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Venues include Vancouver City, Richmond, West Vancouver and the resort of Whistler, a two hour drive along highway 99. A multitude of exiting spectator sports including Alpine Skiing, Bobsleigh, Biathlon, Snowboarding and of course Ice Hockey are on display, with the worlds top athletes competing for medals.
Vancouver is an exciting and vibrant destination in its own right and the Olympic games will bring a touch of magic to this modern and dynamic city. The resort of Whistler is a world class destination for winter sports and has a reputation for providing great accommodation and facilities for sports minded tourists and adventure seeking addicts.
Like many sporting events, controversy is often never far away and one of the main stories coming out of the lead up to the games is the decision not to allow female ski jumpers to compete. Traditionally, the sport of ski jumping has been dominated by male athletes but a group of female ski jumpers are appealing the decision in the Canadian courts and are fighting for what they say is an injustice. The lawyer representing the female ski jumpers Ross Clarke, stated recently: "It (The Vancouver Olympic Games organizing committee) cannot host events on Canadian soil that implement discrimination". The committee argues that the sport is not developed enough and that there just isn't the amount of athletes at the required level. Whatever the outcome, this is a story that will surely feature throughout the lead up to the games.
Ski Jumping itself is just one of the sports which feature in the winter Olympic Games. Since the first winter games in Chamonix 1924, there have been numerous additions to the traditional winter sports like Alpine Skiing, Ice Hockey and Bobsleigh. Freestyle skiing was first introduced as a medal discipline in the 1992 Albertville games in France, with the sport of Mogul skiing. This involves competitors skiing down a slope with Moguls (lumps of rounded snow which are formed naturally by skiers making turns on steep slopes) and performing 2 aerial manoeuvres within the 200 meter course. The skiers are marked on their style, speed and the aerials they perform. A new sport which will be introduced as a full medal discipline in 2010 and comes under the umbrella of Freestyle Skiing is Skier Cross. This is a multi start event with 4 skiers racing against each other down a fast, winding and undulating slope. The first to the line wins, it is run in heats, with the final determining the overall winner.
Whatever sport you are into from Ice Hockey to Downhill Skiing, the Olympic Games are the pinnacle of the athlete's careers and they will put on a show to remember. Vancouver seems like the perfect destination to hold what is now the 21st Winter Olympic Games. For more information visit the official website: www.vancouver2010.com
Written by Robert Stewart
rob@themountaindepartment.com
http://blog.themountaindepartment.com
Posted July 29th, 2009 by Armen Hareyan
