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Vancouver, BC — It was announced this morning by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) that Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, has accepted the role as patron of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Truce.

“The Olympic Truce is an opportunity for all of us to contribute to a more peaceful society. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to stand with the Governor General to share this message and encourage people to express what peace means to them,” explained John Furlong, VANOC’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our hope is that by reflecting on that question, we are inspired to act on it, thereby creating an ongoing legacy of the 2010 Games.”

“The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Truce provides us all with a wonderful opportunity to expand the circles of peace and solidarity in communities across Canada and abroad. Through a call to action, it challenges us to channel our creative energy towards ensuring that respect and tolerance prevails in our families, our schools and our neighbourhoods. I encourage all Canadians to get involved,” said the Governor General.

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Truce Program is taking a grassroots approach through initiatives that centre on the belief that lasting peace starts at the local level. The program will promote dialogue, inclusion and mutual understanding through a number of projects, including a youth forum taking place in Burnaby, BC this afternoon. In the spirit of the Governor General’s Youth Dialogue Series, Her Excellency is calling on young people to become ambassadors of peace and solidarity and inviting all generations to ensure youth are given a pivotal role in efforts to create a more compassionate, just and fraternal world.

As part of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Truce Program, two unique initiatives created by VANOC with the goal of engaging youth, were announced today and aim to extend the Olympic Truce experience beyond the Games period.

CanadaCODE Challenge

All Canadians can get involved in the Olympic Truce by responding to the question: “In your life or community, how do you “Make Your Peace?” and posting words or photos at www.vancouver2010.com/CODE. Canada CODE is a bilingual website collecting the words and photos of Canadians to create an online portrait of the country as we welcome the world in 2010.

Make Your Peace:  An Olympic Truce Guide For Educators

Designed for classroom teaching, the guide seeks to engage Canadian youth in the Olympic Truce by learning about the value of sport and inspiring them to act on the principles of Olympism in their everyday lives through fun, interactive, and reflective school projects. Designed by /EDU, the online Canadian school portal for the Games created by VANOC, the educators’ guide will be available in the coming weeks at www.vancouver2010.com/edu.

A selection of some of the best poems, photos, school projects, and short text messages submitted through these projects will be displayed at Games time in Vancouver to inspire all who see them to carry on the legacy of the “Make Your Peace” message in their own lives and home countries.

The Olympic Truce
The Olympic Truce helps further dialogue and understanding based on the principle that sport can inspire peace. In 2010, athletes will set aside their political, religious and social differences and compete on a level playing field in the pursuit of excellence. Their sportsmanship and behaviour is an example of how countries and individuals can find constructive ways to uphold the Olympic values of respect and friendship.

This marks the first time Canada has been responsible for leading Olympic Truce efforts since the ancient tradition, dating back to 776 BC in Greece, was revitalized in 1992. For more information, visit www.olympictruce.org.

About VANOC

VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X 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.

Press Contact
If you are a member of the media, please contact mediarelations@vancouver2010.com

For all other inquiries, please contact info@vancouver2010.com

Vancouver 2010

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Vancouver, BC — As the nations of the world prepare to send their top athletes to compete in Canada at the upcoming 2010 Winter Games in the spirit of peace and friendship, the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) encourages everyone to make the Olympic Truce meaningful in their own way in the lead up to the Games.

A grassroots program created by VANOC aims to extend the Olympic values of friendship and respect through an open invitation to ‘Make Your Peace’. Initiatives will encourage individuals to create everyday peace at home, schools, work, and in the community, based on the belief that lasting peace starts at the local level.

Details of the program, which will promote dialogue, inclusion, mutual understanding, and peace through a number of initiatives, including a youth forum in Burnaby, BC on September 28, will be rolled out over the coming months.

“The ability to inspire peace is in the choices we each make. We can always choose a more peaceful route in this world if we take a moment to think about the impact of our actions on others,” explained John Furlong, VANOC’s Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of the International Olympic Truce Foundation. 

“The Vancouver 2010 Winter Games are an opportunity to highlight sport as a catalyst for peace among nations and among people,” he continued. “Every athlete is held to account on the playing field where the values of respect, fair play and inclusion must prevail. The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Truce is about harnessing the values of sport and the Olympic Games as instruments of peace in our everyday lives.”

The philosophy of the Olympic Truce is simple: sport can inspire peace. In 2010, athletes will set aside their political, religious and social differences and compete on a level playing field in the pursuit of excellence. Their sportsmanship and behaviour are examples of how countries and individuals can find constructive ways to uphold the values of respect and friendship. 

The 2010 Winter Games mark the first time Canada has been responsible for leading Olympic Truce efforts since the ancient tradition, dating back to 776 BC in Greece, was revitalized in 1992. For more information on the Olympic Truce, visit www.olympic.org and www.olympictruce.org.

As part of commemorating the Olympic Truce, it is the tradition for the Host Country to present a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly calling for a truce during the Olympic Games. The truce encourages a peaceful environment and ensures safe passage to, and participation of, athletes at the Games and serves to mobilize the youth of the world to the cause of peace. The Government of Canada intends to present the resolution for the 2010 Winter Games at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in October.

VANOC is also working on a Canadian interpretation of a truce “wall” in the athletes’ villages. At past Games, these walls have largely been places for athletes and officials at the Games to sign declarations expressing their wish for a more peaceful world. The Vancouver 2010 version will be in the same spirit and details will remain under wraps until revealed closer to Games time.

About VANOC
VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X 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.

Press Contact
If you are a member of the media, please contact mediarelations@vancouver2010.com

For all other inquiries, please contact info@vancouver2010.com

Vancouver 2010

Vancouver, BC — Stay toasty warm this winter and show your support of Canadian athletes in their quest for gold at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games and beyond by heading to a Zellers, the Bay or Home Outfitters store to don a pair of Vancouver 2010 Red Mittens — the “it” souvenir of the Games.

The knitted mittens, which retail for a pair, starting October 1^st,  are one of the must-have mementos of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and match the mittens that will be worn by the 12,000 torchbearers who will carry the flame to more than 1,000 communities during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, starting in just one month. Net proceeds from every pair sold will complete the funding of the five-year Own the Podium 2010 initiative, which provides Canadian athletes with top equipment and training for the 2010 Games.  Any additional funds raised through the Red Mittens campaign will support a variety of athlete- and sport-based initiatives. 

The mittens go on sale Thursday, October 1, at www.vancouver2010.com/redmittens and at Olympic Stores at the Vancouver International Airport and in Whistler.  The Hudson’s Bay Company, Canada’s largest retailer and General Retail Merchant of the 2010 Winter Games, is playing a vital role in manufacturing and retailing the mittens at its Zellers, the Bay and Home Outfitters locations across the country. Red Mittens will also be available for purchase while supplies last in a selection of the almost 200 celebration communities along the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay route.

“This is a way for every Canadian to feel a close personal connection to Canada’s Games and to each other by supporting our best Canadian winter athletes,” said John Furlong, Chief Executive Officer of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). “We’re hoping that everywhere the Olympic Flame visits in Canada it will be greeted and cheered on its journey by a sea of Red Mittens waved proudly by Canadians in the crowd.”

The mittens feature a white Maple Leaf in the heart of each palm (perfect for cheering and waving!) and the Olympic Rings and Vancouver 2010 stitched on the outside. They are a unifying element that knit together Olympic torchbearers, Canadian athletes, Canadian fans and Olympic supporters around the world.

“As an athlete, it’s incredibly motivating to see the support of Canadian fans in the crowd at the Games,” said Veronica Brenner, a silver medalist in aerials at the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games, who is responsible for on-site Games-time planning for Own the Podium 2010. “The Red Mittens campaign takes that support even further — it’s a visible reminder that the wearers of the mittens believe in you as an athlete and are supporting your efforts to fulfil your dreams in 2010 and beyond.”

“It’ll be incredibly exciting to see the crowds in 2010 waving their Red Mittens in the stands to cheer on the athletes or while watching the Games at home on TV,” she added. “But knowing Canadians, I’m sure they’ll come up with other ways to creatively use and show off their Red Mittens to let the world know the Great White North knows how to get behind its athletes!”

The sale of Red Mittens is supported by VANOC’s television and print media partners.  CTV, Canada’s Olympic Network, will support the campaign with its on-air talent and stars from hit network series to raise awareness and generate excitement. Tune in on September 30^th, when CTV kicks off National Red Mittens day.  CTV and /A\ hosts across Canada will don Red Mittens including local weather personalities, anchors and talent from eTalk, Canada AM and CP24.

In addition, a 30-second promotional spot created by the award-winning CTV Creative Agency will air on the main network, CTV Specialty channels, radio stations, and online with strategic on-air placement in Olympic-themed programming. Online, a custom landing page will live at www.CTVOlympics.ca and www.RDSolympiques.ca to direct site visitors on where to order Red Mittens and find out more about the campaign, while The Globe and Mail and www.globeandmail.comwill feature advertisements in support of the Red Mittens initiative. 

Canwest Publishing Inc.’s regional daily publications and their online sites will also feature “Wear Your Heart on Your Hands” Red Mittens advertising. Gesca Ltee will also feature online and print advertising for les mitaines rouges.

For more information, visit www.vancouver2010.com/redmittens.

Note to Photo Editors:

Images of the “Wear Your Heart on Your Hands” Red Mitten campaign artwork, as well as the Vancouver 2010 mascots wearing the mittens, are available as high resolution downloads from the media centre image gallery at www.vancouver2010.com.

About VANOC
VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X 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.

Press Contact
If you are a member of the media, please contact mediarelations@vancouver2010.com

For all other inquiries, please contact info@vancouver2010.com

Vancouver 2010

Vancouver, BC — Some of the world’s most artistic and nimblest athletes on skates will conduct their final training sessions for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games on the ice at two brand-new community arenas, officially opening this week in Vancouver.

The .9-million Trout Lake Centre, which opens today to the public, will host training sessions for the world’s top ladies, men, pairs, and dance figure skaters, while the .9-million community arena at the Killarney Centre, which opens Friday, will host training for short track speed skaters. The Pacific Coliseum will hold the Games-time competitions for both sports.

The arenas are managed by the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation and were funded by the board, the City of Vancouver, the federal and provincial governments via the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), and the Grandview Community Association and Killarney Community Centre Society. Construction started at Killarney in November 2007 and in March 2008 at Trout Lake. The arenas, which are both located in east Vancouver, replace and upgrade older community facilities.

“Congratulations to the Vancouver Park Board, the City of Vancouver, the surrounding communities, our venue team, and all of the workers on a job well done,” said Dan Doyle, VANOC’s executive vice president of construction. “These important training venues, built with the highest environmental standards in mind, will not only serve an important role during the Games but also continue as much needed community facilities for recreational athletes young and old — a fitting legacy of the Games that will last for years to come.”

“These are stunning state-of-the-art ice arenas that will offer invaluable training space for athletes working to perfect their technique in the crucial days before they compete at the 2010 Winter Games,” added Jan Damnavits, VANOC’s director of event services and venue management, city operations. “These excellent training venues will have the same international ice size the athletes will compete on at the Games, as well as crash pads for the speed skaters at Killarney instead of the regular dasher boards used in hockey.”

On January 15, 2010, VANOC will take control of the arenas to prepare them for their Games-time usage. Both will open for daily training from February 4 to 26 on Olympic-sized ice sheets (30.5 metres by 61 metres). Close to 150 athletes and 250 team officials representing 35 nations will use Trout Lake, while approximately 120 short track speed skaters representing 20 countries will use Killarney. In order to ensure the athletes can completely focus on their training these daily sessions will be closed to the public.

The Trout Lake facility is bathed in natural light and features stunning wooden panelling in the lobby and corridor ceilings milled from Douglas firs felled in a 2006 windstorm that devastated Vancouver’s picturesque Stanley Park. The building’s other sustainability features include, reusing heat generated by the arena’s refrigeration system to preheat hot water systems and change rooms warmed using heat pipe energy.

Blue vintage glass window panels are one of the most striking characteristics of the Killarney Centre’s new arena. Salvaged from the site’s original 1963 rink, the glass has been recycled into a beautiful work of Aboriginal art by Dionne Paul of Sechelt, BC, called The Eyes of the People, as part of the Vancouver 2010 Venues’ Aboriginal Art Program. Additional sustainability features include, using waste heat generated by the arena’s refrigeration system to warm spectator seating and change rooms.

Both buildings were constructed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards and will be converted to community recreation use after the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games.

Note to Photo Editors: Images are available of Trout Lake Centre and Killarney Centre at http://vancouver.ca/parks/news/download/recfacilities.htm.

About VANOC
VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X 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.

Press Contact
If you are a member of the media, please contact mediarelations@vancouver2010.com

For all other inquiries, please contact info@vancouver2010.com

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