Stay tune ...

03.22.10
I'm back in the States and ready for new adventures that lie ahead!

Last Day

Photo: Pictured in the photo are my lunch/breakfast tickets, my other badge that with each sticker earned me a gift -- the Paralympic pin was my first reward and the limited edition Swatch was my final thank you reward!

03.21.10
Every work day I hit the road from West Vancouver to Whistler. I parked in lot F, took a van to Athletes Village, then took a shuttle bus to Whistler Creekside. The security tent was always my first stop. Next, I'd have to check in at the Workforce Office, where they'd scan my badge and give me a breakfast and/or lunch ticket, depending on my work shift for the day. Everyday they published a fun two-sided newsletter with news about the volunteers and a featured athlete. I would then head to the transportation tent to check in with my supervisor for the day, get my binder with my assignment details and then go to whatever post I was assigned for that day.

I'm very sad my Paralympic journey has come to an end. It was an incredible experience that I will never forget. I had fun meeting people from all over the world. I'm honored to have met and watched athletes with unbreakable spirits who are true role models.

FUN SIDE NOTE: In addition to the Canadian terms I already knew like eh? and aboot, I learned some new ones ...
sunnies = sunglasses
no worries = no problem, it’s all good
mind your back = look out behind you

Sledge Hockey - USA GOLD Victory

03.20.10

I received my volunteer work schedule in advance and knew what days I would have off. The Sledge Hockey Gold Medal Game fell on one of my free days, so I excitedly bought a ticket. At the time, I didn’t know which countries would be competing in that game. I was hoping it would be Canada vs. the U.S. I was SUPER shocked when it turned out to be Japan vs. the U.S. When you think about countries with a rich hockey history, Japan doesn’t come to mind. Early on in the Paralympics this was the hottest ticket, then when Canada was knocked out of medals contention things changed. Many Canadians tried to sell their ticket(s) and some just didn’t show up for the game. The Canadians who did attend the gold medal game all cheered on Japan. I was disappointed because as our neighbors, I felt if Canada was playing instead of the U.S. I would have rooted for them.

The game started at noon. I arrived at UBC Thunderbird Arena, a 6,800-seat rink, around 11:45 a.m. All the vehicles were only allowed within a certain distance of the arena. Along my walk I bought a U.S. flag from a street vendor so I could show support for my country! When I got to my seat I was happy to discover that I was sitting next to a nice older couple from Chicago. I have been to more than two hundred hockey games in my life, but this one was very special because it was my first sledge hockey game and my first medals game. The players were all incredible to watch. They used two mini sticks like boat oars to propel their sleds across the ice. They used the top of the sticks to push themselves and then they’d flip their sticks around super fast to the curved end when they were in contact with the puck. They hustled across the ice with great speed and determination. They played equally as aggressive as NHL players, but with even more passion. Besides the different equipment than the NHL, the sledge hockey penalty box and players box had doors that were flush to the ice and had lower clear walls.

Steve Cash, one of our goalies, worked very hard guarding the net. Alexi Salamone #21 of Grand Island, NY, scored the first goal on the power play in the first period. Taylor Lipsett #7 from Mesquite, Texas, scored goal number two in the third period. The U.S. beat Japan 2 to 0. Immediately after the game they rolled out the carpets for the medals ceremony. It all happened very fast. Players from the Norway team came out in a single file line on the carpet and were presented with their bronze medals, then their flower bouquets. Next, the Japanese players were each given their silver medals and then their flowers. Saving the best for last … the U.S. players were each awarded their gold medals and flowers. The three flags were raised and the U.S. anthem played. I hung out in the stands taking it all in until every player had left the ice.

All the sledge hockey players demonstrated determination, perseverance and courage. It was great fun to watch them play.

Medal Ceremony

03.18.10
The last formal Medal Ceremony at Whistler Medals Plaza in Whistler Village was tonight. It was a FREE first-come-first-serve spectator event. I was so excited to attend, I went as soon as my work shift ended. The gates opened at 5:30 p.m. I secured a place right in front, which was my goal since I'm short and I wanted to capture video/photos. The venue has a capacity of 8,000. People soon began to come in and fill up the space. They were dancing to a DJ and chatting away as they waited for the event to begin at 7 p.m. A group of very enthusiastic Japanese athletes and supporters showed up with a huge flag and a long green fabric fish. People immediately flocked to them and started taking pictures. Shortly after, the ceremony began. A lot of divisions received medals, but two of them in particular were my favorite ...

Brian McKeever of Canada skied with his brother and guide Robin McKeever in the men's 10 km classic cross-country, visually impaired event and won the GOLD. I thought it was interesting that they are a brother team. I was surprised to learn that in the visually impaired division, the guide receives the same medal as the athlete and is honored in the ceremony! (see photo above)

Two American women were honored in the women’s Alpine, sitting division. Alana Nichols of the U.S. won the GOLD and Laurie Stephens won the SILVER. (Claudia Loesch of Austria won the BRONZE.) The women were all so ecstatic about their victories, they were bouncing in their wheelchairs. Their enthusiasm was infectious. When they raised the flags and played our anthem I started to cry. It was the first time I ever witnessed a medals ceremony in person. I was filled with pride for our country. It was incredibly moving. As the trio wheeled off to the side of the stage to pose for the press, they threw their flowers into the crowd.

It was such a joyous evening that I found myself cheering for all the winners, regardless of which country they were from. The Paralympic athletes are so impressive, you can't help but root for all of them. It was a wonderful evening.

Educational

03.18.10
To keep things interesting, everyday we were assigned a different post at Whistler Creekside. During the course of my time as a volunteer I worked at the Alpine skiing venue for the athletes and families, local school kids and media. On this particular day, fleets of buses carrying 997 children from local schools between the ages of five and 13 arrived within a two-hour time frame. The kids would run off the buses -- a majority of them would be decked out in various symbols of Canadian pride including face tattoos, face paint, flags, jerseys, funky hats, the famous red mittens and more. The boys and girls would then anxiously migrate to their teacher who would hand them their admission ticket. Each ticket was big, colorful and had a small silver hologram. The kid's reactions were all the same -- cool! Next, they would scurry off to the race course. During their visit they would get to watch the races of the day, have lunch, meet some of the athletes and play with the Paralympic equipment. Two kids at a time could use the sledge hockey equipment to face off with each other. They could also test a sit-ski and learn from a volunteer how the equipment is used by the athletes. When the kids returned to board the buses at the end of their visit some would have autographed tickets by one or more of the athletes that they would brag about with glee. They loved to give us high-fives and ask us to give them pins.

Olympic Cauldron

03.17.10
A must-see structure ... I drove into Vancouver in the evening to view the Olympic Cauldron. I knew that by going at night, the flames would appear more radiant. The Cauldron is located on the edge of the city. To the left is a beautiful view of the Paralympic symbol floating on a barge in Coal Harbour. The Cauldron was lit on Feb. 12, 2010, marking the official opening of the Olympics. The journey of the torch leading up to the 2010 Winter Games made it the longest national torch relay in Olympic history. The Cauldron structure is simple in design, yet impressive. Your eyes are immediately drawn to the flames. I walked along the side of the massive sculpture to observe it and to take a few moments to reflect on what it symbolizes. It was a very peaceful experience.

Something Blue

03.16.10
My zany friends Rebecca (Vancouver, BC) and Stephane (Québec) posing with their Smurf love child. Because of our blue uniforms and the number of us you see working at all the venues, we were told by many people that we look like Smurfs. We embrace this label! One of the guys took a toy Smurf and made a little accreditation badge for it as seen in the photo above ... a mini-me version if you will of a VANOC worker.

A True Inspiration

03.15.10

During my work shift on this day I had the honor of meeting Ralph Green, who took the time to pose with some kids from across the U.S. who were invited to Vancouver in hopes of inspiring them to become future Paralympic athletes.

Ralph Green is the first African-American man to make the U.S. Paralympics Alpine Skiing National Team. He was gunned down at 16 while he and a friend walked along a street in Brooklyn. His left leg was amputated at the hip. He was introduced a year later to skiing and tackles the challenges of becoming a top skier with great passion.

In the spectator stands on this day were a sold-out crowd of 3,000!.

Small Item, Big Symbol

03.14.10
A particular red item was overlooked by many when Olympic merchandise first went on sale. Then along comes the power of media. NBC brought attention to the now famous red mittens when the 'Today Show' anchors and people in the background shots were seen wearing and taking about them. All of the sudden this small item became "the" symbol of the 2010 Winter Games. Sold for $10, you can now find the mittens on eBay for more than $60 a pair!

When I first arrived in Vancouver, one of my missions was to buy a pair of the mittens. I tried on two different days over the course of a week based on insight from a sales clerk to buy the coveted red mittens at the Olympic Store in Whistler Village (because they were the only vendor who sold them) but I was unsuccessful. I then spoke with the store manager who assured me they would have one last lot (300 pairs) for sale the next day. Of course that was my day off, so I drove more than three hours round trip from West Vancouver to Whistler Village very early in the morning and stood in line for 1 hour and 10 minutes. When I arrived at the store I read a sign that said "2 mitts per customer" and I took my place as the ninth person in line. Third time was a charm. I'm now the proud owner of the famous red mitts.

2010 Paralympic Opening Ceremony

03.12.10
I got on a city bus off Marine Drive at 4:30 p.m. to head over to BC Place Stadium and attend the sold-out 2010 Paralympic Opening Ceremony. I was scanning all the people around me coming from different directions and heading for the same destination. As I reached the security tent at BC Place my heart was pumping with anticipation. Once inside I found my spot ... third row, aisle seat right behind a section of the athletes! At each seat were an event program and bag with a poncho (colors varied depending on where you were sitting), a gold piece of paper and a pom-pom that twinkled red with the flip of a switch. As the event began, I was overcome with emotion. The theme was "One inspires many." Governor General Michaelle Jean declared the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games open from the VIP box. The dialogue and songs were done in both French and English. When someone was speaking French the English translation was displayed on both big screens at either end of the stadium. The U.S. and Canadian athletes received the most cheers and applause upon entering the center stage. The lighting of the Paralympic Torch was AMAZING! Of course my camera died right before this, so I had to use my cell phone to capture stills and video.

Heavy Medal

Olympic Gold medal (front view).

Paralympic Gold medal (back view). The braille on the
back of the Paralympic medals reads "Vancouver 2010".

03.12.10
I heard a segment on the local evening news about The Royal Canadian Mint holding a limited-time display of the Vancouver 2010 athlete medals during the course of the Paralympics at the Vancouver Public Library. So the next day I went down to the library and stood in line with more than 300 people for 4 hours and 15 minutes. When I reached the front of the line I was handed a white glove because you are not allowed to touch the medals with your bare hands, for understandable reasons. Next, myself and 19 other people in line with me were led into a high-security room and given 10 minutes to look at, handle and take photos of the gold, silver and bronze Olympic and Paralympic medals. They were larger in real-life and much heavier than I expected.

Inside the medal room we had to follow three strict rules:

1. We couldn't put the medals on.
2. We couldn't touch the medals with our bare hands.
3. We couldn't place the medals near our heart.

Always inquisitive, I asked Alexandre, communications manager for RCM, about the rules and he said … they don't allow the public to hold the medals near their chest out of respect for the athletes. And they don't allow the public to pose with the medals in a manner which makes it look as though the person had won a medal. That is a privilege reserved for athletes only.

Some additional cool medal facts Alexandre shared with me ...

• The gold medal is actually a sterling silver medal plated with 6 grams (one fifth of an ounce) of pure gold! A small percentage of that gold comes from recycled metal (1.52 percent) reclaimed from end-of-life electronics (known as e-waste). The silver medal contains 0.122 percent silver e-waste. The bronze medal contains 1.11 percent recycled copper.
• The medals weigh 500 to 576 grams. The lightest being Olympic Bronze and the heaviest the Paralympic Gold.
• The Olympic medals are round because it's a IOC rule. However, the IOC is flexible on the shape of the Paralympic medals, which are classified as "superellipse" shaped.

It was totally worth the wait!

Training Day

03.10.10

I arrived at Whistler Creekside and signed in at 9 a.m. Training wasn't until 10 a.m., but I was VERY anxious to start. The training tent and several other similar large tents were sectioned off in a secured area for staff, media, athletes and coaches. Outside along the back of the training tent were a row of Porta-Potties. For those who know me well, I didn't like this news. One of our training instructors Kim informed us to beware of bears and what we should do if we came in contact with one. They had recently found bear feces on the ski trails, which is a sign they're starting to come out of hibernation earlier than normal this year. Yikes!

After the formal training presentation, they took us on an extensive venue tour so we'd be familiar with our surroundings. There were cool boarded square areas in the main parking garage called "wax cabins". Each participating country is given a cabin for their ski team to use to prep their equipment before they compete. Next, my supervisor Leo, assistant supervisor Lyn, me and my fellow volunteers headed on the chairlift to another load zone post on the mountain. It was the first time in my life I had ever been on a chairlift without skis. It was so strange. Some of the seeing impaired athletes were practicing on the run. Lyn explained to us that during the races the announcer will provide commentary and encourage the spectators to cheer. However, during the seeing impaired competition, the commentator asks everyone to please be completely silent so the athletes can hear their guide directing them down the run. Fascinating and super impressive! Three-thousand people are expected to attend on Saturday, the first race day. In addition, a lot of local school children will be bused in to attend the races for free, giving them a distinct opportunity to watch incredible athletes accomplish things people didn't think was possible.

Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah

03.09.10

I always wanted to try ziplining, so when I heard I could do it in Vancouver I signed up right away! I booked the bear level adventure through Ziptrek Echotours. Upon checking in we all lined up against the wall to put on our harnesses and safety helmets. There were nine people in my group. Our two fun and knowledgeable guides were Dylan and Jeremy. They started us out on what I nicknamed the bunny zip -- your feet were only about five feet from the ground. Next, we all headed up the mountain in a van for the real adrenaline adventure. The zip tour spanned between Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains and over the Fitzsimmons Creek. The zipline levels were joined by a network of suspension bridges, boardwalks and trails. The platforms were like treehouses. I felt like I was a kid again. The adventure consisted of five progressive zip levels. Between each level we would stop briefly and learn an environmental snippet about the area. The mission of Ziptrek is about incorporating fun with environmental education. We flew across the cables at approximately 43 MPH. On the last zip level Dylan showed us how to safely go across upside down. I'm proud to say that everyone in the group bravely did it ... a very liberating day!

Gearing Up

03.08.10

I began the day early on an 111 mile bus ride to Whistler. Along the way I saw the most stunning scenery I've ever seen in my life. Massive jagged mountains in grey and white hues, denim blue water that looks like sheets of glass and giant cotton ball clouds that loom over the mountain tops. The white mountain peaks appear to be sprinkled with powdered sugar and contrast beautifully with the vast green hues at the base consisting of pine trees erect like soldiers and crawling moss. 360 degree magical views that take your breath away.

The bus ride seemed to go by fast. I arrived at the Whistler Games Service Centre in less than two hours to begin my Uniform and Accreditation process. The workers were very efficient.

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The process was five easy steps:
Step 1: Sign in
Step 2: Get my photo taken (we were told we couldn't show our teeth) ... bizarro
Step 3: Pick up finished badge -- under the transportation division, my credentials include access to all events and venues!!!
Step 4: Try on uniform sample sizes
Step 5: Pick up all pieces of my uniform
*Buy approved official backpack for my personal items

We were warned that jackets were being stolen, so to be alert and never leave our gear unattended. I was also told that people try to buy gear from volunteers for beaucoup bucks, which is a huge no no.

FACTOID: The six-piece uniforms include a jacket, vest, two long-sleeve shirts, a hat and pants. Volunteers like me stationed at Whistler received insulated "mountain pants" since we'll be working at an outdoor venue. Volunteers get to keep the uniforms, which are worth between $700 and $800 each. It cost more than $20 million for 34,000 uniforms sized from extra small to extra large.

A Long Journey

03.07.10
Two planes, a monorail, SeaBus and car to reach West Vancouver. I'm tired, but excited about what lies ahead. My host Karin is super sweet. She picked me up from the SeaBus station, drove me around town so I could get familiar with my surroundings and then she took me to buy groceries. I should sleep well tonight based on exhaustion.

Vancouver Here I Come!

03.07.10
On my way to Vancouver for the Paralympics!!! I invite you to follow my adventures on Facebook and/or through my blog.

During these past months of preparation as a volunteer for the Winter Games I have learned a lot about the Paralympics and the individual athletes participating. I have a HUGE amount of respect for the Paralympic athletes because they compete on the same exact courses as the Olympic athletes, but with physical and visual disabilities. They don’t get a fraction of the media attention or recognition they deserve.

U.S. Athletes to Follow:

Sledge Hockey -- Alexi Salamone (from Grand Island, NY), Steve Cash (goalie) and Taylor Chace

Alpine Skiing -- Alana Nichols (women/sitting) and Chris Devlin-Young (men/sitting)

Biathlon -- Andy Soule and Kelly Underkofler

Cross-Country Skiing -- Chris Klebl

Wheelchair Curling -- James “Jimmy Jam” Joseph

You can watch full coverage of the Games online at ParalympicSport.TV or check out http://www.youtube.com/paralympicsporttv.