It's raining, not hard, but it's raining
Damp and Cold.
I am off to "work" for the final time. I am working on the infield floor of the oval. I am helping at the clerk of th course on the finish side of the ice. We have both Mens and Ladies teams on our side of the track.
The Ladies skated first in the 'C' Final for fifth place. They were awesome. They went out like they should have one day earlier. They were 19/100s off the Olympic record. Egads. Did they ever make a statement.
It ended up that the Germans won the Gold medal.
The Guys had to skate against the Americans. It was loud, it was rauckous, it was great and we won the Gold medal.
My Swedish friend Ake Falk told me that he thought that Canadians have learned how to be proud and how to cheer and be loud.
The medal ceremonies were held at the Oval, then everyone left. Everyone except the speed skating people.
We walked around and thought about that there would never be another long track meet in that building. It was sad and we were all a little chocked up.
We all retreated to SSC house. and congratulated ourselves on a great 17 days of the Olympics and 12 days of competition.
We are done and my excellent adventure has come to a close. A time to be remembered and a time to be cherished. God it was Great.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Day 11 of Competion - The Pursuits
We ran the intial stages of the pursuits today.
The Guys did incredible. They set two, not one, but two world records on their way to qualifing for the Gold medal final. EGADS.
Unfortunately the ladies seemed to coast their way through their quarter final and were eliminated from the Gold medal race. I have never seen four more morose young women in my whole life.
In short track we won Gold and Bronze in the Men's 500M and won Gold in the Men's 5K relay. God was that exciting. We drank bubbly at the SSC house and cheered like crazy.
To bad we can't curl. Two bad ends and what do we have to show for it but a silver medal. UKKKK.
See you tomorrow.
The Guys did incredible. They set two, not one, but two world records on their way to qualifing for the Gold medal final. EGADS.
Unfortunately the ladies seemed to coast their way through their quarter final and were eliminated from the Gold medal race. I have never seen four more morose young women in my whole life.
In short track we won Gold and Bronze in the Men's 500M and won Gold in the Men's 5K relay. God was that exciting. We drank bubbly at the SSC house and cheered like crazy.
To bad we can't curl. Two bad ends and what do we have to show for it but a silver medal. UKKKK.
See you tomorrow.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Day 10 and Clara's Last Race
The Ladies 5K race is today.
Nancy and Linda are attending the race. They have seats directly across from the finish line.
The two of them go seated and soon found themselves surrounded by Dutch fans.
The in house video scans the crowd all the time between races and because of the Dutch around them they got on the video screens for all to see a few times.
Racing started and Cindy was in the first pair. She skated against an American and did her best. But because of the surgery and the time recovering she didn't do too well.
There were only eight pairs, so four pairs skated then there was a flood, then the final four pairs skated.
Clara was in fifth pair, the one right after the flood. Fresh ice. She came off the line and though her opener wasn't as fast as the current leader, it was good.
From that point on she lowered and lowered the lap times. She finished below 7 minutes and set a track record. The crowd went KNUTTTTSSS!!!!! Every lap they got louder if that was possible.
Pair six wasn't a serious threat.
Pair seven, the skater from Germany blasted off the line and was consistantly faster than Clara. She finished ahead of Clara, which put Clara in the Silver medal position with two skaters to come.
Pair Eight. Sablakova, the current world record holder was in this pair. She was paired with another German skater. Sablakova lowered the times lap by lap. For a while the German in her pair stayed with her and everyone's fears were that Clara would be edged off the podium. I guess those early attempts to stick with the lead skater tired the German, because with 4 to go, she started to fall back. The time clock would show the accumulated time on the board and what the projected finish place would be. So, when the German girl went through the line in a project fourth place the place when crazy.
That fourth place held up and our Clara was a Bronze medalist in her last race in her last Olympics.
I took Nancy and Linda over to SSC house and showed them the Speed Skating family. They meet Clara's family and all the people from Calgary that Nancy knew.
Linda was impressed with the whole aura around the place. We watched the hockey game, we watched short track and bob sled competitions. Every goal, every race brought out cheers from everyone. Linda couldn't get over the way that the Speed Skating people cheered everyone. It was a lot of fun.
Tomorrow is a day off then we have two days of pursuits, the qualifiers, the semis. The finals are on Saturday. Day Last.
Nancy and Linda are attending the race. They have seats directly across from the finish line.
The two of them go seated and soon found themselves surrounded by Dutch fans.
The in house video scans the crowd all the time between races and because of the Dutch around them they got on the video screens for all to see a few times.
Racing started and Cindy was in the first pair. She skated against an American and did her best. But because of the surgery and the time recovering she didn't do too well.
There were only eight pairs, so four pairs skated then there was a flood, then the final four pairs skated.
Clara was in fifth pair, the one right after the flood. Fresh ice. She came off the line and though her opener wasn't as fast as the current leader, it was good.
From that point on she lowered and lowered the lap times. She finished below 7 minutes and set a track record. The crowd went KNUTTTTSSS!!!!! Every lap they got louder if that was possible.
Pair six wasn't a serious threat.
Pair seven, the skater from Germany blasted off the line and was consistantly faster than Clara. She finished ahead of Clara, which put Clara in the Silver medal position with two skaters to come.
Pair Eight. Sablakova, the current world record holder was in this pair. She was paired with another German skater. Sablakova lowered the times lap by lap. For a while the German in her pair stayed with her and everyone's fears were that Clara would be edged off the podium. I guess those early attempts to stick with the lead skater tired the German, because with 4 to go, she started to fall back. The time clock would show the accumulated time on the board and what the projected finish place would be. So, when the German girl went through the line in a project fourth place the place when crazy.
That fourth place held up and our Clara was a Bronze medalist in her last race in her last Olympics.
I took Nancy and Linda over to SSC house and showed them the Speed Skating family. They meet Clara's family and all the people from Calgary that Nancy knew.
Linda was impressed with the whole aura around the place. We watched the hockey game, we watched short track and bob sled competitions. Every goal, every race brought out cheers from everyone. Linda couldn't get over the way that the Speed Skating people cheered everyone. It was a lot of fun.
Tomorrow is a day off then we have two days of pursuits, the qualifiers, the semis. The finals are on Saturday. Day Last.
Day Nine or the Dutch Doom
Today was the Men's 10K.
Excitement reigned. Everyone wanted tosee what kind of skate Sven Kramer from the Nederlands would skate.
Things were going as usual until the Korean skater, Lee, set an Olympic record and really lowered the time.
The next few skaters tried, but couldn't get anywhere near the time.
Now it is Kramer's turn. The Dutch go KNUTTTS. His first few lapse are pure indication he wants this Gold and the Olympic medal.
All is well as he keeps his lap time in the 32 sec range. He is steadily faster and faster than the Korean.
Then lap 16 of 25 something seems to go wrong with the timing system. There is a buzz in the facility and those who know, know something is wrong.
There was something wrong and what had happened was he should have skated an outer instead he skated an inner. So at the end he sets an Olympic record and is DQed.
Kramer had started to skate the outer and then changed to the inner. Apparently his coach was yelling at him to skate the inner, so he did. Oops!
Everyone figured that the coach and Kramer would severe their relationship, but Kramer says no.
We figured that that Boo Boo cost Kramer 100,000 Euros.
Oh well another day at the office.
Excitement reigned. Everyone wanted tosee what kind of skate Sven Kramer from the Nederlands would skate.
Things were going as usual until the Korean skater, Lee, set an Olympic record and really lowered the time.
The next few skaters tried, but couldn't get anywhere near the time.
Now it is Kramer's turn. The Dutch go KNUTTTS. His first few lapse are pure indication he wants this Gold and the Olympic medal.
All is well as he keeps his lap time in the 32 sec range. He is steadily faster and faster than the Korean.
Then lap 16 of 25 something seems to go wrong with the timing system. There is a buzz in the facility and those who know, know something is wrong.
There was something wrong and what had happened was he should have skated an outer instead he skated an inner. So at the end he sets an Olympic record and is DQed.
Kramer had started to skate the outer and then changed to the inner. Apparently his coach was yelling at him to skate the inner, so he did. Oops!
Everyone figured that the coach and Kramer would severe their relationship, but Kramer says no.
We figured that that Boo Boo cost Kramer 100,000 Euros.
Oh well another day at the office.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Day 8 of Competition
We are at Day 8 and the end is near. I am not sure if I'm glad to see it coming or if I just want this ride to keep on going.
We had an exciting day of racing at the ROO. Christina Grove won the Silver in the Ladies 1500M. It was a incredible sight to see. The Canadian fans went absolutely NUTTTS. Grover was in first until the last 100M, then you could see her start to tire. It was exciting to watch.
Of course all the officials and SSC people trucked on down to SSC House and celebrated again.
It seems the only celebrating we have to do centres around Speed Skating. We watched the Men loose at hockey, the women at loose a curling, and the Men fall at the ski cross. Not a great day for our medal hopes.
We have the Men's 10K tomorrow, unfortunately we don't have anyone that's a medal hope. The Ladies 5K is Wednesday and we have a couple who could win medals. The Men and Ladies pursuits are on Friday and Saturday. If we get to the final we should have a chance at medals in both.
Today, Monday, is a day off. I am going to sit with my feet up and do nothing. Pretty much like when I am at home.
I know that the decompression from this level of activity is going to take a while, but is it ever exciting.
We had an exciting day of racing at the ROO. Christina Grove won the Silver in the Ladies 1500M. It was a incredible sight to see. The Canadian fans went absolutely NUTTTS. Grover was in first until the last 100M, then you could see her start to tire. It was exciting to watch.
Of course all the officials and SSC people trucked on down to SSC House and celebrated again.
It seems the only celebrating we have to do centres around Speed Skating. We watched the Men loose at hockey, the women at loose a curling, and the Men fall at the ski cross. Not a great day for our medal hopes.
We have the Men's 10K tomorrow, unfortunately we don't have anyone that's a medal hope. The Ladies 5K is Wednesday and we have a couple who could win medals. The Men and Ladies pursuits are on Friday and Saturday. If we get to the final we should have a chance at medals in both.
Today, Monday, is a day off. I am going to sit with my feet up and do nothing. Pretty much like when I am at home.
I know that the decompression from this level of activity is going to take a while, but is it ever exciting.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Sad Saturday
We went through a very bad day today. Our long track guys skated their buns off but on the world stage it wasn't good enough.
Kyle, Lucas, and Denny skated the very best that they could given the altitude and the ice conditions. Their effort was exemplorary as far a I was concerned.
Every knowlegable bystander gave the Canadian boys full credt or their effort.
Shot track as a disaster. Enough said.
Tomorrow the Ladies 1500M. Keep your fingers crossed.
Kyle, Lucas, and Denny skated the very best that they could given the altitude and the ice conditions. Their effort was exemplorary as far a I was concerned.
Every knowlegable bystander gave the Canadian boys full credt or their effort.
Shot track as a disaster. Enough said.
Tomorrow the Ladies 1500M. Keep your fingers crossed.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Mundane Friday - Laundry Day
We have the day off today. Back at it tomorrow with the Men's 1500M, the the Women's 1500M on Sunday.
We are all in need of a break. Emotions and stress have been running pretty high, and you can see the effect it is having.
I don't remember being this tired or drained before.
Laundry day today. There is a line up to get it. So may have to wait til later.
That wandering wife of mine is back in the country and is coming to visit.
It should be a great day.
We are all in need of a break. Emotions and stress have been running pretty high, and you can see the effect it is having.
I don't remember being this tired or drained before.
Laundry day today. There is a line up to get it. So may have to wait til later.
That wandering wife of mine is back in the country and is coming to visit.
It should be a great day.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Day 6 of the School day cycle
Okay, I'm late. I have been having far to much fun. What an I say. Nothing I tell you would make sense. What happens in Richmond Stays in Richmond.
It was a great day for Canada today. All of our women skated their butts off, and Miss Nesbit won a GOLD medal. The sparkley stuff flowed at SSC House. We had many happy people and a lot of people who wanted to hang around with happy people. It amazes me how the number of people we done know rises exponentially when ever we win a medal. Strange
I am attachng a picture of the outside of SSC house.
Did I mention tha WE WON A GOLD MEDAL!!!!!!!!
Oh I did. Sorry I was repeating myself. All of the women that skated to day did extremely well. They carried off the stress and showed what great athletes they are on the world stage.
God, I'm glad to be involved the the fastes human powered sport in the world.
Go Canada Go
It was a great day for Canada today. All of our women skated their butts off, and Miss Nesbit won a GOLD medal. The sparkley stuff flowed at SSC House. We had many happy people and a lot of people who wanted to hang around with happy people. It amazes me how the number of people we done know rises exponentially when ever we win a medal. Strange
I am attachng a picture of the outside of SSC house.
Did I mention tha WE WON A GOLD MEDAL!!!!!!!!
Oh I did. Sorry I was repeating myself. All of the women that skated to day did extremely well. They carried off the stress and showed what great athletes they are on the world stage.
God, I'm glad to be involved the the fastes human powered sport in the world.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Day 4 It must be Tuesday
We had a realllllly loonnnggg day yesterday.
We started with a breakfast put on by Speed Skating Canada at SSC House at 9:00am.
Next I got my bushy locks cut. Now I look like a billiard ball.
Then it was off to the Oval. We have to be there two hours before race time. It allows us the opportunity to ensure that nothing can go wrong.
We had two sets of twenty pairs for the 500M races, each set broke after the tenth pair for ice resurfacing. Well it went fine for the first ten pairs, the the bottom dropped out. The Olympia ice resurfacing machines decided they didn't want to run any more. Not just one but both. The spare machine was brought in and it went around the track, but left the ice looking like a hockey rink in the middle of the period. It was rough and unsafe for the skaters.
The high paid help put their heads together and decided to delay the restart. The ice techs and the Olympia people finally got one working reliably enought that it was worth trying again. Saints be praised it worked just fine.
So two hours later we are now ready to restart the second half of the first set of races. That set goes well, the Canadian skaters put in some great times. So it is now time to wait for the second race results. The medals will be awarded on the combined time from each race. So if a skater had a time of 34.98 sec in the first race and 35.01 in the second his total would be 69.99 seconds. If that combined time is the lowest then it wins the Gold metal.
As it turned out, Canada did not medal. Korea won Gold, the first ever for that country in long track, and two Japanese skaters won silver and bronze.
Today is the Women's turn. We have hopes for medals. Hope does spring eternal.
See you later.
We started with a breakfast put on by Speed Skating Canada at SSC House at 9:00am.
Next I got my bushy locks cut. Now I look like a billiard ball.
Then it was off to the Oval. We have to be there two hours before race time. It allows us the opportunity to ensure that nothing can go wrong.
We had two sets of twenty pairs for the 500M races, each set broke after the tenth pair for ice resurfacing. Well it went fine for the first ten pairs, the the bottom dropped out. The Olympia ice resurfacing machines decided they didn't want to run any more. Not just one but both. The spare machine was brought in and it went around the track, but left the ice looking like a hockey rink in the middle of the period. It was rough and unsafe for the skaters.
The high paid help put their heads together and decided to delay the restart. The ice techs and the Olympia people finally got one working reliably enought that it was worth trying again. Saints be praised it worked just fine.
So two hours later we are now ready to restart the second half of the first set of races. That set goes well, the Canadian skaters put in some great times. So it is now time to wait for the second race results. The medals will be awarded on the combined time from each race. So if a skater had a time of 34.98 sec in the first race and 35.01 in the second his total would be 69.99 seconds. If that combined time is the lowest then it wins the Gold metal.
As it turned out, Canada did not medal. Korea won Gold, the first ever for that country in long track, and two Japanese skaters won silver and bronze.
Today is the Women's turn. We have hopes for medals. Hope does spring eternal.
See you later.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Day 2 and Day 3
Yesterday was such a zoo after Grover won the Bronz and Alexandre won the Gold. Everyone went to SSC (Speed Skating Canada) House and celebrated.
The reception the girls got when they were introduced was incredible. You could not hear yourself think.
The Women's 3000 meter races had extremely well matched pairs. Even if the skater's times were no where near the medal times, the back and forth tempo was fun to watch.
It was funny, once when they were introducing a Japanese skater they showed the Japanese flag that I was standing in front of. It was the biggest one in the building, but their I was right in the middle of it. Everytime afterwards if a Japanese skater was announced, the camera's focused in on the smaller one next to me and kept me out of the picture. Oh well. I had my moment of glory.
Today (Monday, Feb. 15) we start and finish the Men's 500. It will be KNUTTSS!!!!! I got to wave my flag on the last race of the 3000's, but today I might as well just leave it out there. I am going to be a busy flag waver.
The reception the girls got when they were introduced was incredible. You could not hear yourself think.
The Women's 3000 meter races had extremely well matched pairs. Even if the skater's times were no where near the medal times, the back and forth tempo was fun to watch.
It was funny, once when they were introducing a Japanese skater they showed the Japanese flag that I was standing in front of. It was the biggest one in the building, but their I was right in the middle of it. Everytime afterwards if a Japanese skater was announced, the camera's focused in on the smaller one next to me and kept me out of the picture. Oh well. I had my moment of glory.
Today (Monday, Feb. 15) we start and finish the Men's 500. It will be KNUTTSS!!!!! I got to wave my flag on the last race of the 3000's, but today I might as well just leave it out there. I am going to be a busy flag waver.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Day 1 is Done
Well day 1 is done. Boy am I tired. Standing all day is hard on old bones.
Sven Kramer set a new Olympic record. The Canadian guys skated well. Spider, their coach was a happy camper.
Got to see Clara on the way to lunch and got my hug. The day was complete.
This is me with my big red flag
Sven Kramer set a new Olympic record. The Canadian guys skated well. Spider, their coach was a happy camper.
Got to see Clara on the way to lunch and got my hug. The day was complete.
This is me with my big red flag
Friday, February 12, 2010
Training Over and Done
Well that's out of the way, now the real thing starts tomorrow, Feb 13.
There are two other people from Manitoba that will be officiating, one is a corner judge (Travis Boyd), the other is the Clerk of the Course (Jim Pendergast).
This is a picture of us out side Speed Skating Canada House. That's Travis on the right and Jim in the middle. That's me on the left in my 2010 uniform.
The venue is situated at the UBC Boathouse right on the Fraser River.
This is an Inusuk built using containers. Don't worry, they are welded together.
Racing starts tomorrow.
Oh Yah!!!!
There are two other people from Manitoba that will be officiating, one is a corner judge (Travis Boyd), the other is the Clerk of the Course (Jim Pendergast).
This is a picture of us out side Speed Skating Canada House. That's Travis on the right and Jim in the middle. That's me on the left in my 2010 uniform.
Speed Skating Canada House
This is an Inusuk built using containers. Don't worry, they are welded together.
Racing starts tomorrow.
Oh Yah!!!!
One Day to Go
I got my uniform on Wednesday. Got an ugly picture taken (it was raining, what else, and my hair was all over and curly), The uniforms are made of nylon and spandex. My favourite.
My ID allows me on the field of play and into the athlete preparation area (I guess that means the infield).
This is a picture of the area that was used to hand out the uniforms. First you went to a large area for fitting. Then once the correct sizes were determined you were given the slip of paper and sent of this room. Everything was piled into a big blue carry bag and you were off to the check out. All very exciting.
At each occassion everyone was really excited that I was working at the R00 (Richmond Olympic Oval). The lady at checkout was so impressed that she didn't think anything she had done could compare to working directly with the athletes. I definitely told her that all the work she and her fellow pre-game volunteers dd made sure that the athletes and officials could do their jobs to the best of our abilities.
My ID allows me on the field of play and into the athlete preparation area (I guess that means the infield).
This is a picture of the area that was used to hand out the uniforms. First you went to a large area for fitting. Then once the correct sizes were determined you were given the slip of paper and sent of this room. Everything was piled into a big blue carry bag and you were off to the check out. All very exciting.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Dress Rehersal
I probably spelled rehersal wrong. Oh well. I went to the dress rehersal and all I can say is WOW. If you are going to watch it on TV you have to see it on HD.
We were asked to keep what we saw a secret so that the world would be blown away with what was going to happen. For my part not a problem. I was in awe of what I saw. I hope everyone gets the same feeling.
Tomorrow I start to work with some practice races.
I'll let you know how things go. Maybe some pictures too.
We were asked to keep what we saw a secret so that the world would be blown away with what was going to happen. For my part not a problem. I was in awe of what I saw. I hope everyone gets the same feeling.
Tomorrow I start to work with some practice races.
I'll let you know how things go. Maybe some pictures too.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Richmond at Last
Well, I'm finally here. Checked into the hotel, been fed, and watered. Now it is time to kick back and enjoy the evening of rest and relaxation.
I need the R & R after the day we had. Got to the airport in lots of time only to find that the aircraft is late. Two and a half hours late. Seems the aircraft, originally destination Edmonton, couldn't land because of fog. It diverted to Calgary, had problems with angry passengers, and was further delayed. Got into Edmonton and finally made it to Winnipeg.
I thought ourconnection to Vancouver was definitely screwed up, but the flight attendent say never fear, they use the same aircraft under a different flight number to go on to Vancouver. That calmed the nerves nicely.
So here I am, alone for a short while. Roomie isn't here yet, so I get the bed, he gets the hid-a-bed. First come, well you know what I mean.
I am attaching a picture of the west side of the Oval, so you have a fair idea what the paying public will see before enterig the building.
I need the R & R after the day we had. Got to the airport in lots of time only to find that the aircraft is late. Two and a half hours late. Seems the aircraft, originally destination Edmonton, couldn't land because of fog. It diverted to Calgary, had problems with angry passengers, and was further delayed. Got into Edmonton and finally made it to Winnipeg.
I thought ourconnection to Vancouver was definitely screwed up, but the flight attendent say never fear, they use the same aircraft under a different flight number to go on to Vancouver. That calmed the nerves nicely.
So here I am, alone for a short while. Roomie isn't here yet, so I get the bed, he gets the hid-a-bed. First come, well you know what I mean.
I am attaching a picture of the west side of the Oval, so you have a fair idea what the paying public will see before enterig the building.
Traveling Day
Here we are, Feb. 9. Traveling Day. Nervous as all get out. I didn't sleep to well with all the pent up emotions.
Everyone has been calling and wishing we luck. You would think I was competing rather than officating.
We depart Winnipeg at 1:35pm with a change of planes in Saskatoon, then on to Vancouver arriving at 3:35.
It will be check in to my hotel, and then off to dinner at the Boathouse in Richmond. Em!! The seafood, I can smell the Halabut now.
Everyone has been calling and wishing we luck. You would think I was competing rather than officating.
We depart Winnipeg at 1:35pm with a change of planes in Saskatoon, then on to Vancouver arriving at 3:35.
It will be check in to my hotel, and then off to dinner at the Boathouse in Richmond. Em!! The seafood, I can smell the Halabut now.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Four Sleeps
Its February finally. Four more sleeps. It seened like it would never come, but here it is. We leave on Tuesday at 1:30, to the dipsy doodle and change planes in Saskatoon, and get to Vancouver by 3:30 PST.
We're going to the Boat House for din-din. Seafood galore. Can't wait
We're going to the Boat House for din-din. Seafood galore. Can't wait
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Nancy is coming too!!
Well, since I won''t need the room at Linda Chipparoni's house, Nancy has decided she wants to be in Vancouver too.
Nancy and Linda have aready made plans that make my three weeks seem boring. More power to them.
Nancy and Linda have aready made plans that make my three weeks seem boring. More power to them.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Here it is January 20th and there are twenty more sleeps till I am off to the Olympic Adventure of my life.
I will be arriving in Richmond on Tuesday, Feb. 9 and will hit the ground running.
First is the uniform and accreditation pick up on Wednesday morning, then off to the Oval for some training sessions, and then to GM Place for a sneak preview of the Opening Ceremonies (all very hush-hush)
I will keep everyone posted as the day draws closer.
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