2010 Olympic Volunteer's Blog

Pin trading requests

olympicvolunteer — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 12:38:13 +0000

Thank you for all the comments regarding my pin collection, they are much appreciated.

I have had many requests to trade some of my pins. I would be happy to do this if I was in the same place as those who have contacted me but I am not keen to trade via the postal service. If, however, you happen to attend London 2012 or Glasgow 2014 I would be more than happy to consider trading with anyone, where appropriate.

Interesting reading for pin traders: http://www.insidethegames.biz/blogs/13819

See you in London and/or Glasgow

Who would have thought it…

olympicvolunteer — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 00:42:48 +0000

…but I am wearing my Vancouver 2010 volunteer’s blue jacket almost every day because of the on-going winter weather in Scotland. I have many other jackets but I like wearing my blue jacket best because I can layer and it had loads of pockets for my bits and pieces.

It is currently midnight and it is -16 degrees in Edinburgh. We haven’t had a winter like this since 1963, although experts say it may be longer than that. We have had record amounts of snow, continued low temperatures for almost two weeks and, other than a forecasted balmy few days this coming weekend, it is to be like this until the end of the year at least!

I love this weather but it has been having a significant effect on my travel to work. On a couple of days last week I took public transport and it took two buses and 2.5 hours from door to door, and back again. I like walking in the snow and love taking photos.

Winter Wonderland

Some days I have more Olympic gear on than you could buy in the Olympic Superstore – today I had on a white 2010 Olympic toque; my volunteer’s blue jacket and ski pants; my Canadian Olympic scarf and the famous red mittens. All that’s missing are my winter boots which happen to be lying in a cupboard in my cousin’s house in Vancouver!!! Who’s idea was it to leave them behind until the next visit…oh yeah, it was mine!

The last hurrah – 2010 Winter Olympic Games slideshow

olympicvolunteer — Wed, 12 May 2010 04:00:20 +0000

It hasn’t been easy reducing 4,500 photos to fit a 4 mins music track but here is my Olympic slideshow. They may not be my best photos but they are some of my favourites.

This is my last contribution to my Vancouver 2010 blog. Thank you for reading, your comments and your interest in my Olympic experience.

Look out for my next blog from the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi from 3-14 October.

The Endless Winter at Whistler Blackcomb

olympicvolunteer — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 05:55:11 +0000

April 10 and the snow is still falling at Whistler-Blackcomb. This depresses me because it didn’t snow when I was there in February…snowed tons before and after!!!

2010 Winter Paralympic Games: Closing Ceremony Athletes Parade through Whistler

olympicvolunteer — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 05:40:12 +0000

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In the records books

olympicvolunteer — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:44:30 +0000

I am slowly but surely getting through my photos, sorting, deleting, naming and organising them. I took over 4,500 shots in seven weeks, and I only took one camera with me!! I am making a couple of slideshows, turning them into wee videos and in the next few days hope to upload them into the blog. Once I do this it will be the end of my Olympic blogging and will turn my attention to my next trip, which is to the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

While going through my photos tonight I came across a few I had forgotten about and had to plan to use on my blog. The one below is me with Athanasios and Panagiota Tsakiris, from the Greek team, who made history when they became the first ever father-daughter duo to compete at the same Winter Games.

Panagiota and Athanasios Tsakiris

The father and daughter’s record secured them a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

For Athanasios, Vancouver was his fifth Winter Olympics and he has competed over 600 times, in international competitions, as a member of the Greek ski team, in the biathlon and cross-country events. His daughter, Panagiota, competed in her second Games, in the Biathlon.

It is a great achievement and one the Tsakiris’ family should be very proud.

Thank you VANOC and the IOC

olympicvolunteer — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 20:33:36 +0000

As I read (and weep) about the ending of the Paralympic Games today I have been thinking about my time out in BC as an Olympic volunteer. I have tons of memories, good and not so good; made many new friends; taken over 4,500 photographs (which I am still sorting out); added to my pin collection; and many pieces of Olympic memorabilia – red mittens and Canada scarf (regretting that I didn’t buy the hat to match ); a cow-bell and bear bells; a set of Petro Canada glasses (that didn’t break in transit back to Scotland!); and the gifts given to the volunteers by VANOC and the IOC. We were given a couple of pin badges, glass coasters, a commemorative coin/medal, a stunning Birks Olympic key ring (which I plan to change to a necklace) and a Swatch watch when we finished our last shift. All unexpected and very much appreciated by me.

Gifts from VANOC and IOC

I miss my colleagues and friends in the Village at Whistler and I hope they all had a great Paralympic Games, and I hope to see them again sometime.

I don’t however, miss the food in the workforce dining area. It was some of the most unpleasant food I have ever tasted and was pleased we could use the meal vouchers at McDonalds. I am sorry if that is too critical but I believe it is important to feed your volunteers properly, after all they are giving freely of their time and working hard to help deliver a successful Games. Yes, the gifts are welcomed but the every day care of the volunteers is crucial, and food is a vital component.

In the coming weeks the Villages in both Vancouver and Whistler will be dismantled and the work completed to turn them into the homes that people have bought.

I was pleased to have been able to visit the Vancouver Village. I didn’t get the opportunity to see inside the buildings due to the preparation for the Paralympics but the outside and surrounding area are very impressive. The condos on False Creek in Vancouver will have magnificent views of the city and beyond to the mountains.

Vancouver Village

The houses in Whistler are situated in a lovely rural setting, surrounded by the mountains and trees.

The homes in Vancouver and Whistler are a lasting legacy of these Games and not many folk will be able to say that they had Olympic/Paralympic athletes staying in their homes. One day I hope to go back to Whistler to see how they area of the Village has been developed.

I also hope when I do return in the winter I will experience a Whistler winter and see the snow rather than the grass in the valley.

I have posted a few photos of both Villages here if you are interested.

Whistler Village

Whistler Village (with snow!!)

It’s over to you now London in 2012. You have a hard act to follow, and I don’t mean Beijing. Will the UK unite like Canada did? Will the streets of London buzz like Vancouver and Whistler? Will it rain for the duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games!? Only time will tell.

And then we move onto 2014, a year of sport, when Sochi hosts the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, Glasgow will host the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup will be held at Gleneagles, Scotland. Bring it on!

The Olympic/Paralympic party is nearly over

olympicvolunteer — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 17:41:08 +0000

Today is the last day of the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games and it is three weeks since the end of the Olympic Games. They say all good things must come to an end…but this quick, come on!!! It only seems like five minutes since the IOC awarded the Games to Vancouver in the first place.

The Paralympic Closing Ceremony is taking place in Whistler Medals Plaza today and I wish I was there to see it because it will be fantastic. I am pleased to hear Whistler is getting to bring down the curtain on what has been a fantastic event. The locals in Whistler have done a huge amount of work and deserve to see the Closing Ceremony on their on door step.

For anyone in Whistler reading this and don’t know the times: the event will start with the athletes parade along the Village Stroll at 6:45 p.m. The Closing Ceremony will celebrate more than 500 Paralympic athletes from 44 countries and the entire show will be broadcast on Whistler Live! screens. Wrap up and get out there and see the last hurrah of the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Twitter Olympics

olympicvolunteer — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:06:00 +0000

Although I love using the internet, I have never been a great fan, or indeed seen the point, of social media. However, up to a point, I have changed my mind. When I was asked by my office to blog my Olympic experience I decided to use Twitter and Facebook too. Both became valuable tools in keeping me up to speed with what was going on at the Games; who was doing what; how long the lines were at the zipline on Robson Square, the Mint and the Olympic Superstore; and if it was going to snow at Whistler.

My office kindly gave me a Blackberry for use while I was at the Games and I loaded on WordPress, Twitter and Facebook, which were all linked together. This wee gadget in my hand provided me with all I needed when I was out and about to update my blog and keep updated on Games news.

I enjoyed writing this blog when in Canada but I will confess that sometimes it did feel like homework at the end of a long day. I was always aware that people back home were looking to find out what I had been up to and I felt obliged to maintain and provide some sort of update. Some days were easier than others because some days my work was the same with no points of interest. Other times were easier to write about or seemed a bit more interesting (to me anyway).

I have had a lot of good feedback to my blog. People have written to me from many countries to thank me for doing my blog and keeping them informed about my activities and views on the Games. As I write, my blog has had just over 23,000 hits which astonishes me but it is really good know that my efforts have been noticed and others have been taking an interest…thank you to all.

Unfortunately, as per the nature of the internet, I also received some inappropriate comments from a number of anonymous sad people. I am thankful for WordPress’s moderating facility.

Twitter is a great source of information, especially if you ‘follow’ the right ‘Tweeter’. I follow most things to do with the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Vancouver, Whistler, BC, Canada, Team GB and other relevant areas of interest. I also follow other bloggers and Games-related Tweeters.

I will admit that I not totally into the workings of Twitter but find it interesting that when someone I am following re-tweets a piece of information to their followers and then it re-tweets again and some well-known names appears with their comments. Seeing the names of the Governor General of Canada, Lindsey Vonn or Joannie Rochette appear on my Twitter is odd and fascinating.

Although the accident had been reported on the news, I read somewhere that someone on Twitter was first to deliver the sad news to the world that Nodar Kumaritashvili, the luger from Georgia, had died while training at the Whistler Sliding Centre, before it made the news. I heard about this tragic news from my cousin by the old fashion telephone method, mind you I was using a mobile phone while sitting on the Canada Line.

Facebook allowed me to keep up to date with my Team 2010 colleagues and other information from home.

I also had my laptop with me and I did three live interviews on CBC News which were all broadcast using the webcam and Skype. I also did a live telephone interview with Radio Scotland from my cousin’s house in Vancouver . She sat in the next room listening to me via Radio Scotland’s website. You gotta love technology!

There is no doubt that technology now plays a huge part in major events such as the Games. Athletes can send messages to their fans, the media picks up any tidbits of news and write an easy news article in their paper or blog based on what the athlete wrote. Celebrity blogging/tweeting makes life easy for journalists.

It is anyone’s guess what forms of communication we will be using at London 2012 and Glasgow 2014.

CTV’s Brian Williams’ Sign-off from Vancouver 2010

olympicvolunteer — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:19:56 +0000

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