February 2010 Archives

Ski jumping is where a skier goes down a ramp and jumps 393 feet (120 meters) off the end. They may go as far as 475 feet (145 meters). I really liked ski jumping because they go really high in the air.

The jumpers are flying about 62 miles per hour (100 km per hour), which is amazing! And then they would land without falling! It must be hard landing!

At the biathlon race yesterday I met Rowan Post, who is 12 years old and is training to be a biathlete. Rowan came to the Olympic Biathlon event with his dad and uncle. Rowan recently won first place in a British Columbia youth biathlon event.  I asked him a few questions.

Today we went to see an Olympic biathlon competition. The Winter Games biathlon is a race where a skier will ski a race course and then shoot a rifle at targets five times, and then will repeat the same thing four more times.

The judges add one minute for every time the skiers miss their target. So if  someone crosses the finish line first but missed a lot of their snipes (targets), they probably won't win. Biathlon was invented by the Norwegians. Norway took the top two spots in the men's 20 km race today.

Here I am posing in front of the two Olympic mascots at a victory ceremony on Feb. 17th in Whistler.

To the right is Quatchi who is a Sasquatch, who wears boots and earmuffs. To the left is Miga who is a mythical sea bear, part orca and part kermode bear. These creatures are seen at every event on the screen during breaks, in a game called "Find Miga/Quatchi". The victory ceremony was a lot of fun. At one point they enormous threw beach balls into the crowd. The victory ceremonies are held in two places at once, one in Vancouver, and one in Whistler. The Olympic events that took place in Vancouver and Cypress Mountain are celebrated in Vancouver and the events near Whistler are celebrated in Whistler - but both are live on TV at the same time.

Speed skating was a lot of fun. People cheered a little differently -- instead of just cheering constantly, people would cheer as the skaters came near them, all the way around the ring. The skaters would switch sides (inside or outside lane, called a "crossover") every time they went around the ice skating ring. In speed skating they put skaters with the similar ability together, then they draw which pair goes first.  There is a camera on a little car that goes and follows the skaters that goes smoothly and quickly along a track next to the skaters. Here is a picture of that camera.

We had tickets to see the women's hockey game - Canadians vs. Slovakia.  We are sitting about 300 feet up - one row from the top of the stadium. I'm glad I have binoculars! I think about 90% of the stadium is filled with Canadians and more than half are wearing Canadian shirts to support their country. The large TV screens focus on some of the fans during the game.  Many have face paint, are wearing flags, and dance to music during time outs. The crowd does the wave around the stadium. Canadian hockey is my favorite sport so far to be in the stands and watch because it is fun!



All the announcements at the game are made in two languages - English and French, because both languages are spoken in Canada. Even before the first period of play is over, the Canadians are winning seven to nothing - by the end, they will win 18 to nothing. Hockey to Canadians is like American football is to Americans - they start playing very young and become very good players.  It is nonstop action with hockey and the crowds in the stadium are nonstop as well!  Here I am with my cowbell for cheering during the game.

This afternoon we went to visit the Olympic cauldron, which was lit on Friday night after the Opening Ceremonies. Many people in the crowd were upset that they couldn't get closer to see the fire because it was blocked off by a chain-link fence! No one there, even the security guards, knew why the cauldron was blocked off. One lady thought that the Olympic committee was worried about protesters and didn't want to let them close to the cauldron.


The Olympic flame is a symbol of modern-day Olympics.  Where did the flame come from? The flame story was that the Greek god Prometheus stole the flame from Mount Olympus and gave it to the humans. The flame is carried by torch from Greece where the Ancient Olympics started to where the Olympics is held.  

This is a picture of the cauldron through the chains in the fence.

The weather in Vancouver has been warmer than normal and it has been raining. In Canada, people use the metric system to measure temperature.  For example, this morning it was 8 degrees Celsius, which is 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

People in Vancouver have been asking me to bring some snow from back home because they don't have enough!  We had three feet of snow before I left Maryland and our schools were closed because there was so much snow.  Some Olympic events in the mountains were even canceled because of the warm weather here. It has been so warm that Vancouver cherry blossom trees have bloomed early.

This morning we visited the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia because we didn't have tickets to any Olympic event until later in the day.  The museum just finished a $55 million (Canadian) renovation which included a large, maze-like room with artifacts in showcases and in drawers. You could use a computer to look up information on any of the artifacts and to find them in the drawers. I really liked the section with weapons (see photo).





The museum also had a ten-meter long canoe which you could touch, along with drums you could play and many totem poles.

Surprisingly, there were very few people there.  The guard said that was because of the Olympic opening ceremonies the night before. Many people stayed up late celebrating and so may be sleeping in. We didn't see the ceremonies so we came early to visit the museum.

Since Vancouver was awarded the 2010 Winter Olympics, our city has been excitedly waiting and preparing for this amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Three years ago, Vancouver put a gigantic digital clock in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery to count down the days, minutes, and seconds until the big day.

On the plane today I met Lindsey Vonn's mother, Linda Krohn. Lindsey is an American Olympic skier.  People think Lindsey is going to win lots of Gold medals in the Vancouver Olympics. We were on United Flight 323 from Denver to Vancouver when I met her mom. What a coincidence! So I decided to ask a few questions.


 

We're ready for the Winter Games, are you? We are going to take you on an inside tour of the some of the biggest Olympic events, the city of Vancouver, and even to the city of Montreal. As the Olympic torch makes its final journey to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canadian kids are proud and excited about the games.

Meet Rachel, resident of Vancouver and an avid figure skater. She'll give us the local scoop on Vancouver from a kid's perspective.

Meet Jack, resident of the Washington, D.C. area, but heading to the games. Jack will give us the 10-year-old boy perspective on the games and the festivities.

Meet Sima, a 13-year-old resident of Montreal. Sima will show us around Montreal as she cheers on her national teams from afar. Go Canadian women's hockey!

What winter event are you excited to watch?