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More than 52,000 people have responded since Feb. 12, but Vancouver 2010 workforce executive vice-president Donna Wilson isn’t ready to close applications to become an Olympic or Paralympic volunteer.

So far, 12,500 applicants were interviewed by phone and 5,000 came to in-person sessions. Wilson needs 25,000 by Games-time. Wilson said Friday that more applicants are needed in Sea-to-Sky country and more are needed who can speak languages other than English.

Graham Fraser, federal Commissioner of Official Languages, suggested on Tuesday that VANOC recruit French-speakers from Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick to meet its bilingual pledges to the federal government and International Olympic Committee. Fewer than 10% of British Columbians speak French.

“French is the key language we’re looking at, really it’s a case of just ensuring the applications we have turn into real live volunteers,” Wilson said Friday. “We’ll be in a better position to know by March, right now were feeling confident we’ll be able to deliver beyond the expectations and it is a big expectation.”

More than 52,000 people have responded since Feb. 12, but Vancouver 2010 workforce executive vice-president Donna Wilson isn’t ready to close applications to become an Olympic or Paralympic volunteer.

So far, 12,500 applicants were interviewed by phone and 5,000 came to in-person sessions. Wilson needs 25,000 by Games-time. Wilson said Friday that more applicants are needed in Sea-to-Sky country and more are needed who can speak languages other than English.

Graham Fraser, federal Commissioner of Official Languages, suggested on Tuesday that VANOC recruit French-speakers from Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick to meet its bilingual pledges to the federal government and International Olympic Committee. Fewer than 10% of British Columbians speak French.

“French is the key language we’re looking at, really it’s a case of just ensuring the applications we have turn into real live volunteers,” Wilson said Friday. “We’ll be in a better position to know by March, right now were feeling confident we’ll be able to deliver beyond the expectations and it is a big expectation.”

Wilson is also on the lookout for potential volunteers fluent in a variety of other languages, such as Korean, Russian and Norwegian.

“We’re really lucky that we live in the Lower Mainland because it is so multicultural,” she said “We’re going to community groups to see if they can encourage their community to volunteer.”

Wilson marked international volunteer day Friday with 120 pre-Games volunteers at the PNE Forum. The former hockey rink was carpeted, curtained and converted into office and meeting space for volunteer screening and training. An average 150 people come daily for interviews, six days a week. During the Games the Forum will be the uniform and accreditation centre.

Volunteer Pamela Hollington works at least two days a week there in volunteer screening and orientation and also performs shifts inside the Miga or Sumi mascot suit.

“The kids know who they are and the adults get excited too,” said Hollington, a project management consultant and university instructor. “My husband always laughs at me,. He says he can’t believe I can stay quiet for 20 minutes at a time at a mascot appearance.”

read more http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/2008/12/05/7649686.html

photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/sun-peaks

To coin a phrase, the Russians are coming, the Russians are coming.

So, too, though are the Austrians and the Swedes, the Italians, the French, the Germans and the Americans. And they’re armed with skis - for alpine and cross-country racing, aerials and moguls - snowboards, biathlon rifles and sit skis.

With a slew of World Cup or other international pre-Olympic and pre-Paralympic test events scheduled for Cypress and Whistler mountains and the Callaghan Valley this winter, several countries are preparing to set up their national teams for pre-event training at B.C. resorts, which they’ll also use in 2010.

The Russian moguls team is looking at Apex Mountain near Penticton or Whistler-Blackcomb for a two-week training period in mid-January. Norway’s cross-country team has a deal to train at the Sovereign Lake facility at Silver Star in Vernon.

And Sweden, Germany, France and the U.S. will all be sending various winter sport teams to Mount Washington on Vancouver Island, where an upgraded trail system and a new automated biathlon target range was instrumental in luring national teams.

“It’s been an extremely successful initiative, particularly in biathlon,” said Joe Bajan, president of the Vancouver Island Biathlon Association, of the courting of countries by the Comox Valley. “The snow conditions will be similar [to the Olympic venue in the Callaghan Valley], crystal snow for the nordic events. And it’s an almost identical elevation.”

The one-step-ahead-of-the-rest Austrian alpine team is already at its home-away-from-Schladming, settling into Sun Peaks Resort near Kamloops this week for a fourth consecutive year of pre-World Cup training.

While teams from Slovenia, Switzerland and Germany were bumping Heads - and Rossignols and Fischers - with Alpine Canada skiers for space on crowded runs at Nakiska in Alberta, the Austrians are enjoying international exclusivity at Sun Peaks.

With 2010 in mind, the Austrian Ski Federation signed a five-year deal with the resort in 2005 to use a section of the resort’s expansive terrain before the North American start of the World Cup season and then immediately before the Olympic competiton on Whistler.

In return for the exclusivity, the Austrians financed new snow-making equipment to be used on the runs they train on. In 2006, a short chair lift was added.

“The facilities are just fantastic,” Walter Dellekarth, a spokesman for the Austrian team, said Wednesday from Sun Peaks. “We really feel privileged to be able to ski here and work out here. It’s become a tough business alpine skiing. Everybody is looking to do their own stuff and not let others see too much.”

Nancy Greene Raine, Sun Peaks’ director of skiing, said the Austrians have been “wonderful to work with. It’s been a great experience getting to know them. And they’re fantastic ambassadors for their country.”

read more http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/sports/story.html?id=5ab255f4-9caa-4d2a-9a35-cbdc01ce5f73

Photo from http://flickr.com/photos/britishdisabledskiteam/3025533718/

Alpine Canada Alpin (ACA) will hold a series of events across Canada this winter to encourage disabled communities and especially aspiring athletes to get involved in para-alpine ski racing.

“The goal of each event is to reach as far as possible into the disability community as we increase awareness, knowledge, and hopefully participation in para-alpine ski racing,” said Jean-Francois Rapatel, Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team (CPAST) High Performance Director. “We intend to engage communities, increase communication, and get more people competing in our sport.”

Each event will include on-snow opportunities to learn about para-alpine racing from certified para-alpine coaches, information sessions on equipment for all types of disabilities, and indoor presentations by CPAST athletes and coaches.

Confirmed events will be held January 30 to February 1, 2009 in Wentworth, Nova Scotia at Wentworth Resort and February 21 – 22, at Asessippi Ski Area and Resort in Manitoba. The location and dates for events in Quebec and Ontario are not yet confirmed. The final event will be held during the TELUS Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Championships in Sun Peaks, BC in March.

The campaign, in its third year, entitled “Carving The Future,” is now supported by the launch of a new website at www.carvingthefuture.ca.

“The new website will ensure that interested participants, coaches, medical professionals, and others with an interest in learning more about para-alpine ski racing will have an information resource that is up-to-date with the latest information on events, registration and general information on athlete development, coaching, equipment, fitness activity and other frequently asked questions,” said Ozzie Sawicki, a former CPAST coach who is assisting delivery of the Carving the Future program.

This program provides individuals who have a congenital disability or are newly disabled the opportunity to discover para-alpine ski racing.

Participants may or may not have had previous experience in alpine skiing, but have an interest in learning more about the sport in a competition or recreational racing context. This includes individual’s who have an instructional background and may have an interest in coaching as well as parents, and disability health professionals who want to learn about the potential opportunities and benefits that para-alpine racing can provide.

From http://www.firsttracksonline.com/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=5298

Canadian Disabled Ski Team Competes in New Zealand
At the Merino Muster races in New Zealand, Canada’s disabled ski team had remarkabled results.

Brian McKeever finished 7th in the 42 km event - less than 10 mins behind third place (Andrew Johnson - USA National Team)

Colette Bourgonje finished 8th in the 7 km event, 15th overall - most of the skiers in this event were able-bodied so this is remarkable!

Kaspar Wirz (head coach) finished 7th in the 7 km event.

More results and pictures - including other Canadian finishers - can be seen at www.snowfarmnz.com.

Team Canada may be forced to play without its familiar Maple Leaf logo at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the victim of an International Olympic Committee rule that is only now being enforced.

The IOC regulation forbids sport federations from displaying their logos on uniforms at the Olympics, which includes Hockey Canada’s trademark Maple Leaf with a hockey player. Hockey Canada says it has been able to get around the rule in the past by having the Canadian Olympic Committee sign an exemption from Games uniform regulations.

But the COC says times have changed. The IOC strictly enforced its rules at the recent Beijing Games - notably with the Brazilian and Argentine soccer teams - and is expected to do the same in Vancouver.

“In the past three Winter Games, this wasn’t the same issue that it is now,” said Chris Rudge, the COC’s chief executive officer. “In those Games, the IOC turned a blind eye to its own rules. That’s no longer the case - they made that very clear going into Beijing.

“It was a test case in Beijing with the soccer teams and it was very clear from the IOC that the rules now are the rules and they’re not turning a blind eye to exemptions.”

That’s not good enough for Hockey Canada, which is unhappy at the COC stance.

“I can’t believe that they’re taking a chunk of history, especially when we’re hosting it in our country,” said Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson. “They’re putting Team Canada at a disadvantage in its own country.”

Read more http://www.canadaka.net/link.php?id=38340

Organizers of the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics are spending a majority of the $1.63 billion operations budget over the next 16 months on transportation, energy services, anti-doping, accommodation and food and beverage goods and services.

“There will be a dramatic increase in operating expenses across the organization,” said the report for the year ending July 31, 2008, which was released Thursday.

VANOC, through its auditor Ernst & Young, reported $122.281 million revenue and $170.424 million in expenditures for the fiscal year. Since 2003, it has spent $364.056 million and forecasts a balanced budget despite the global economic crisis.

The report says VANOC believes that future cash flows from international and domestic sponsorship, ticketing, licensed merchandise and governments “will provide sufficient funds to meet future cash requirements.

“VANOC believes it has secured sufficient credit facilities to finance its future operations.”

The report said VANOC will publish an updated business plan and operations budget early in 2009.

During the year, VANOC’s payroll grew to 773 full-time equivalent employees from 426 a year earlier. The five outdoor venues and UBC Thunderbird Arena were substantially completed.

From http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/2008/10/16/7108891.html

Olympic Evictions Declared Illegal

Pivot Legal Society and a coalition of advocacy groups won two low-income housing eviction- and rent-increase cases for residents of one of the Downtown Eastside’s low-income hotels today.

Two residents of the Golden Crown Hotel received notice today from the Residential Tenancy Branch that their illegal eviction notices and rent increases linked to the Olympics were set aside.

The eviction notices given were for March 31, 2007, to the 28 units in the Golden Crown Hotel located across the street from the Woodward’s building. The notices and rent increases are linked to the 2010 Olympics as owners of the hotel have indicated that they would like to use the hotel to provide housing to Olympic workers rather than the current residents.

Read more http://mostlywater.org/olympic_evictions_declared_illegal

Tickets to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games go on sale on Oct. 3. (Vancouver Organizing Committee)

can skip to the front of the line and buy your 2010 Winter Olympics tickets sooner.

Guaranteed ticket and hotel packages go on sale Friday through VANOC sponsor CoSport on a first-come, first-served basis.

Sticker shock is likely when prices are also revealed on Friday via the New Jersey company’s website. During the Beijing Games, CoSport charged $468 US a night at the four-star China People’s Palace hotel. Pre- and post-Olympic room rates were $88 US to $150 US.

VANOC and CoSport’s parallel five-week ticket application windows opened last Friday.

Residents of United States, Australia and various European countries will pay a hefty markup on the prices VANOC is offering to Canadian residents. For example, a $1,118 opening ceremony ticket for Canadian residents is US$1,294 through CoSport.

No line if you pay up

markup is a whopping $281 after currency conversion.

from http://vancouver.24hrs.ca

Seats for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver go on sale Friday, but fans don’t have to worry about getting a wristband or camping out all night to get a space in line.

Instead of selling tickets on a first-come, first-served basis, the Vancouver Organizing Committee has given fans five weeks to submit their choices online.

The seats will then be distributed equally by computer, regardless of when the request was made. When demand exceeds supply, a lottery will determine who gets which seats.

But people who choose one of several dozen ticket packages that include a variety of events will get priority over those buying individual seats.

Prices for individual tickets range from $25 for events like Nordic skiing to over $1,000 for the top seats at the opening and closing ceremonies and do not include service and delivery charges.

VANOC has already announced there will be no public parking at any of the events, so service fees will include access to some Olympic buses and public transit.

But the cost of a seat on a special bus between Vancouver and events in Whistler, B.C. will be extra.

Organizers say the online ticket ordering system has been vigorously tested and will be able to withstand the expected pressure of hundreds of people logging on.

VANOC has also reduced the number of seats available to Olympic officials, International Olympic Committee members and official sponsors in an effort to avoid having thousands of empty seats in the stands, as happened in Beijing.

Officials also promised to crackdown on ticket scalping by setting up VANOC’s own online ticket reselling service.

from http://www.cbc.ca/canada

Vancouver 2010 officials unveiled a Youth Participation Program Monday in which young people ages 15 to 19 are invited to volunteer for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. The program is focused mainly in the Sea to Sky corridor between Vancouver and Whistler, where the events take place.

Residents in the area are asked to form groups of 10, with an adult chaperone, to register for “exciting” volunteer opportunities leading up to and during the 2010 Winter Games.

Donna Wilson, VANOC executive vice president, workforce and sustainability said, “volunteers from previous Games tell us that being an Olympic or Paralympic volunteer is one of the most rewarding experiences they’ve ever had and we know that will also ring true here in 2010. We’re looking for enthusiasm, dedication and a commitment to demonstrating the very best of Canada and what we all represent. There are many opportunities for talented young people to contribute to the success of the Games. So please show your heart and play your part by volunteering for the 2010 Winter Games”.

The Vancouver 2010 official website http://www.vancouver2010.com provides more information

Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/timfarley/2654073113/
Vanoc hopes to embrace a resort mentality where one call will lead to any service.

So when athletes begin checking in to the Vancouver and Whistler villages, Vanoc’s vice-president of services and villages wants them to know they will only have one number to call if they need anything.

One number for a wake-up call. The same number for laundry service. And for any kind of help. He doesn’t want them distracted from their efforts on the field of play.

It is a concept that has never been used before at the Games, he said. In the past, organizing committees have used an old style of multiple employees for single needs that wastes resources and increases the possibility that important tasks will get overlooked.

Sarp knows what he’s talking about.

Before he came to work for the Vancouver Organizing Committee three years ago, he spent much of his career managing properties for high-end hotel chains, including Intercontinental, Hilton, Pan Pacific and Mandarin Oriental.

He’s lived in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, the U.S. and Turkey.

He brought in Service One at hotels in Yokohama and Singapore, he said, and it will work at the Olympics.

“It’s a hotel resort concept, no question. That’s been our vision from day one.”

Last week, Sarp wrapped up a 10-day observation tour of the Beijing Games. He came over after the Olympics to watch how the Beijing Organizing Committee converted the athletes village and food services for the Paralympics.

What he found, he said, was a smooth operation that quickly sorted out accommodation issues for nearly 6,500 athletes and coaches from 148 countries.

Bocog put massive amounts of young manpower into making the Games work but didn’t use the Service One concept.

Beijing’s model is one he says he can’t afford to use in Vancouver, where he wants to deliver the same service with less staff.

“We won’t have the sheer numbers that they have here. In the villages, for example, they have more than one-to-one, one workforce for one guest. There is no way in hell we can do that in Vancouver, nor do we want to do that in Vancouver.”

Sarp said the key for him is to have one employee deal with many areas of responsibility.

“Our style of delivery is going to be very different, and the reason it’s going to be different is because we are going to need to work in a multi-functional approach.

“That way, unlike most hotels where you have a room service button and a housekeeping button and a front office button and a bell desk button, you call one location with one button and all your needs are channelled through that concept.”

read more http://www.canada.com

photo from http://flickr.com/photos/bobkh/423388876/

Visitors from around the world meet Vancouver at Vancouver International, and 2010 Olympic organizers are making a big bid to make sure they are greeted by a strong representation of the 2010 Games.

Vanoc and Vancouver International Airport have just opened their first dedicated Vancouver 2010 store, a 1,300-square-foot boutique located in the international departures area of the facility.

“It’s an ideal market for us, and an ideal place for us to be,” said Caley Denton, Vanoc’s vice-president of ticketing and consumer marketing

“People who come to Vancouver look for 2010 merchandise, and if they can get it conveniently at the airport, that’s a great thing for us.

“At the same time, local people who are going abroad and want to take a gift with them, they know they can pick [2010 gear] up at the airport.”

Vanoc expects sales of licensed merchandise to generate $46 million in royalties to support its budget. To earn that revenue will require $500 million in total sales. At the end of April, some $7.8 million were earned in merchandising royalties, according to Vanoc’s latest quarterly report.

Read more - http://www.canada.com