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.

.

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.