Closing Ceremony

SALUTO,

Unlike the opening ceremony where I saw the reharsal a few days ahead of the actual show, for the closing ceremony I had event tickets. I thought this would be the ultimate moment of the Games. I went in with the hopes of being surprised, but nothing did. I was happy that we were able to laugh at ourselves about the torch miscue, but honnestly we should not accept anything but perfection for a canadian display of talent. Back to the finally, the Games were awesome the closing ceremony was ok.. I just wish we were able to see an extraordinary display of Canadian talent though.. We have to learn to be perfect, especially when the world is watching.

The show was good though...

Concerning the hockey game, I am really happy that we won. But lets not forget that we compete and did very well in other sports....

Cheers,

X-Country Marathon (50 km)

Today was the best event of the Olympic Games.

X-country is to me the most challenging event at the Olympic Games. I am as you must have guest a cross-country skier. But really, I think it is the best event because not everone can do this event. Most people actually would not be able to complete this event. To me that is what makes it so prestigous. It takes true fitness to be able to complete such a distance and such a sport. The Canadians performed very well but they could've done better. We were at mid-race 3 and 4 and we finished 5 and 17... Oh well, the winning countries are some of the countries that I am looking to move to (Norway, Sweden, Germany)... All countries that support ultimate fitness performances...

I dare you to go x-country soon!

Tomorrow my experience at the Closing Ceremony and a little section on the gold medal hockey game

Un peu de Tremblant a Vancouver

Aujourd'hui nous avons vu un fier canadien bien réussir, très bien réussir. Son nom: Jasey-Jay Anderson, ce jeune homme qui compétitionne sur la scene internationale depuis plusieurs années ne cesse d'impressionné. Il competitionne un sport très monotone et qui n'avance pas vraiment à cause de sa nature. Je m'explique, les snowboarders sont relaxe maintenant, l'idée de faire du carving (le sport que Jasey fait). Ce sport n'est plus vraiment pratiqué dans notre région. Je me demande si ce sport est toujours pratiqué en Europe. En tout cas, Jasey est un bel exemple canadien, il est bilingue, père de famille et surtout très approchable.

Quelle récolte de médaille d'Or avons nous fait a ces jeux! Il reste a voir si le hockey masculin va remporter le médaille d'or...

The Vancouver Surprise

Hello all,

Today's blog will talk about my Olympic experience in Vancouver (not about sport).

I am amazed by Canadians attitude a these Games. I am personnally a proud Canadian but I feel that there is a 'Leafs' attitude around here. What I mean by a Leafs attitude is this arrongance. After winning the Men's Hockey game versus the Slovaks, people in the Vancouver street were chanting USA SUCKS... This sword of attitude, in my opinion, is not representative of being a Canadian. It is awesome to cheer for your country and to hope, but instead of being cut throat about, it we should congratulate extraordinary human performance no matter the sport...

Again on this atittude that is present in Vancouver, people seem to take the Games as a drinking feast. Every single event that we went to people in front and behind us in the stands were drunk. When we get back from event people in the street are drunk. When we exit the HBC superstore (my volunteer experience), people are drunk. People start drinking really early and do not know when to stop. Some of you will say well what the hell drinking is part of sport, I don't disagree. But I do think that 'drunkeness' ruins the Olympic spirit. In my opinion if you want to get drunk watching these events you should stay home. Why pay 100 of dollars to watch live events when you can't enjoy the event or even remember it...

What I'm describing here, is that Canadian?

Victory Ceremony

A little late on this one...

I was able to sleep in this morning so I enjoyed my first break....

Last night I went to my first Victory Ceremony at BC Place. These ceremonies are quite interesting but become boring fairly quickly. The previous day's winners are celebrated. The come on stage.. and then the protocol stuff starts...

I'm happy I saw it once but I wouldn't want to see it twice...

Very exciting tonight was the victory of our women, who just won GOLD. FÉLICITATION LES FILLES!

Qu'est-il arrive a la Suede

Bonjour,

J'aimerais debute ce blogue en m'excusant pour le manque d'accent, l'ordinateur que j'utilise presentement n'a pas l'option de changer le clavier...

Hier soir nous sommes aller voir le match de la Finland contre la Republique Czech. Un bon match, mais, il n'a pas eu beaucoup de but... La Finland a remporter le match par un score de 2-0.

Durant cette rencontre, j'ai reflechi sur les joueurs que nous avons perdu (a Ottawa). Le soir d'avant j'ai vu Marian Hossa en action et ce soir j'ai vu Martin Havlat. Je crois que ces joueurs avaient encore beaucoup a offrir a notre equipe. La preuve est que c'est joueur rendent encore en 2010 leur equipe de la LNH meilleur qu'elle le sont vraiment.

Une surprise c'est produite hier soir, la Suede a perdu le match contre la Slovakie. Ce verdict devrait donc ouvrir la porte a une medaille d'or pour le Canada au hockey masculin...

_______________

Today do not forget to watch TV. You will see Joanie Rochette, win a medal. You will also so our Canadian women's team win gold versus USA.

As you all know Joanie lost her mother during these games. She dies of a Heart Attack. Her courage, perseverence, will, and concentration is remarkable. For that reason she should be the flag bearer for the closing ceremony...

Bon courage Joanie, nous sommes avec toi!

Norway vs Slovakia

Last night was a SICK game....

Andree and I left COH really early to attempt to buy tickets for the Canada/Germany Game. We visited the box office without any success and then attempted to buy tickets from scalpers. Scalpers or what you could also call them scammers. One of them wanted to sell us the best seating ticket ever (apprently) for 650$ per ticket. YEAH RIGHT!

We decided to go watch the game in a bar. This was a wise decision because the game was a blowout!

LAter that evening we had tockets for the Norway/Slovakia match, what a game. Going into it I thought that game would be one sided with Slovakia's offensive power but I was wrong. The Game was tied 3-3- after the second period. Going into the third we felt Norway had a chance to win the game. Fortunately for the Slovaks the were able to come on top. I don't see them having a chance to win against the next opponent (SWEDEN)..

We'll see..

________________

Quel beau hockey que nous avons l'occasion de voir aux Jeux. Je suis impressionne par la vitesse du jeu et la seconde nature de la mise en echec. Une chose dont je ne suis pas surpris c'est la pietre performance des arbitres. En troisieme periode du match d'hier l'arbitre a omis d'appeler 7 punitions contre le Slovaks. Il a probablement perdu son sifflet durant l'intemission...

J'espere que les match eliminatoire sont mieu arbitre (non pas egalement mais justement!)

A demain

Women's hockey

Good Morning,

Good Morning GOOD MORNING its....

Last night I saw a playoff game of Women's hockey. Canada was playing Finland. Women's hockey is very entertainning to watch, eventhough the competition is poor. Our team is much stronger than the competition. But, competition aside, the style of play is very interesting, very little contact, lots of passes, and some very weak shots. Ok aside for the very weak shots and the no hitting the game is very well played.

Although I do not agree with massive hits, I think that body contact is an intergral part of the game. The purpose of body contact in hockey is not to injure but gain puck possesion. For the purpose and only for that purpose I must say that women's hockey does not get a good grade. A plyaer good potentially do some coast to coast without having any contact. Obvisouly this does not happen in women's hockey because they are very good at moving the puck around.

All and all a fun day at the rink, lots of people, lots of red and white, lots of goals, ans the obvious a big win!

See you tomorrow!

Ski-Cross

Good Morning,

Sorry for not writing to you last night, I was very tired after the 8 hour volunteer and the Ski-cross event.

The Ski cross event is a first t the Olympic Games. It is the ultimate event in my mind. The combination of speed, agility, strength, strategy, and tactic make for a promising futur.

For those of you who do not know how the event works.

1- Same course as snowboard cross

2- 33 competitiors race one at a time down the hill for best times

3- From the qualifiy time 32 competitors are divided in 8 pools of 4

4- Top two from each pool move on to the next round

5- From the 16 competitors remaining they are divided in 4 pools of 4

6- Top two from each pool move on to the next round

7- From the 8 Competitors remaining they are divided in 2 pools of 4

8-Top two from each pool move onto the finals

9- Finals - 4 competitors race down the course to crown a champion!

At yesterday's event 2 Canadians qualified for the semi (8 competitors total). From that group only 1 moved on to the next round. Debosco the final Canadian competitor finished fourth in the final race after a major fall less tan 50 meters from the finish line. The fall happened after jump was misjudge by the competitor... No medals:( but lots of fun!

Have a good day!

Are Canadians truly Canucks?

Hello,

Tonight after the short track event at the Pacific Coliseum I questioned myself over the fact that we are chockers. We had 2 Canadians in the final (of 5 competitors) and we came out with 0 medals. At times I feel like we are out of luck, but I question myself. Why can asian countries maintain their strength year after year.

I do not want to blame coaching or the Hamelin brothers for this but I do think that we are missing killer instinct.

I really enjoyed watching short track, to me this event was much better than the halfpipe.

Andree and I are looking or tickets at the Richmond Oval. If ever you know anyone who is selling, let us know...

Cheers

Friday night fever!

Vancouver loves to party on the weekends. Leaving COH tonight the streets were jam packed with families. It is awesome to see the enthusiasm this city has for hosting the Games.

This morning I had the opportunity to see two of my heroes. Believe or not this individuals are not athletes. I had the opportunity to see Holger Preuss a prof that writes about the economic impact of the Olympic Games and also Richard Pound the IOC member who is also on the board of VANOC. These two individuals met my expectations.

Cheers

PEI PARTY

Ok EAST COAST we love you...

Today the crowd gathered at the COH for a private event from individuals from PEI. It was great to hear the music, taste the food and enjoy their presence.

Another day with a medal! We are so happy around here to see that our Canadian athletes are continuously winning. For some events we were disapointed in our performance but with the few surprises that we have seen our objectives remain on PAR.

Since Lai's arrival we haven't seen any rain...

Tonight, Team Canada in hcokey struggled against Switzerland. In my view it will be a long and hard to tournament for us. We have to become way more offensive than what we are up to now...

the futur will tell how far we go!

An athlete looks like...

Hello,

Today I want to spend this blog on what it takes to be an athlete...

Your size, your age and your weight should never have an impact on how or what you can do. Peope who have the will can achieve what they want. Some of the athletes that walked into the Canadian Olympic House could be confused for your average Joe. And that's what athletes really are. It is a challenge for most to imagine that an athlete can do very well and my short or even be a small person. Well yes and chances are small athletes have qualities that the sport demands. Sure taller athletes dominate in some sports but come on most olympic sport do not require you to be 6 feet in order to challenge with the best.

People put to much emphasis on the size of an individual... It is much more interesting to have good hand-eye coordination, accuracy, agility, speed etc. This will assure that the athlete can aim high and meet their goals.

An athlete looks like me and you, obviously with a lot more training and a lot more will.

Cheers,
________________
Les gens ici sont heureux de parler a des benevoles qui sont bilingue. Il semblerait que certaines familles d'athlete auraient beaucoup de difficulte de communiquer dans leur langue. Tout cela dit, les jeux sont super bien organizer. Les benevoles du Covan sont impressionnant. Il est remarquable d'observer l'effort des organisateur pour la pluspart des details...

Vancouver est reellement une ville a visiter!

Bonne nuit

Men's Snowboard Half Pipe

OMG,

What a cool event. We woke up really early that day, did not have tickets, and made our best purchase thus far in Vancouver. The ride to Cypress Mountain was about 1 hour. The ride was pretty green, no snow up there. It was awesome to see the set up of the pipe. Right beside the halfpipe was the previous day event course (snowboard cross). WOW, the snowboard cross was quite the course, the drops were a lot more impressive in person.

Concerning the halfpipe event, it was a long day. Afternoon was qualifications and semi and at night was the final competitors. It was very warm in the stands during the afternoon but at night it became a little cool. The competition itself was awesome, but became really repetitive. Its very cool to see what these athletes do on a halfpipe, but the spins, flips and grabs become quite repetitive. We saw over 120 runs yesterday and must have seen at least 80 falls. I now understand why these guys can only compete for for a few years.

It was awesome though.
_________________________

C'etait super de voir un athlete canadien se qualifie pour la finale aujourd'hui. Mais je dois vous dire que parmi nous, nous sommes tres decu. Nous avions 3 competiteurs parmi les 20 autres, mais nous ne sommes pas arrive a remporter de medaille. En fin de compte a mon avis ce n'est pas necessairement remporter une medaille mais c'est plutot de ce donner une chance de remporter une medaille. Nous ne sommes pas arrive a competitionner une medaille, les autres etait dans une ligue appart, voila ce qui m'a decu.

a tous une superbe journee!

The NHL at the Games

Bonjour,

Le hockey est un sport que nous les canadiens adorons. Nous parlons souvent comme si nous appartenons ce sport. C'est fantastique de voir ce genre d'engouement pour une activite sportive.

Nous oublions parfois que plusieurs nations partagent cette emotion pour le hockey en plus de partager plein d'autre passion pour d'autre sport.

Il existe deux problemes reel pour le hockey au jeu, d'une perspective canadienne. Magre le fait que l'on dit que les athletes ne sont plus amateur lorsqu'ils se rendent au jeu, ils le sont tout de meme, surtout l'athlete canadien moyen. Il est moyen puisque sans contrat de commandites personnelles, son revenu n'est pas tres eleve. Nous sommes une nation qui demande beaucoup au niveau de la performance mais qui n'est pas pret a rien mettre (cout). Les joueurs de hockey eux sont professionels. Ces super de voir des professionnels jouer mais d'une perspective du bien du plus grand nombre, il faudrait que cette argent attribue au joueur de hockey soit redistribue au autre sport afin de creer la meme emotion a travers la panoplie de sport que nous participons au jeu.
_________________

A few days ago, I saw Jerome Iginla at the airport. He seemed like a very classy individual. After that I started thinking how these athletes live their lives and started to question myself about their challenges.

I personnally would not like to be photograph, asked for autographs and being recognized everywhere I go. Sure they make loads of money but they do do not get person space. Everywhere they go and everything they do is under a microscope.

Hockey is a very fun sport but lots of health consequences and family problems can be link to the type of lifestyle professional athletes live.

Sure I'll admit the Olympics have became a prof sport display... We can't look at how canadians do things, because that may not look like professional. But most countries treat and pay their athletes as if they were pros...

Later...

There's a first for everything

Today I attended my first ever Olympic event (live), it was unbelievable. We saw Alpine ski in Whistler. Our athletes proved to be a disappointment for this event. All except Eric Guay. Everyone played up the performance of Manuel Osborne-Paradis, but the so called Manny forgot to show up today.

Although we did not win any medals at this event, it was cool to drive up to Whistler, see the surroundings, and attend the event.

Tonight I had a chance to mett Alexandre Bilodeau. Yes I had the opportunity to meet and talk with our first Olympic Gold as a host nation (ever). I did not get a picture with him, but I will never forget this day...

Cheers,
_________________

Ce soir nous avons encore une fois ete decu par Mr. Witherspoon. Apres plusieurs jeux ou il connait des deceptions je suis attrsite de vous dire qu'encore une fois il nous decoit. J'adore cette athlete, il est bien entra[ine et il performe super bien en coupe du monde. Il est cependant impossible pour lui de maintenir son niveau de performance eleve au jeu.

Egalement aujourd'hui j'ai eu l'occasion de discuter avec Luc Robitaille. Je n'en revenais pas, il est un super bon gars...

Nous esperons beaucoup de medailles demain!

GOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

M A L A D E!!!

We finally won a gold medal on Canadian soil. Our first ever gold medal as a host country. As you can imagine this is a lot of fun. People here are partying it up!! WAY UP! C Malade! We really believe in our Canadian Athletes.

Today my girlfriend arrived in Vancouver. Nice day to arrive (St-Valentin). We are going to see Alpine ski tomorrow morning in Whistler... Don't forget to watch us (i'll do my best so that you can see me cheer on our athletes.

The pavillions and all the activities that are on site are unbelievable. People are cheerful and excited of hosting the Olympic Games. I am very excited to have the opportunity to live this... Although I love the crowds, I must admit that lines are so long. We have to wait everywhere we go...

__________________

La squence de defaite est termine. Nous ne sommes plus la honte, nous avons finalement remporte une medaille d'or au Canada. Mr. Bilodeau est un fier representant canadien qui ne cesse d'impressionner.

Aujourd'hui en allant cherche Lai a l'aeroport j'ai vu Jerome Iginla. Il est pret a nous aider a remporter une medaille. Cet athlete est fantatique! Non seulement est-il athletique, aimable, travaillant, rude mais il semble egalement etre un bon pere de famille.

Continuons sur cette belle sequence!

Feb 13: Our First Medal

We won silver!

MALADE, je suis super content d'avoir vécu une aussi belle performance canadienne de notre athlèete HEIL de ski accrobatique.

Je suis conscient que ceci n'est que la première journée ou nous avons la chance de remporter des médailles. Je crois cependant dans le momentum des victoires. Si nous commençons à remporter des médailles dès le départ des jeux, nous avons beaucoup plus de chance de remporter un grand nombre de médaille, et tout cela grâce au momentum des autres médailles.

NOUS AVONS CONFIANCE!

_________________________

Another rainy day in Vancouver, the first event where canadians were competing we on today. It was fun to see our athletes and others do well. The speedskater from Netherlands whom beat an Olympic record was marvelous.

You may think that I am weird, maybe. I do want our athletes to do well, I really hope we do. But what I am really looking for is for athletes in general do marvelous things. Records are present to be beat!

Tonight, shot out is to Jennifer Heil, who did her best to win our first medal at these Olympic Games.

It is very unfortunate that we cannot have snow here. The ski event tonight was delayed and was affected by the rain. The rain does change the feel of the course and the ski conditions. I will not get into the snow science but I will say that it is unfortunate that we cannot have 'loads of snow'. Some of you will say that it is an equal field and that makes for an interesting event. I would argue that without top conditions it is hard for the best to be the best.

Anywho looking forward to more medals from our athletes!

CHEERS,

NEVER EVER EVER GIVE UP!!!

Opening Ceremony

Post of Feb 12th,

The Opening Ceremony was very good. As much as China showed its culture and strenght on specific technology such as Pirotechnics., Canada envisionned similar goals. The ceremony highlighted canadian talent, culture, and mostly nature. You must have reliased the style used to mark our four distinct seasons.

These ceremonies were a time of redemption. We wanted to show that we were serious, not just in hosting the Games but also in winning medals. BC Place received a significant upgrade, all the seats were changed, the entrances and the washrooms were updated...

The opening was awesome, singers, displays, croud participation and checkpoints were HIT. The only item not rehearsed, the lighting of the torch is what became our disapointment.

With programs such as Own the Podium, Paint the town red and with great performances by winter Canadian athletes we had a good reason to believe.

Believing is not just perception, it's with everything. We want to do well, but what would make us do well is not to accept second tear performances, and that starts with the organisation of the Games, including the Ceremony.

We were truly disapointed when the Torch 'difficulties' occured. China would not accept any failures or weaknesses on any level during their Games. Why did this happen? Well, we (canadians) have the biggest heart, but we can't seem to be able to close. This same principles apply to our athletes but also to the various organisations.

Lets hope that our athletes are not distracted by the miscue and also that we can turn our disapointments of the past into successful GAMES.

GO CANADA GO

Day 1 at the Canadian House!

Ce voyage s'avère être une aventure incroyable. Les foules sont immenses, les gens sont heureux, l'organisation est fantastique en plus de tout le reste. Les mots ne peuvent décrire ma joie au sujet des jeux de Vancouver. Je suis heureux d'être ici et de vivre cet expérience unique. Demain soir auront lieu la cérémonie d'ouverture des jeux. J'espère que chacun et chacune d'entre vous auront l'occasion de voir ce merveilleux spectacle, je vous garanti de belle émotions.

Bonne nuit!

_______________

Today was the first day at COH, the 6th floor of the HBC Flagship store. You would not believe how beautiful the arrangement is on that floor. Volunteers from everywhere in Canada, will help the athletes and families find a home away from home. I am looking forward to this opportunity to help our athletes with their preparation.

Another rainy day in Vancouver, it rains so much that my 'dollar store' umbrella broke. I've been here for 4 days now and I have yet to see the sun for more than 2 hours at a time. The like spark that would bring these games above the success line would definitely be a snowfall that would cover the entire city.

I have to make a shout out to my Ottawa Senators, who I must say have been playing some tremendous hockey these past few weeks. I was annoyed early on in the year with their poor performance but they really turned it around in since the Christmas break. The Sens won versus the top team in the Eastern Conference, the Washington Capitals.

Tonight I once again saw the torch relay. We were one the B-line coming back to UBC when the bus was stopped due to block off roads. We decided to get out and see what was going on, as expected the police were blocking all traffic to let the torch bearer’s advance.

With all the commercial stuff around the games, it was good to see athletes and the torch today. It really brought my Olympic smile back.I am in Vancouver to live sport and peace.

Opening Ceremony Reharsal!!!

Tonight will be short...

You cannot miss the Opening Ceremony, one of the best ones ever!!!! All I can say is WOW!

Today was a little rainy, the wind made for what you could call 'northern conditions'. Andrée and I decided to try the Olympic Line, a bombardier monorail that made its way to Grandville Island, a very nice place.

Before heading to BC place to watch the reharsal we visited Smithe rd. et Robson, an area that seems to be pretty popular with locals and tourists.

You can truly feel the Olympic atmosphere everywhere!

See you tomorrow with a longer blog (I hope)

Cheers,

____________

La cérémonie d'ouverture vaut réellement la peine, je serais vraiment attristé pour votre expérience sur terre si vous n'avez pas vu ce show. Je suis biasé mais honnêtement, les meilleurs cérémonies d'ouverture à vie.

Nous avons commencé à faire la visite des pavillons de chacune des provinces, sous peux je vous revient avec un contre-rendu...

Bonne Nuit

Day 1 in VANCOOL

Bonjourno,

Andrée and I finally managed to figured out the transit ZONE thing, or so we thought. We don't know if it's a changing zone, depending on your entry point onto transit, or if the zones are defined and we just pay entry...

Ok enough about transit, yesterday I was a little worried about the Olympic atmosphere, but today Vancouver surprised me. Andrée and I decided to visit the Olympic Village (HBC on Grandville and its surroudings). Let me tell you Ottawa, Vancouver is ready for this major event, olympic clothing, olympic banners, lots of people make for 'potential' succesful Games. Ok, let me rephrase this, maybe not succesful Games, depending on how you judge it, but for sure welcoming Games.

In order to make the weight restriction on yesterday's flight, I neglected to bring soap, towel, and a pillow. So today,I went to Walmart. Ah Walmart, as much as I hate the concept, I was happy to see it today. I got everything and a little more for just under 40$.

So, a little about the HBC HQ in Vancouver- it's awesome. Basically the first floor is dedicated to Olympic Gear, not just what you see at your local HBC store, but way more stuff. Oh, and Pins. I'm not a pin kinda of person, but man it seems to interest a lot of people. Can anyone explain to me the excitement around those pins?

Finally, the rest of the store is a pretty normal looking The Bay store, except for the 6th floor, where the Canadian House is situated (I'll explains details of this in a later blog).

Anyways, Vancouver is mild, about 10 degrees and sunny today, but still no snow...

Let the Green Games begin...ahah

Cheers

____________________

Quelle frustration aujourd'hui!

Nous avons rencontrer des gens dans plusieurs magasins du Centreville. Faits décevant est que les canadiens de l'Ouest du pays ne semble pas savoir que la ville d'Ottawa est bilingue, ou même que certaine personne parle le français. Nous nous faisons souvent approché par des gens pour savoir d'où nous provenons, et lorsque l'on leur mentionne, Ottawa, il se demande pourquoi nous parlons français...

Malgré cela, les gens sont très gentil. Ils sont toujours prêt à nous aider pour trouver notre chemin, durant les quelques aventures que nous avons eu, les gens ont pris le temps de bien nous diriger, sans pour autant nous ennuyer. Le 'feeling' que j'ai c'est que la plupart de gens qui habite à Vancouver, provienne d'ailleurs. Les gens proviennent de l'Ontario, de l'asie et de l'inde (pakistant) majoritairement.

J'ai tellement hate que les jeux débutent, l'atmosphère est super awesome!

A+

Vancouver!

VANCOUVER HERE I AM,

We made it! What a long day, we left Ottawa at 7 and landed in Vancouver at 13:00. Since I'm not a frequent flyer my stress level took and my fatigue were a challenge today with all the take-offs and landings.

But holy I'm happy. Vancouver is a very nice place, unfortunately the weather is mild. It feels like Ottawa in the month of April, except for all the melting snow. There's just no snow anywhere. It was really weird landing in Vancouver to attend and volunteer for the Winter Olympics with no snow on the ground. Did we land in the right city???

Anecdote time: Once arrived in Vancouver, we decided to take the monorail. From the 20 minute monorail ride we had to transfer onto a bus route (99). When we got on with all of our luggages, people looked at us funny. This random lady asked if we needed a ride somewhere. We gladly accepted. She was very nice, she showed us around Jayco beach and Spanish something, before bringing us to Jay's TOTEM rez on UBC campus...

Up to now everything is awesome, but we still don't feel the Olympic vibe, perhaps the missing snow is throwing me off...

Cheers,

________

Si vous pensiez que le système d'autobus d'Ottawa était terrible et bien vous vous trompez. Nous avons passé plus d'une heure (une fois arrivé à Vancouver) pour figurer leur système de transport en commun. Non seulement est-ce qu'il manquait des guides pour nous l'expliquer mais ils ne connaissaient rien au sujet des forfaits. Après plusieurs aller -retour dans les alentours de la station nous sommes arrivé à obtenir l'information. Ok, j'ai menti une fois que nous avons figuré leur système de transport en commun nous avons adoré la vitesse des déplacements...

À demain...

All packed and ready to go

I am excited and ready to go...

Actually, I'm like a little baby right now and I probably won't get any sleep tonight. I'm so excited to be going to the Games. It's less than 24 hours away and it feels unreal. I've dreamt of attending the Olympics Games for so many years. At first I wanted to compete in them, but now watching them live will be just as worthy.

So, I hope Westjet is nice with me tomorrow morning. I have checked-in through their website, but can't seem to print out my stubs. Also, I've packed heavy, so hopefully I'll get someone that's nice enough to let me go without any extra charge. I guess we'll have to see....

My next blog will be tomorrow night, when I am in Vancouver (I'll give my first impressions of the city).

'Til then...

Mindful Sports

Today's blog is about how we all can be at times a little too fanatic...

Being a proud supporter of a team is something that a person contribute to one's happiness. Sport as entertainment is very capable of influencing people to become followers.

You can decide to become a follower because a family member is a fan of a particular team, the style of play is what you admire, or if you like a certain player(s).

When do you know that you went overboard with your 'fanatism'?

I, personally think that you have gone 'crazy' when you start believing that your team is the best team, that they cannot lose, and that they are entitled to win.

You know that you have jumped in the fan boat, when you cannot distinguish between a penalty or a partisan call.

Fanatic individuals are not necessarily sport lovers, they are team lovers. For example, if the fan's team doesn't make the playoffs, they will stop watching the sport.

Fanatic people can also be seen leading their beer (rec) league teams and they will register their team in hopes of winning this year's prize...

The true problem with 'fanatism' is that sport is suppose to be played in an equal setting, which means at the start of the match both teams have a equal chance of winning.

The link with the Olympic Games is that we will be following Canadian performances at these Games, that is GREAT. But, what I am asking is of you is to appreciate 'human' performances in general, instead of being a Canadian fanatic.

Lets hope that Russians, German, Chinese, Swedish, Aussies, and others do well...

Fair play and fair entertainment makes for true sport.

Cheers,

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Les Québécois sont des fanatiques qui souvent dépassent l'ordinaire. Vous n'avez qu'à allumer votre téléviseur à un poste francophone les soirs d'un match des Canadiens de Montréal.

Les analystes après chaque rencontre sur-analysent les matches et tentent d'expliquer chaque petit détail.

En début de saison, les médias et les partisans garantissent une position dans les séries éliminatoires. De plus, lors d'un séries victorieuse on surprend les 'fanatiques' qui croient à leur chance de remporter la coupe Stanley. À chaque saison en écoutant les partisans et les médias on croirait que les Canadiens ont remporté la coupe plusieurs fois... Ce qui n'est toutefois pas surprenant c'est de voir qu'ils ne feront même pas les séries...

Aux Jeux olympiques il faut évaluer nos athlètes d'un oeil critique. Nos athlètes, on l'espère, vont bien réussir mais s'ils ne terminent pas parmi les trois premiers (remporte une médaille), il faut donc reconnaitre les performances des athlètes des autres pays qui ont eu des performances ultimes...

4 dodos

With glowing hearts...

These Games have formed once again, unity across our nation. Everybody who knows that I am going to the Games are enthusiastic for me. People smile and appreciate this once in a lifetime opportunity that I will experience.

The Games symbolizes different things to people and for the majority of them it's a very positive feeling.

I am now in the last few days preparing for my trip. Unlike most people, who pack early, I am planning on packing Sunday night during the Superbowl game.

To help me with my last minute packing, I will need your help because I have never been to Vancouver. Currently the temperature is 'plus +' 9 degrees Celcius. At the same time, I received a letter from VANOC today informing me to wear: gloves, tuque, waterproof clothing, and insulated boots.

So here's my dilemma, I'm hot blooded by nature. For example, if it's -10 outside , ypu`ll catch me wearing a t-shirt under my winter jacket...

So, what should I bring to Vancouver?

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Ci-dessus je demande de l'aide au sujet des vêtements que je devrais apporter à Vancouver. Pour cette section-ci je voudrais demander votre aide pour m'indiquer ce que je dois aller visiter lors de mon séjour à Vancouver (restaurant, activité, endroit)...

Les symboles olympique

Bonjour,

La chronique d'aujourd'hui sera au sujet du rêve olympique...

Tout athlète qui participe à un sport olympique espère un jour participer à l'événement majeur dans le milieu sportif. Plusieurs auraient voulu participer à un match de Superbowl, d'autres auraient voulu remporter Wimbledon ou une série mondiale. Eh bien! moi j'ai toujours voulu participer aux Jeux olympiques.

Le mouvement olympique, malgré tous les critiques à son sujet, demeure l'une des organisations où le rêve perdure. Nous pouvons critiquer le mouvement olympique pour le coût de l'accueil des Jeux, du choix des diverses mises en candidature, des pots de vin et d'un esprit corporatif foudroyant, mais le 'principe' des Jeux olympiques demeure l'événement marquant dans le milieu sportif.

Les éléments qui inspirent l'individu au sujet des olympiques sont nombreux. Il faut débutercette justification en discutant du flambeau olympique. Le relais du flambeau était à l'époque l'occasion d'annoncer la venue des Jeux à Olympie, cette ville de la Grèce. Durant cette tournée les athlètes potentiels faisaient compétition dans leur région pour décider qui aurait l'occasion d'aller aux Jeux. Par la suite, le début des Jeux voulait dire qu'on arrêtait tout combat ou guerre. Tous les peuples s'unissaient afin de compétitionner dans une arène afin de remporter les couronnes d'olive. Les gagnants retournaient dans leur région respective et étaient accueillis en héros.

Le mouvement olympique est basé sur l'esprit (les dieux), mais aussi le corps. Lorsque nous réfléchissons à cet événements nous avons toujours en tête le corps humain, avec un faible pourcentage de gras, avec des muscles très définis et surtout avec un corps majestueusement proportionné.

L'esprit des Jeux demeure, voilà ce qui les rend aussi attrayant. Il est important de rendre au Comité olympique international responsable de ses décisions et de ses processus. Cela dit, il faut leur rendre leur juste valeur, en étant capable d'éliminer le différence religieuse, culturelle et linguistique afin de rendre le sport comme l'élément significatif. De plus, cette organisation s'assure que les comités organisateurs, en débutant par les Jeux de Sydney, soit responsable et respectent autant que possible l'environnement.

Tout cela pour vous dire que l'esprit olympique demeure dans mon coeur et que le rêve ne s'est pas éteint.

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Did you know that the Vancouver Games will be the first one to be carbon neutral? If you don't know what carbon neutrality means, well you haven't been reading the right thing for the past five years! Ok, I'll explain - all human activity requires energy and this energy most likely means pollution. As a result, this pollution means human footprint on earth. We must realize that the human footprint is affecting our health. That is, the reason why we need to be more aware, change mentality, and demand renewable energy sources from corporations.

This said, not enough publicity has been done about these efforts. The Games could have led to significant pollution emissions but, VANOC took its best foot forward by offsetting the Games 'footprint'. Let's see if fans will be willing to make their trip carbon neutral.

(I DID-$83)

10 days until the Opening

Prediction time, prediction time, everybody loves prediction time, there ain't no reason and there ain't no rhyme for (clap, clap) PREDICTION TIME!

Prediction # 1

Just like the commercial on TV: it didn't happen in Montréal, and it didn't happen in Calgary but I believe it will happen in Vancouver. For those of you who don't know what I'm predicting: we will win a gold medal for the first time as a host nation.

Prediction #2

We will win more medals than we did in Torino (in 2006). We had a total of 24 medals at the last winter olympics, this time we will exceed that total.

Prediction #3

We will not beat the magic number of 35 medals. Objectives were set and the number that was thrown out there was 35 medals for Canada during these Games. Due to injuries to some members of our ski team and with some of our Olympic qualifications ranking, I do not think that we can exceed 30 medals. (I HOPE I'M WRONG BTW)

Prediction #4

We will not be the #1 in total medal count. We hope to win 35 medals and to be the first in total medal rankings and had hoped to be a record setting Olympic Games for our country (at the winter Olympics), unfortunately I do not think that this can happen. Countries like USA, Germany, and Russia will do very well. (AGAIN, I HOPE I'M WRONG)

Prediction #5

The Vancouver 2010 Games will be the most successful Olympic Games on Canadian soil. The budget will be respected, so will our environment (with lots of efforts), our athletes will make us believe. And we will have the occasion to view fantastic Cultural Olympiades as well...

What do you think?

__________________

J'ai de plus en plus hate de me rendre à Vancouver...

J'aimerais profiter de cette chronique par poursuivre mes prédictions. Je prédis que notre équipe de hockey ne va pas remporter la médaille d'or. Certain se verront surpris par cette prédiction, mais tout de même reconnaitront mes capacités au niveau de l'analyse du hockey. Nous n'allons pas remporter la médaille d'or parce que nous n'avons pas les meilleurs joueurs au monde. Nous avons peut-être les meilleurs partisans et le plus grand nombre de joueur à l'échelle nationale mais nous n'avons pas profité de notre médaille d'or à Salt Lake City pour nous définir comme suprématie mondiale au niveau du hockey masculin. Nous remarquons cependant que tous les autres pays (USA, RUSSIE, Suède, Findland, Slovakie, République Czech...) ont augmentés leurs calibre de jeu. Je prédis donc que la Suède ou la Russie sera le pays qui remportera la médaille d'or.

À demain...

11 days until the Games

Saluto,

Next monday at this time I would be in Vancouver... woo hoo!

Today's blog: Always show a first rate version of yourself, people deserve the best of you!

Athletes are front and center when it comes to advocating for their sport. Individuals that have been competing for many years to finally become top level athletes build strong attachment to everything impacting their sport (rules, fees, weather, and more).

Our athletes' are put in the spotlight when it comes to rankings especially when it comes to unattained expectations. In the beginnging, competitive athletes are comfronted with public perception, while they are continually awkward when it comes to expressing themselves in front of a camera, and media in general. Media interviews and public perceptions are intertwined and in some cases they can be a stressor for the athlete. In this day and age media is a very significant component of information, therefore athletes must present themselves constantly in their finest capability to sell themselves, and also their sport.

The impact of smiling, showing positiveness, demonstrating motivation, and having the capability to surprise are components that cannot be downplayed when it comes to athlete popularity.

On another note, I was very happy to hear in that past few days that Cindy Klassen http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Klassen was named as Canada's torchbearer for the final leg of the Torch Relay. VANOC made the right selection with this athlete. Not only is she an over-achiever, but Canadians thrive on this type of individual because she can and will continue to surprise with outstanding performances in 2010. Support her! This hard-working Canadian female athlete will impress!

Tomorrow's blog: my predictions on Canada's performance in Vancouver...

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Le sujet d'aujourd'hui démontre qu'il est très important pour l'athlète francophone d'être parfaitement bilingue. En avant-propos je suggère cette idée puisque l'athlète anglophone rejoind la majorité de la population grâce à une majorité de média anglo. Vous allez dire que la majorité des canadiens ne sont pas nécessairement anglophone de souche, je suis d'accord, mais seulement 10% (environ) des sources médiatiques canadienne sont dans une langue autre que l'anglais. Donc pour revenir à l'idée du départ, l'athlète francophone dois parler anglais afin d'obtenir de la visibilité auprès de la langue majoritaire au Canada (la langue de travail). L'athlète que ne fais que parler le français arrive à obtenir beaucoup d'attention en perspective puisque les sources médiatique dans sa région de naissance (résidence) vont vraisemblablement le supporter. Cette sources médiatique n'est qu'une infine particule des nouvelles nationale. Un athlète qui est bilingue ouvre ses performances à l'attention médiatique national puisque les médias francophone et anglophone vont tenter d'obtenir des entrevues, ce qui sans contredit va augmenter sa visibilité et aussi celle de son sport.

Les francophones unilingue devrait voir l'apprentissage de l'anglais comme un atout et non comme un tâche insurmontable (et vice versa)...

Notre diversité culturelle et linguistique est un élément omniprésent au sein de l'identité canadienne.

12 days to go

Thanks everyone for the feedback on the blog. I will keep you as informed as I can!

Today's blog is about the effort required for an individual to achieve and maintain national level athlete status.

Sport is used in lots of circumstances as entertainment. We consume sport for performance, speed, power, upsets, and extremes. We often despair and insult oppositions in order to gain, or what is hoped to be, an advantage.

Sport is simple in appearance, and it allows the fan to be entertained. It is also a stage for recognition of best performances.

To become a top level athlete requires many sacrifices. Most of us think of little sacrifices like getting up a little earlier one morning as a hastle. Athletes that make it to the top sacrifice in every aspect of their lives: they get up early in the morning, train hard most days, watch their eating, work to make a living, and are limited with their social life...

After reading this you must think, why in hell would someone choose to become an athlete? Well it's simple, athletes love what they do. They view their sports as the ultimate religion. They would be willing to sacrifice everything to achieve a better performance. The physical benefits of sport cannot be neglected, athletes become dependent on the feeling they get while their training or even during competition. The noradrenaline that is secreted during physical extersion is like a drug. This 'drug' feels so comfortable for the athlete that all these sacrifice become minimal adjustments.

Today's subject came upon after I was thinking about some preparation athletes need to do in the coming days to prepare for the final weeks before the big event. Preparation and sacrifice cannot be under played, they may have a more significant impact then previous competition results.

Sport psychology is as important if not more important then practice, yes practice (Allen Iverson)- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGDBR2L5kzI. If you can motivate, calm, visualize you will greatly improve not only your performances but also the consistancy of results.

Cheers, (awaiting your commments on this post)

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La chronique d'aujourd'hui élabore sur le sujet discuté ci-dessous.

Vous souvenez-vous de Mélanie Turgeon, cette skieuse canadienne qui avait toujours des excuses pour ses piètres performances? http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mélanie_Turgeon

Elle a récemment avoué à RDS que l'une de ses plus grandes difficultés fut qu'elle a eu plusieurs problèmes à avouer ses fautes lors des compétitions. Elle blâmait toujours quelque chose au lieu de regarder son nombril.

Je crois que cette leçon est importante pour tout athlète. Les athlètes et entraîneurs sont souvent obsédés par le contrôle de facteurs. Ce contrôle est psychologique, on n'essaie de tout contrôler afin de reproduire les performances maximales du passé, mais la plus grande magie du sport est l'imprévu. Cet aspect (imprévu) rend le sport fascinant et divertissant puisqu'à chaque compétition nous avons la chance d'assister à du jamais vu. Le contrôle met l'athlète dans un confort psychologique qui lui permet de maintenir un niveau élevé de performance. L'ironie dans tout cela est que la capacité qu'a l'athlète de s'ajuster sera ça qui va lui permettre de se démarquer des autres.

Il est important pour l'athlète d'être bien préparé pour l'événement sportif, mais il ne faut pas essayer de sur-contrôler le sport. Tout contrôler détruit le sport dans son essence...

13 days to go

9 DAYS BEFORE I LEAVE FOR THE GAMES... 13 days before the start of the Games.

Sports has always been a big part of my life. Ever since I was a child I was always active in participating in sports and as well as promoting it.

Studying Sports Management gave me a bigger sense and knowledge of sports in Canada and around the world. I have gotten the opportunity to learn a lot about the Olympic Movement, and by going to Vancouver to experience the major Games live will be unforgettable.

My parents attended the Montreal Olympics in 1976 and saw Nadia Comaneci when she won a Gold Medal with a perfect 10 in Gymnastics. Many years later, they still recall these moments.

The reason for me creating this blog is to share my one and a lifetime experiences leading up to the Games, and as well my adventures within the two weeks of these incredible performances.

Canadians have been teased for not winning a gold medal as a host nation since 1976 and again in 1988 (Calgary). This trend will change this time around. We will win a Gold Medal in Vancouver!

But let's be honest, who cares if we win medals, we just want to see good and fair competitions for all!

I will be posting my thoughts, emotions, anticipations,and feelings in the days leading up to the Games.

Media experience during the Games is awesome, but it is also very limited. Following me during the Games will give you an insider's perspective on what is really going on.

Enjoy!

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Je vais également écrire quelques paragraphes en français pour tous ceux et celles d'entre vous qui êtes bilingues. Cette section du blog sera à titre de supplément d'information.

Je vais débuter par discuter du manque de neige à Vancouver. Les réseaux d'information semblent alerter les Canadiens à un manque possible de neige dans la région. Ce manque pourrait avoir un impact sur certains sites de compétitions, surtout ceux qui auront lieu à Cypresss Mountain. Avec l'information que je possède, je dois vous informer que la température est un facteur inquiétant pour les Jeux, surtout si l'on considère que les Jeux sont pour les sports d'hiver. Je peux vous assurer que tous les scénarios ont été prévus par le COVAN (Comité organisateur des Jeux)et qu'il serait invraisemblable de croire que les événements sportifs n'auraient pas lieu.

À demain...