Canadian skiers 'dropping like flies'

Francois Bourque has been ruled out of the 2010 Olympics after suffering a suspected anterior cruciate ligament tear in his left knee.Photograph by: Herald Archive, Reuters, Canwest News ServiceJust three days ago, Larisa Yurkiw's Olympic dream was still alive.

But in a matter of minutes, in what felt like a snowball to the back of the head, the Canadian national team skier joined the list of spectators for the Vancouver Games when she crashed on Wednesday during a training run in Val d'Isere, France.

There was just one thing going through her mind as she was carried off on a stretcher.

"It was the Olympics," said the 21-year-old native of Owen Sound, Ont. "There's so many sides of this. It was painful and tough, but physical is probably being one of the last. The timing of it obviously sucks, for the lack of a better word."

It also sucks for John Kucera. And Kelly VanderBeek. And Jean-Philipe Roy. And Francois Bourque.

All five members of the Canadian alpine team have seen their season come to an end in the past three weeks, with Kucera suffering a broken leg and the other four suffering knee injuries.

"The list of injuries on the men and women's side is awful," said Yurkiw. "It's kind of spooky, actually. It's easy for me to say now because I'm out and I'm on that list, but as a racer still going, I think there are still a lot of racers questioning what's going on.

"How are you supposed to push out of the start gate with full confidence when they are dropping like flies."

Yurkiw returned to Canada on Friday and was slated to see doctors in London, Ont., to confirm the initial diagnosis of a torn anterior cruciate ligament or medial collateral ligament in her left knee.

Regardless, she'll have nearly a year before her next world cup race. "There's a lot of parts of this that are tough. But from what I've heard, this also may be a rite of passage, too," she said. "There are so many girls in the races that are so competitive, that win world cups and they've all been through this. That alone is comforting, but it's definitely a tough time right now."

Veteran national team member Emily Brydon of Fernie, B.C., knows what some of the skiers are going through. She injured both her knees leading up to the 2002 Winter Olympics. And while she still competed in the slalom and giant slalom races at the world's big show, she wasn't competing at 100 per cent.

On Friday, she finished a career-best seventh in a super combined race in Val d'Isere, but most of the talk was on the hard-luck Canadian team, which is garnering international headlines with its injury woes.

"This has been probably some of the hardest times that I can remember being on the team," said Brydon. "With Johnny and then J.P., it was a real slap in the face. Then, when it hits so close to home, it really makes you think and it really affects you.

"With Larisa, it was really sad and really hard. With Kelly it started to become more of a, 'why,' 'why is this happening?' There is luck involved and it just feels like it is not on Canada's side."

For Yurkiw, she still had to qualify for the Games. There was plenty of work ahead and there was no guarantee she'd be strapping on the boards in Whistler.

Alpine Canada was hoping she'd get her feet wet in February and then build for the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.

"Stuff like this happens and your route just changes a little. By no means are my goals different. I'm just hoping one day along this career path, I look back and this is somewhat insignificant," she said.

Alpine Canada plans to work with the International Ski Federation to attempt to find a solution to the rash of injuries for the Canadians and the world's other skiers. Yurkiw isn't sure much can be done about a sport where its athletes are expected to hurl down a mountain at breakneck speeds.

"Everyone wants to analyze a situation like this, because you feel like if you can blame it on something or fix something, then it won't happen," she said. "The truth is, what we do is risky, and it's extreme. I think it comes with the job. If things are avoidable, we'll find out what part of it is. It's kind of sick what has happened already this year."

Source:vancouversun.com/

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay Media 1 convoy vehicle information and technical briefings to be held for Leamington and Windsor

VANCOUVER, Dec. 18 /CNW/ - The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) will hold media technical briefings for Leamington and Windsor on Monday, December 21 related to 2010 Olympic Torch Relay community celebrations.

The briefings are intended to help media prepare to cover the relay and include an overview of Day 55, Wednesday, December 23 when the Olympic Flame will visit these communities, as well as route materials and community celebration plans. It is critical for media planning to cover these events to participate in, or be aware of, the technical briefings listed below: Please note that this is a technical briefing for media, not a press conference - no spokespeople from VANOC will be available on site for interviews.


No.1 Media Technical Briefing for Leamington
---------------------------------------

What: A technical overview of Day 55 (December 23) when the flame
visits Leamington

Where: Leamington Kinsmen Recreation Complex- 249 Sherk St

When: Monday, December 21 11 a.m. (local time)
(xx)NOTE - NO CONFERENCE LINE AVAILABLE

Participating: VANOC media relations representatives

No.2 Media Technical Briefing for Windsor
------------------------------------

What: A technical overview of Day 55 (December 23) when the flame
visits Windsor

Where: 350 City Hall Square West 2nd floor, Suite 202

When: Monday, December 21 2 p.m. (local time)

Participating: VANOC media relations representatives


Media dial-in information:

Conference ID: 2315464
Local dial in: 604-678-9970
Toll-free: 1 866-792-1316


Media vehicle registration: The registration process for Media 1 is available on FLAME, the torch relay's digital asset management system. You can access FLAME on www.vancouver2010.com/flame, click on visit FLAME and Register Now.

Once on FLAME:


- Select Editorial
- In the drop down menu of categories on the left hand side, select
Media 1 registration and press Search
- Click on the link in the page called Editorial Media 1 and a window
will open
- Click on Download tab above the picture
- Click on Add to download list and download the document
- Follow the instructions in the document


It is critical that you follow the registration process outlined in the document, otherwise we will not be able to capture your request.

For further information: Media contact: Vancouver 2010 Torch Relay Team, Tel: (604) 403-9328, E-mail:

Source:newswire.ca/

Hamilton set out welcome mat for Olympic torch

Ryan Bennett, left, has his Olympic Torch lit by Mathew Piccioni, centre, in Brampton, Ont.Friday, December 18, 2009. Bennett carried the Torch by sledge hockey sled, a first in Olympic Torch Relay history.Photograph by: Brett Gundlock, National PostHAMILTON — Day 51 of the Olympic torch relay ended as it began Saturday — with boisterous revellers celebrating the passing of the flame in the Canadian cold.

The atmosphere at the day-ending community celebration in Hamilton was slightly smaller, colder and darker than when the torch set out from Toronto in the morning, but the crowd was excited nonetheless when torchbearer Ron Foxcroft ran through the crowd.

Foxcroft, a pro-basketball referee for over 35 years, is known as the inventor of the Fox 40 whistle — which has no moving parts and is used by professional sports organizations.

“This is a life-changing moment,” said Fox. “I’m a lifer Hamiltonian and Canadian and this is unbelievable.”



Songwriter John Ellis and Juno-award-winning singer Tom Wilson were among entertainers, and to bookend the lighting of the cauldron seven former Olympians from the community were invited onstage.

But the running tribute by hosts, presenters and dignitaries alike was to Dr. Gene Sutton — a lifelong supporter of amateur sport in Hamilton and across Canada, who died last August at the age of 64.

“She was a great believer in the Olympic spirit,” said Mayor Fred Eisenberger.



The morning was cold, too, but not quite cold enough to suit torchbearer Barbara Calderone in Mississauga.

“I prefer running in the winter,” said Calderone, a stay-at-home mother of two. “I like the cold air, I like the sound of the snow when I run on it — it’s like our sand in Canada.”

She’s a self-described “proud Canadian” who trains six times a week and ran the Boston Marathon twice. A lack of the white stuff, then, was never likely to hinder her 300-metre leg of the relay. Her only anxiety was a wish to get through without crying in public.

“Seeing my kids, seeing their faces watch me, seeing my husband,” said Calderone. “The pride in being a Canadian is just amazing.”



It was a pride shared by thousands of residents who showed up at a community celebration down by Mississauga’s City Hall, when the torch made a midday stop.

They took time out of their last holiday shopping weekend to wave flags and rattle tambourines. Cameras at the ready, and Canada Olympic gear on, they stopped to pose with hockey players on stilts and the Vancouver 2010 mascot, Quatchi.

Late in the morning, crowds surrounded the stage to watch performances by aboriginal singers, Afro-Franco Canadian dancers and a South Asian dance academy that specializes in the art of Bharata Natayam.

Percussionists, rhythmic gymnasts and MCs kept frostbite at bay, pumping up the crowd with music and cheering in the run-up to the flame’s debut in this west-of-Toronto community.

“The Olympic flame is ours here in Mississauga, Ont.,” was shouted over and over again, as the crowd joined in a spontaneous and enthusiastic round of O Canada.




Cheers for the flame’s reception were rivalled only by chants for Mayor Hazel McCallion, in her Olympic gear.

“Mississauga did it again!” she proclaimed from the stage. “Thousands of you here today ... what a delight, what an inspiration!”

McCallion praised the families and young people for turning out and supporting what she called a symbol of the “peace and harmony” identified with Canada, the “best country in the world.”

“We need more gold medallists from Canada at the Olympics,” she said.



The flame arrived in Mississauga at noon, carried onto the stage by former national women’s hockey team member and two-time Olympic gold medallist Cheryl Pounder.

Pounder said carrying the torch and lighting the community cauldron was an experience that went “hand in hand” with winning gold at Salt Lake City and Turin.

“It was unbelievable,” she said. “Seeing my community and my family, I started crying instantaneously.”

The Olympic Cauldron will be lit in Vancouver on Feb. 12, 2010, to open the Games.

National Post

Source:montrealgazette.com/

Art seller accuses 'monster' Olympics of stealing First Nation brand

VANCOUVER — The First Nations owner of a B.C. art seller says Vancouver 2010 has “stolen” the authentic aboriginal product brand and put it on items made in China.

“Our branding has been usurped or appropriated or stolen by this monster organization — and now their suppliers stand to profit to the tune of millions of dollars,” said Shain Jackson, owner of Spirit Works Ltd. “Our biggest issue with the Olympics is this: if you Google the term ‘authentic aboriginal products,’ the first item you see is the 2010 site.”

That web page includes a selection of T-shirts, baseball caps and purses manufactured offshore.

Jackson says they don’t look like anything produced by aboriginal people.

And while 2010 sponsors like HBC stand to make millions of dollars in sales, Jackson says his business is on the verge of bankruptcy.

Spirit Works specializes in items like bentwood cedar boxes and jewelry inlaid with abalone.

Its items sell in 70 retail outlets, including the Vancouver Art Gallery, Grouse Mountain, the Museum of Anthropology, the Bill Reid Gallery and the Royal B.C. Museum.

Jackson, a 38-year-old former aboriginal rights lawyer, said he invested $500,000 in the two-year-old company after believing promises about 2010 native opportunities.

“If there is anything that I thought they could never outsource, it’s authentic aboriginal products,” he added. “I’m sitting here and having to consider pink slips pretty soon. We’re going to make it through the Christmas season by the skin of our teeth.”

After that, on the eve of the Olympics, he says he’s going to have to start laying off his four employees.

Jackson, originally from Sechelt, B.C., said he bid on a contract to supply the Four Host First Nations pavilion, but was only offered enough business to make a $300 profit.

“We wanted a substantial opportunity — and that means not sitting here going bankrupt while other companies are making tens of millions of dollars off our culture,” he said.


Jackson said he could have easily doubled his staff and made thousands of bentwood boxes and pieces of jewelry each month, and outsourced jobs to native communities to do sanding, gluing and inlay work.

Jackson said he’s not opposed to the Olympics, but says the event has been “hijacked” by big business.

He plans to post a blog and a petition online for people to sign in support of aboriginal businesses.



Tewanee Joseph, CEO of the Four Host First Nations, denied that Vancouver 2010 stole the “authentic” brand from aboriginal people.

“We define aboriginal products by who creates the artwork behind it,” he said.

He said that while Jackson is entitled to his opinion, there are many definitions of what “authentic” means.

“Even if a totem pole is created today, you probably use a chainsaw, which wasn’t done hundreds of years ago,” Joseph added.



He said B.C. aboriginal artists will get a huge amount of exposure from the Olympics.

“We have a number of products in our aboriginal line,” said Dennis Kim, 2010’s director of licensing and merchandising, “from our Inuksuit sculptures, which are handmade by Inuit, from a single piece of local stone found in the Arctic, to other items that feature authentic aboriginal artwork, which are applied to products produced by our licensees, some with facilities in Canada and some with facilities offshore.”

Kim said one-third of royalties from aboriginal products goes to the Vancouver 2010 Aboriginal Youth Legacy Fund.

Vancouver Province

dinwood@theprovince.com

Source:canada.com/

Olympics Straight Talk,73 percent of Canadians want women's ski jumping in 2010 Olympics, poll finds

Most Canadians believe women’s ski jumping should be included in Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Olympics, a new poll has found.

Seventy-three percent of Canadians support the inclusion of women’s ski jumping as a medal sport in the Games, according to an Angus Reid Public Opinion survey released today (December 18).

Ten percent are opposed to seeing women’s ski jumping in the Games, while 17 percent aren’t sure where they stand on the issue.

On December 1, a group of female ski jumpers asked the Supreme Court of Canada to hear its appeal of two B.C. court rulings that found the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms doesn’t apply to the selection of Olympic sports.

Those rulings determined that the International Olympic Committee made the decision to exclude women’s ski jumping from the Games, which will include men’s ski jumping.

Support for women’s ski jumping is highest in Quebec, at 79 percent. British Columbians’ level of support is the same as it is nationally, at 73 percent.

Asked if they would support cancelling the men’s ski jumping competition if the women’s event isn’t added, most Canadians (55 percent) and British Columbians (71 percent) disagreed.

However, 51 percent of Quebeckers said they’d support this move.

In addition, 63 percent of Canadians and 75 percent of British Columbians oppose moving the men’s ski jumping contest out of the country if the women’s competition isn’t included in the Olympics.

Sixty-three percent of Canadians and 62 percent of British Columbians support the female ski jumpers asking the Supreme Court to hear their case.

In a July ruling, B.C. Supreme Court justice Lauri Ann Fenlon called the exclusion of women’s ski jumping “discriminatory” but found it wasn’t a breach of the charter.

In response, the IOC issued a statement denying it had discriminated against female ski jumpers.

The IOC stated its decision was “based on technical issues, without regard to gender”.

Angus Reid polled 1,006 Canadian adults from December 7 to December 8. The results of its on-line survey have a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

Source:straight.com/

Organizers shrug off Lululemon's ploy with big sales numbers

Pan Pacific general manager Tim Tindle, wearing red Olympic mittens, is ready to welcome the world to Vancouver. He says the Olympics will present new challenges and the hotel’s usual February complement of 375 workers will be expanded to 475.Photograph by: Ward Perrin, Vancouver SunVANCOUVER — The day after harrumphing at a cheeky marketing ploy by Vancouver's Lululemon, 2010 Olympic organizers fired the big guns in the PR battle for clothing supremacy.

They announced they'd hit the million sales mark for $10, red mittens.

And 2010 marketing boss Dennis Kim made it clear that even if Games organizers are frowning on Lululemon's line of clothing, the official merchandise is doing quite well, thank you.

"Early on, we were talking about how, if we reached one million pairs, what a fantastic accomplishment that would be," said Kim. "Here we are with two months left before the opening ceremonies and we've already hit a million pairs."

Not only that, but 2010 hoodies, toques and scarves have been flying off the shelves to the tune of 500,000 units, he said.

In the downtown HBC Olympic "superstore" alone, 70,000 pieces of official merchandise have been sold.

And Kim said that the official Team Canada jersey is on pace to exceed the 120,000 that sold during the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic year.

"Our merchandise revenue target was $53.8 million and we are very confident that number will be hit and we're even hedging that we might exceed that a little bit," he said.

Kim said it was pure coincidence that Vancouver 2010's good news story came out the day after Lululemon's new clothing line made front-page news.

The line is named "Cool Sporting Event That Takes Place in British Columbia Between 2009 and 2011 Edition."

Olympic organizers accused Lululemon of being unsporting, but admitted legal action is unlikely.

"What's clear today is people want the authentic product," said Kim.

Source:.calgaryherald.com/

55 Days until 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

Canada ranks seventh all-time in medals won at the Winter Olympics with 119 (38 gold, 38 silver,43 bronze). Ranking ahead of Canada are Norway (280), the United States (217), the Soviet Union (217), Austria (185), Germany (179) and Finland (151).

OLY BITS AND PIECES
Comedian RJ Currie came up with a Beatles Top 5 curling hits during last week's Roar of the Rings in Edmonton. Counting down: 5. Paperback Slider; 4. A Guard Day's Night; 3. Hack in the U.S.S.R.; 2.

You're Going to Lose That Curl; 1. I Should Have Thrown Better... Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, who is also the GM for the American hockey team, is to carry the Olympic torch today in downtown Toronto and his leg comes between former CFLer Tom Hipsz and John Craig, a member of the 1980 Can­adian Olympic track and field team that did not go to the boycotted Moscow Olympics. "People have been very cute about it," Burke told The New York Times. "A guy on the sub­way the other day came up to me and said, 'Mr. Burke, I'd like to congratulate you on your silver medal.'"... Russian Oly wannabes in the KHL will have one more shot at impressing head coach Vyacheslav Bykov this weekend at the Channel 1 Cup in Moscow. The four-team event also features Finland, Sweden and the Czech Republic.

The Moscow News reports the Russian coaching staff wants to construct two lines from NHL stars,w with the two other lines likely to be drawn from an NHL-KHL combination.

TEAM CANADA WATCH

Hockey Canada will announce its 23-man roster for the Olympic team on Dec. 30. ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun said the brain trust is now down to watching nine defenceman and 16 forwards, with a handful of others still on the radar screen. Here's our take on some candidates who have seen their stock rise or plummet of late:

RISING

Mike Cammalleri, LW, Montreal Canadiens

Entered Friday's action just 17th among Canadian­born players in scoring (18 goals, 12 assists), but highest among left-wingers. He has a superb touch around the net -- his 39 goals last year was fourth-best among Canadians and more than Sidney Crosby, Jarome Iginla and Evgeni Malkin. As well, he has a very respectable +10 plus-minus this season.

Dustin Penner, RW, Edmonton Oilers

Why is it that so many continue to snicker when Penner's name is mentioned as an Oly candidate? Last week, Kevin Lowe sug­gested the big Manitoban was one of six players who were not originally invited to the summer camp but are now being considered.

He has seven points in his last five games and has played well with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, two former Anaheim teammates who will likely wear Canada's colours in February.

Duncan Keith, D, Chicago Blackhawks

Went through a bad spell at the beginning of December where he was a minus 6 over four games, but has found his game again. Smooth-skating puck handler (born in Winnipeg) who is third among Canadian defencemen in scoring with 25 points (5G, 20A), behind Mike Green (32 points) and Dan Boyle (29 pts).

FALLING
Marc Savard, C, Boston Bruins Some observers wailed when Savard wasn't invited to the orientation camp this summer and with good reason -- his 88 points last year put him among the NHL's top 10 scorers. But he broke his foot in October and, aside from a three-point night against the Leafs last week, has struggled of late with no points in four of his last five games.

Dion Phaneuf, D, Calgary Flames

Love the idea of him lighting up unsuspecting forwards while wearing Canada's red and white, but trade rumours have been following him for a spell for a reason: His play has been inconsistent.

Source:winnipegfreepress.com/

Strong finish puts Powers in good Olympic position

TELLURIDE, Colo. — Seven years after he won the gold medal in the Olympic halfpipe, Ross Powers has taken a key step toward qualifying for the Vancouver Games in snowboardcross.

The 30-year-old American finished third in a World Cup event Saturday, putting him squarely in the mix for the 2010 Olympic team. It was the second of five World Cup qualifying events for snowboardcross.

"I grew up doing a little of everything, racing gates, doing freestyle," Powers said. "In 2006, I was the alternate in the halfpipe, went over to Torino, watched these guys do snowboardcross, and I was fired up about it."

At least two snowboardcross riders will qualify for the American team based on results in the five World Cup qualifiers. Powers joins defending Olympic champion Seth Wescott and Graham Watanabe as the third American with a top 3 finish.

Powers, who led an American medals sweep on the halfpipe in 2002, finished behind Pierre Vaultier of France and Robert Fagan of Canada. Wescott finished sixth.

America's top woman was eighth-place finisher Faye Gulini. Defending Olympic silver medalist Lindsey Jacobellis finished 11th and hasn't made a final in either of the first two World Cup qualifiers, both of which have both been won by Maelle Ricker of Canada.

Ricker clipped Jacobellis's board in the first heat race, and Jacobellis wiped out.

"Lindsey rode great, and I don't think she did anything wrong," U.S. Snowboarding coach Peter Foley said. "She had a great race, she smoked the top, she and Maelle just tangled it up. Sometimes you can stay on your feet and sometimes you can't, but she went down."

Source:http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i6YD6uU0royELyXz-9Oz4IExe0pwD9CMODQ80

Vancouver 2010 Gameplay Trailer

0:58 of gameplay footage
SEGA also released a new movie from Vancouver 2010, a game developed by Eurocom Entertainment Software and scheduled for winter of 2010, for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. Vancouver 2010 is a simulation of a host of events from the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, focusing on the adrenalin rush that comes from the extreme speed of winter sports. In addition to the new challenge mode, Vancouver 2010 also offers revamped online gameplay and brand new control schemes new to an official video game of the Olympic Games. Local Download:

Source:gamershell.com/