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In case you've been living underneath a rock for the past two weeks, the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics start tomorrow!
I've been looking forward to these for weeks and I'm pretty psyched. The 2010 Winter Olympics will be a major international multi-sport event held on February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the resort town of Whistler, British Columbia and in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond. I'm a big winter sports fan (especially downhill skiing, the biathlon, and bobsledding) so I'm damn excited for this. :D
Here's a basic rundown of the 2010 Winter Olympics:
TORCH RELAY
The 2010 Olympic torch relay started on October 30, from Victoria, BC, and end tomorrow in Vancouver. It ran 106 days and included over 12,000 torchbeares. It was also the longest torch relay in history!
As some of you know, the torch passed through my town on December 22, and I was pretty stoked about it!
MASCOTS
i think they're awesome :3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnSncdPP8VY
fucking adorable ;~;
Miga - A mythical sea bear, part orca and part kermode bear.
Quatchi - A sasquatch. He comes from the mysterious forests of Canada and dreams of being a hockey goalie.
Sumi - An animal guardian spirit with the wings of the Thunderbird and legs of a black bear who wears a hat of an orca whale. He lives in the mountains of British Columbia.
fucking adorable ;~;
Miga - A mythical sea bear, part orca and part kermode bear.
Quatchi - A sasquatch. He comes from the mysterious forests of Canada and dreams of being a hockey goalie.
Sumi - An animal guardian spirit with the wings of the Thunderbird and legs of a black bear who wears a hat of an orca whale. He lives in the mountains of British Columbia.
SCHEDULE
hi wikipedia i see you've already got a nifty schedule there for me thank you :D
EVENTS
There will be 15 separate events at these Olympics, and I've linked them all to Wikipedia for your viewing convenience~
-Alpine skiing
-Biathlon
-Bobsleigh
-Cross-country skiing
-Curling
-Figure skating
-Freestyle skiing
-Ice hockey
-Luge
-Nordic combined
-Short track speed skating
-Skeleton
-Ski jumping
-Snowboarding
-Speed skating
-Alpine skiing
-Biathlon
-Bobsleigh
-Cross-country skiing
-Curling
-Figure skating
-Freestyle skiing
-Ice hockey
-Luge
-Nordic combined
-Short track speed skating
-Skeleton
-Ski jumping
-Snowboarding
-Speed skating
MITTENS
if you're canadian and don't own a pair of these, then get out of this country.
what, you think i'm kidding? i'm dead serus.
CONTROVERSIES & PROBLEMS
Vancouver's been having its fair share of problems in preparation for these Olympics.
LACK OF SNOW
The lack of snow Vancouver's had this year has caused some big problems. The El Nino in the Pacific has made this winter very mild for Vancouver; in fact, they've had less than 5 centimetres of snow this entire winter! (a stark contrast to last year, when they got it by the foot) As a result, athletes' training time have been reduced, and snow is being brought in however possible - truck, helicopter, you name it.
HOMELESS PEOPLE
Since 2001, the homeless population in Vancouver has tripled to approximately 3600. But they're trying to cover up the homeless problem as best as they can, which means doing whatever means are necessary to get them off the streets. It's now legal for police to pick up homeless people and drop them off at shelters, which I suppose isn't that bad. But the concern is that they're trying to cover up that Vancouver has a homeless problem at all, which is a blatant lie.
WOMEN'S SKI JUMPING
The International Olympic Committee voted in 2006 not to include women's ski jumping in the 2010 Games on the grounds that the sport was not yet developed enough and did not meet basic criteria for inclusion. The members of the Canadian Women Ski Jumping Team filed a grievance with the Canadian Human Rights Board citing gender discrimination. So far the IOC has yet to comment or change its decision. Pretty lame and disappointing, if you ask me.
DESTRUCTION OF LAND
The destruction of the natural environment, particularly at Eagleridge Bluffs to build a new highway, has raised many concerns. According to critics, despite claims of the “greenest Olympics” ever, and statements about "sustainability", the 2010 Olympics will be among the "most environmentally destructive" in history.
MONEY
Ah, yes. This is always a problem at any Olympics, no matter where it is. British Columbia is getting it the worst, but all of Canada will be paying for this for years to come. These Olympics are expected to cost Canadians $580 million. After the stock market crash of 2008, there are increasing concerns that Games-related projects will not meet their economic targets. The Olympic Village development, for example, was originally intended to make a profit, but one critic estimates it will be millions in debt. Olympic organizers have not commented on this estimate.
LACK OF SNOW
The lack of snow Vancouver's had this year has caused some big problems. The El Nino in the Pacific has made this winter very mild for Vancouver; in fact, they've had less than 5 centimetres of snow this entire winter! (a stark contrast to last year, when they got it by the foot) As a result, athletes' training time have been reduced, and snow is being brought in however possible - truck, helicopter, you name it.
HOMELESS PEOPLE
Since 2001, the homeless population in Vancouver has tripled to approximately 3600. But they're trying to cover up the homeless problem as best as they can, which means doing whatever means are necessary to get them off the streets. It's now legal for police to pick up homeless people and drop them off at shelters, which I suppose isn't that bad. But the concern is that they're trying to cover up that Vancouver has a homeless problem at all, which is a blatant lie.
WOMEN'S SKI JUMPING
The International Olympic Committee voted in 2006 not to include women's ski jumping in the 2010 Games on the grounds that the sport was not yet developed enough and did not meet basic criteria for inclusion. The members of the Canadian Women Ski Jumping Team filed a grievance with the Canadian Human Rights Board citing gender discrimination. So far the IOC has yet to comment or change its decision. Pretty lame and disappointing, if you ask me.
DESTRUCTION OF LAND
The destruction of the natural environment, particularly at Eagleridge Bluffs to build a new highway, has raised many concerns. According to critics, despite claims of the “greenest Olympics” ever, and statements about "sustainability", the 2010 Olympics will be among the "most environmentally destructive" in history.
MONEY
Ah, yes. This is always a problem at any Olympics, no matter where it is. British Columbia is getting it the worst, but all of Canada will be paying for this for years to come. These Olympics are expected to cost Canadians $580 million. After the stock market crash of 2008, there are increasing concerns that Games-related projects will not meet their economic targets. The Olympic Village development, for example, was originally intended to make a profit, but one critic estimates it will be millions in debt. Olympic organizers have not commented on this estimate.
Anyway, despite the controversies, I'm still incredibly stoked about these Olympics. 'Course, I've been getting promotional ads for these things shoved in my face for about a year now, so it might make a difference if I didn't live here. Anybody else excited for these?
