The Olympic Park’s ‘Inclusive Design Strategy’ was recognised for the ‘Award for Equality and Diversity’ by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) at an awards ceremony last week.
Vancouver (AFP) – US speed skating star Shani Davis has a Japanese girlfriend, counts a Japanese rival as one of his friends and will carry a lucky mascot from the Asian nation on his skates at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
Davis, who became the first black Winter Olympic individual event champion by capturing 1,000m gold in 2006, has even been dishing out advice to teenage Japanese teenage skater Miho Takagi.
“I’m a big fan of Japan. I have a lucky pendant and I love Pikachu (a cartoon character printed on his skate guards). He’s my greatest fan,” said the 27-year-old at the Olympic Oval at Richmond in Vancouver’s suburbs, where he won 1500m gold at the world championships in 2009.
Davis said he was delighted to pass on tips to 15-year-old Takagi.
“It was realy nice to see someone so young on the circuit. It’s an opportunity of a lifetime for her,” said the American.
“(I told her) not to get too distracted. Most of the time it can get distracting if you are not used to it. When I was 15 I was watching the Olympics on television.”
Davis admits he is also a fan of friend Joji Kato who will take part in the 500m.
“We talk all the time. His strength is his amazing speed from 100m. He runs those corners like nobody else. He is light as well. I think the ice conditions are good for him.”
Davis added that his girlfriend will not be in Vancouver.
“She’s supporting me from afar,” he said.
dj10
Vancouver (AFP) – US speed skating star Shani Davis has a Japanese girlfriend, counts a Japanese rival as one of his friends and will carry a lucky mascot from the Asian nation on his skates at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
Davis, who became the first black Winter Olympic individual event champion by capturing 1,000m gold in 2006, has even been dishing out advice to teenage Japanese teenage skater Miho Takagi.
“I’m a big fan of Japan. I have a lucky pendant and I love Pikachu (a cartoon character printed on his skate guards). He’s my greatest fan,” said the 27-year-old at the Olympic Oval at Richmond in Vancouver’s suburbs, where he won 1500m gold at the world championships in 2009.
Davis said he was delighted to pass on tips to 15-year-old Takagi.
“It was realy nice to see someone so young on the circuit. It’s an opportunity of a lifetime for her,” said the American.
“(I told her) not to get too distracted. Most of the time it can get distracting if you are not used to it. When I was 15 I was watching the Olympics on television.”
Davis admits he is also a fan of friend Joji Kato who will take part in the 500m.
“We talk all the time. His strength is his amazing speed from 100m. He runs those corners like nobody else. He is light as well. I think the ice conditions are good for him.”
Davis added that his girlfriend will not be in Vancouver.
“She’s supporting me from afar,” he said.
dj10
Tips and information to enhance the Olympic spectator experience
Vancouver, BC― Being a part of an Olympic Games is an exciting and inspirational moment for all. With five days to go before the Opening Ceremony for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, organizers want to ensure spectators, as well as athletes have all the information they need to fully enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Attending the Games is different than any other large-scale international sport or cultural event and to help spectators optimize their experience, a summary of key information and tips has been issued by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC).
This summary will assist ticketholders in determining what they should wear, what they should bring and how they will travel throughout Metro Vancouver and the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW). The information identifies city specific and mountain specific tips to ensure spectators “know before they go” and have an extraordinary experience.
Spectator tips for what to wear and what to bring to venues:
In the city:
Be sure to dress for cold and wet weather. Metro Vancouver has a beautiful, temperate climate but it can be unpredictable. Be prepared for changing conditions by wearing waterproof, layered clothing that protects against wind and cold. You may be in a chilly indoor environment for several hours, or required to wait outside for up to an hour while we unload the venue from the previous event.
Folding, collapsible umbrellas are permitted. Umbrellas that are small enough to go under your seat (under 60 centimetres when closed) will be permitted inside the venues. Rain ponchos will also be available for sale at most venues.
In the mountains (Whistler and Cypress Mountain venues):
Remember to wear windproof, waterproof hats, scarves, gloves or mittens. At mountain venues you may be outside for extended periods of time with limited or no access to shelter.
What to bring:
For all venues:
In the mountain (Whistler and Cypress Mountain venues) specifically:
How to get there:
For all venues:
For the Cypress Mountain venue specifically:
Be prepared to walk from the bus drop-off point at the venue. Remember to wear weatherproof shoes with good traction as spectators will need to walk 1.6 kilometres to two km on gravel to reach the stadiums. Additional details and venue maps can be found in the spectator guide delivered with your tickets and online at www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-spectator-guide/.
Whistler venues (Whistler Creekside, Whistler Olympic Park/Whistler Paralympic Park and The Whistler Sliding Centre) specifically:
For the most up-to-date information available now and during the Games, visit www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-spectator-guide/. The section reviews transportation options, venue specific recommendations and directions, ceremonies and celebration information, as well as providing detailed lists of prohibited and restricted actions and items. Spectators can also sign up for immediate alerts and notifications via e-mail. A new feature now available for maximum usability and convenience is a spectator guide phone application, which can be downloaded onto Samsung mobile phones.
About VANOC
VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com.
Tips and information to enhance the Olympic spectator experience
Vancouver, BC― Being a part of an Olympic Games is an exciting and inspirational moment for all. With five days to go before the Opening Ceremony for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, organizers want to ensure spectators, as well as athletes have all the information they need to fully enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Attending the Games is different than any other large-scale international sport or cultural event and to help spectators optimize their experience, a summary of key information and tips has been issued by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC).
This summary will assist ticketholders in determining what they should wear, what they should bring and how they will travel throughout Metro Vancouver and the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW). The information identifies city specific and mountain specific tips to ensure spectators “know before they go” and have an extraordinary experience.
Spectator tips for what to wear and what to bring to venues:
In the city:
Be sure to dress for cold and wet weather. Metro Vancouver has a beautiful, temperate climate but it can be unpredictable. Be prepared for changing conditions by wearing waterproof, layered clothing that protects against wind and cold. You may be in a chilly indoor environment for several hours, or required to wait outside for up to an hour while we unload the venue from the previous event.
Folding, collapsible umbrellas are permitted. Umbrellas that are small enough to go under your seat (under 60 centimetres when closed) will be permitted inside the venues. Rain ponchos will also be available for sale at most venues.
In the mountains (Whistler and Cypress Mountain venues):
Remember to wear windproof, waterproof hats, scarves, gloves or mittens. At mountain venues you may be outside for extended periods of time with limited or no access to shelter.
What to bring:
For all venues:
In the mountain (Whistler and Cypress Mountain venues) specifically:
How to get there:
For all venues:
For the Cypress Mountain venue specifically:
Be prepared to walk from the bus drop-off point at the venue. Remember to wear weatherproof shoes with good traction as spectators will need to walk 1.6 kilometres to two km on gravel to reach the stadiums. Additional details and venue maps can be found in the spectator guide delivered with your tickets and online at www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-spectator-guide/.
Whistler venues (Whistler Creekside, Whistler Olympic Park/Whistler Paralympic Park and The Whistler Sliding Centre) specifically:
For the most up-to-date information available now and during the Games, visit www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-spectator-guide/. The section reviews transportation options, venue specific recommendations and directions, ceremonies and celebration information, as well as providing detailed lists of prohibited and restricted actions and items. Spectators can also sign up for immediate alerts and notifications via e-mail. A new feature now available for maximum usability and convenience is a spectator guide phone application, which can be downloaded onto Samsung mobile phones.
About VANOC
VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com.
Dizin (AFP) – Marjan Kalhor, who never imagined she would one day become the first Iranian woman to take part in the Olympic Winter Games, insists her moment of history will not fall foul of her country’s conservative rulers.
Kalhor will compete in the Alpine slalom and giant slalom categories at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games from February 12 to 28.
“I’m thrilled to make it to the Olympics and even more honoured to be the national team’s flag bearer,” she told AFP in an interview at this northern Iranian ski resort where she grew up.
The 21-year-old is also confident she can keep Iran’s Islamic dress code when she takes part in the Games. In the Olympic village she will sport the traditional headscarf, but in competition she will dress like everyone else.
“Skiing is a sport which needs you to be fully clothed. So as far as the uniform for the competition goes, there is no problem — I’ll observe the Islamic dress code,” she said.
Kalhor, who will head a four-member Iranian team leaving on Monday, the only one from the Middle East, will follow in the footsteps of countrywoman Homa Hosseini, a rower who was Iran’s flag bearer in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
The other members of the Islamic republic’s team in Canada are Porya Saveh Shemshaki and Hossein Saveh Shemshaki, competing in the men’s Alpine skiing event, and Seyed Sattar Seyd in the Cross-country.
Kalhor’s ambitions really took off when she won a national event at the age of just 11.
“I grew up here in Dizin where my family skied,” said the skier whose role model is Alpine world champion Kathrin Zettel of Austria.
“I started when I was four, but when I won first place in the national youth games at the age of 11 it inspired me.”
Skiing is not widespread in Iran, despite the country having two major mountain ranges in the north and in west. And the season is short, depending on snowfall.
Dizin, in the Alborz mountains some 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Tehran, attracts both Iranian and foreign skiers.
It can also be dangerous. Last Thursday, an avalanche killed at least eight Iranians including a woman when it struck Dizin and nearby Shemshak.
Kalhor has seen steady success in international events, but her big moment came last year at the World Championship at Val d’Isere in France when she got enough points to qualify for the Olympic Winter Games slalom.
“I was very excited, and I said to myself that I can improve my performance and qualify for other events,” Kalhor said.
Later in 2009 she managed to muster enough International Ski Federation (FIS) points in Turkey to qualify also for the giant slalom in Vancouver.
Iranians have competed nine times in the Olympic Winter Games since 1956, but have failed to bag any medals. The best finish was when Hassan Shemshaki came 30th in the men’s slalom in 1998 in Japan.
Kalhor is realistic about her chances, and does not expect to mount the medal winners’ podium, but she is still determined to give Vancouver her best.
“The kind of snow we compete on here in Iran is different from there. The snow on the pistes there is more packed than ours. They’re more advanced when it comes to preparing pistes,” she said.
fpn/jds/srm/dj10
Dizin (AFP) – Marjan Kalhor, who never imagined she would one day become the first Iranian woman to take part in the Olympic Winter Games, insists her moment of history will not fall foul of her country’s conservative rulers.
Kalhor will compete in the Alpine slalom and giant slalom categories at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games from February 12 to 28.
“I’m thrilled to make it to the Olympics and even more honoured to be the national team’s flag bearer,” she told AFP in an interview at this northern Iranian ski resort where she grew up.
The 21-year-old is also confident she can keep Iran’s Islamic dress code when she takes part in the Games. In the Olympic village she will sport the traditional headscarf, but in competition she will dress like everyone else.
“Skiing is a sport which needs you to be fully clothed. So as far as the uniform for the competition goes, there is no problem — I’ll observe the Islamic dress code,” she said.
Kalhor, who will head a four-member Iranian team leaving on Monday, the only one from the Middle East, will follow in the footsteps of countrywoman Homa Hosseini, a rower who was Iran’s flag bearer in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
The other members of the Islamic republic’s team in Canada are Porya Saveh Shemshaki and Hossein Saveh Shemshaki, competing in the men’s Alpine skiing event, and Seyed Sattar Seyd in the Cross-country.
Kalhor’s ambitions really took off when she won a national event at the age of just 11.
“I grew up here in Dizin where my family skied,” said the skier whose role model is Alpine world champion Kathrin Zettel of Austria.
“I started when I was four, but when I won first place in the national youth games at the age of 11 it inspired me.”
Skiing is not widespread in Iran, despite the country having two major mountain ranges in the north and in west. And the season is short, depending on snowfall.
Dizin, in the Alborz mountains some 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Tehran, attracts both Iranian and foreign skiers.
It can also be dangerous. Last Thursday, an avalanche killed at least eight Iranians including a woman when it struck Dizin and nearby Shemshak.
Kalhor has seen steady success in international events, but her big moment came last year at the World Championship at Val d’Isere in France when she got enough points to qualify for the Olympic Winter Games slalom.
“I was very excited, and I said to myself that I can improve my performance and qualify for other events,” Kalhor said.
Later in 2009 she managed to muster enough International Ski Federation (FIS) points in Turkey to qualify also for the giant slalom in Vancouver.
Iranians have competed nine times in the Olympic Winter Games since 1956, but have failed to bag any medals. The best finish was when Hassan Shemshaki came 30th in the men’s slalom in 1998 in Japan.
Kalhor is realistic about her chances, and does not expect to mount the medal winners’ podium, but she is still determined to give Vancouver her best.
“The kind of snow we compete on here in Iran is different from there. The snow on the pistes there is more packed than ours. They’re more advanced when it comes to preparing pistes,” she said.
fpn/jds/srm/dj10
London (AFP) – British Olympic chiefs on Friday bailed out winter sports athletes bound for the Vancouver Games after the national ski and snowboard federation was placed into administration.
The British Ski and Snowboard Federation, which trades as Snowsport GB, said last month that it needed a 200,000 pounds (324,120 dollars) cash injection to keep operating, a sum that was not forthcoming.
“It is with disappointment that the British Olympic Association (BOA) has learnt today that one of its member governing bodies, Snowsport GB, has been placed into administration,” the BOA said in a statement.
The federation’s financial problems had led to fears that snowboarder Zoe Gillings and skier Chemmy Alcott, two of Britain’s leading medal hopes in a country that has had rarely enjoyed sporting success on the slopes, wouldn’t be able to compete in the February 12-28 Games in Canada.
But the BOA moved swiftly to guarantee that they would indeed be featuring in Olympic competition.
“With the overall concern for Team GB’s skiers and snowboarders preparing for the competition of their lives at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the BOA will immediately put in place a contingency plan to ensure that the interests of the athletes are protected,” it said.
“The BOA will make sure that the 14 skiers and snowboarders selected to represent Team GB can attend the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
“In addition the BOA will ensure that the athletes and their accredited coaches and support personnel have the resources and logistical support necessary to compete at their highest level in Vancouver.”
The BOA explained that with the endorsement of the International Ski Federation (FIS) it had mobilised a current dormant subsidiary company, Team GB Ltd, to act as the National Governing Body for Ski and Snowboarding.
“In this capacity, Team GB Ltd will trade under the name of BSS (British Ski and Snowboarding) and will ensure that FIS registration and FIS race entries continue for all accredited athletes without undue disruption.”
The BOA added, however, that the BSS was merely a bridging the gap and that after the Games there will be a full consultation process to determine how the skiers, snowboarders and all interested parties wish to see the governing body for the sport functioning.
BOA chairman Colin Moynihan said: “It is with great regret that one of our governing bodies has gone into administration, particularly at such a critical time for our Olympic team.
“The National Olympic Committee has immediately sought to implement a solution to this dilemma. The athletes and coaches can rest assured that we will work around the clock to support them and help ensure that those involved in the sport can find the best possible structure for it going forward.”
Snowboarder Gillings called the BOA’s move “welcome good news”.
“It’s been a difficult time for a lot of snowsport athletes, and I’m very hopeful that this will be a very positive step forward for skiers and snowboarders alike,” she said.
lp10
Toronto (AFP) – Defenceman Mike Komisarek will not play for Team USA in the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games because of a shoulder injury that will need surgery.
The Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman will also miss the remainder of the National Hockey League season.
The 28-year-old Komisarek, who has not played an NHL game since early January, will be operated on next week, the Leafs said.
The news comes as another blow to the US team which will compete in the ice hockey tournament that begins February 16. The Americans open the tournament with the first game of the day against Switzerland at Canada Hockey Place arena.
The US already lost defenceman Paul Martin of the New Jersey Devils with a broken arm.
gph
Raise a glass and support our Olympic and Paralympic athletes in 2010! Millions of Canadians came together in 1988 during the Olympic Winter Games in Calgary to help athletes and coaches by purchasing over 50 million Petro-Canada glasses.
Petro-Canada, a proud Vancouver 2010 National Partner, introduced a set of glassware to support our athletes in their preparation for the 2010 Winter Games. And now the 20-ounce “Jericho” pilsner glass, the fourth and final piece in the Vancouver 2010 branded glassware series, is available at participating Petro-Canada and Sunoco retail locations.
The “Jericho” pilsner glass is only $3.99 (plus taxes); approximately 50 per cent of the proceeds go towards supporting Canadian athletes in their bid for podium success at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Each Vancouver 2010 glass is a limited-edition keepsake and displays a petroglyph on one side and the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games emblem embossed on the other. The other glasses in the series — the Capilano, the Robson and the Garibaldi — are available today for $3.99 (plus taxes), so why not complete your collection with the “Jericho” pilsner and help our athletes fuel their dreams in 2010!