearer

Yesterday, in Richmond, B.C., the Canadian Olympic Committee announced the name of the official flagbearer for Team Canada at the opening ceremony for the Vancouver Olympics: it's Clara Hughes who will take on this honourable responsibility.

A little bit more background on Clara:

The five-time Olympic medalist will compete in the women's 3,000 and 5,000 metres speed skating events during the 2010 Winter Games. Clara is the first Canadian and only the fourth athlete in the world to have won Olympic medals at both Winter and Summer Games, including speed skating gold in the 5,000 metres at the 2006 Winter Games in Torino and bronze in cycling at the 1996 Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta. Vancouver 2010 will be her fifth Olympic Games.

Off the ice, Clara has been awarded the International Olympic Committee's Sport and Community award and the Spirit of Sport award from the Canadian Sports Awards. She is also an Officer of the Order of Canada, a member of the Order of Manitoba, and an athlete representative for Right To Play, a non-profit, international Canadian organization that works in developing countries helping children, their families and communities through sport.

Go, Clara! Go, Team Canada!

My Olympic Experience: 2 weeks left!

I will begin this 14-day countdown with a couple of inspirational quotes from Baron Pierre de Coubertin, known to historians as the instigator or the father of the modern Olympic movement.

He states that in the Olympic Games, "the most important thing is not to win but to take part!" He then continues: "the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle, the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

Comments? Thoughts? Feel free to express your opinion - I want your participation!

Moving on, I finally received some updated transportation information today from the Event Services team. And... it's all good news! They were able to add one more departure hub for Cypress Mountain. This hub is actually located downtown Vancouver and will help me get to 4 out of my 6 early-morning shifts on time. Woohoo! For the rest, I was able to arrange some carpooling options with fellow volunteers (the power of Google Groups!). I will be taking public transit to all other shifts, which is complementary for volunteers throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Also, I got a confirmation today that my Rehearsal ticket will be ready for pick-up next week... This is all happening, I guess! This journey that I embarked on 2 years ago is about to culminate in 14 days... and I'm thrilled and excited to connect you to the Games the best I can via this blog.

So, stay tuned and let's start the countdown!

The two photos attached to today's post are from Ottawa (from Jan. 16)

Job-Specific Training

I got my Job-Specific Training material today!

It starts with our Mission Statement:

“To be knowledgeable, gracious and proactive Event Services Staff. To work as a team and perform all our roles at the highest level to ensure an enjoyable, memorable and safe Olympic and Paralympic Games experience for all.”

Pretty simple goal, right? As easy as this may sound, I'm sure there is a ton of new things I will have to learn (there are almost 50 pages that I have to go through!)... e.g. how to operate a magnetometer, what to call a suspicious package left unattended when signalling it through our walkie-talkies, and how to assist spectators finding their seats in the most polite way.

Once I digest it all, I will let you know what an Olympic Host does exactly, as it's still not all that clear to me :)

What else is up? The Olympic Flame is in Banff, AB today! Only 22 days to go...

Also, did you know you can buy a full-size replica of an Olympic Torch for $295 on www.vancouver2010.com?

That is it for today...

Cheers!

My Olympic Experience: 24 days to go...

Just over 3 weeks left till the Opening Ceremony...

I have joined Team 2010 on Facebook today - I guess it's our geeky way to meet and stay connected with fellow Volunteers! It's so cool to see how many of them already have their Facebook profile pictures in Games uniforms. I won't be getting mine until the day I get there on Feb. 10 but trust me... I will do my best to have it posted on my Facebook profile (and on the blog, of course) in no time!

Other than that, I am trying to figure out a way to get to some of my early morning shifts (e.g. I have to be on the mountain ready to go for 5:00am on a few occasions). There are some carpooling groups being formed online so hopefully it all works out in the end.

That's all for now!

Stay tuned for more news as we get closer to the D*-day!

* D = departure :P