Recently, Gatorade contacted me about speaking with one their marquee athletes to launch the G Series line here in Canada. I was surprised that the athlete in question was Olympics gold medalist and World Cup snowboard cross athlete, Maëlle Ricker. Maëlle captured the country’s heart when she was the first woman to win gold on home soil. A Vancouver local, she grew up in the mountains, with parents who “eat, breath and speak skiing”. She started snowboarding after her following her old brother’s lead and was instantly hooked. For Maëlle, snowboard cross made sense because she was able to combine all of her snow skills. “I have my background in ski racing when I started snowboarding I was all about freestyle, I wanted to jump and do the half-pipe and all that. When I tried snowboard cross, all my different sporting backgrounds, […] kind of combined into an event that I excelled at. I had the freestyle skills from riding and sort of the race skills from ski racing”.

Snowboarding has gone from a fringe sport that many mountains outlawed to a marketable, professional and perhaps most importantly, an Olympic sport. Maëlle agrees that snowboarders don’t necessarily like the athlete title that comes along with the professional designation, “there is this misconception that snowboarders aren’t working out, they’re not trying”. Maëlle said at the High Road Communications office in downtown Toronto. She was wearing jeans, a Gatorade zip up and a pair of practical platform, waterproof knee-high boots. “…That’s just the image we like to give off. We actually are working our butts off. We’re out on the hill everyday, all day. We are in the gym in the afternoons and in the offseason”. I remember powder days where we would go out for hours on end without food, water and sometimes, not even an iPod. But times have changed and Maëlle is endorsing Gatorade, one of the most recognized brands in sports and an icon in athlete branding. She’s one of over four hundred athletes, including Dwyane Wade, Usain Bolt and Georges St. Pierre, that Gatorade collaborated with in developing the new G-Series. Their goal with the G-Series, which launches March 21st in Canada, is to move the brand from purely a sports drink company to a sport nutrition innovator.

But how do these three steps of Gatorade: prime, perform and recover, help Maëlle? She competes in a sport where not only do milliseconds matter when crossing the finish line, but she needs explosive strong muscles when banking turns and going over big air jumps. She likes the series because she’s able to use it on and off the hill in riding and work outs, “When I’m on the hill, like for example when I’m at a race, I make sure 15 minutes before I drop in for my heats, I’m taking the Prime, I’m getting the right carbs, vitamins and electrolytes into my system so that I’m at my maximum energy for when I’m riding. Or when I’m riding or when I’m at the gym, it’s so important to keep hydrated. Even if you’re just slightly dehydrated, like two percent, you’re going to be off your game, you’re not going to be able to re-act as well, your muscles are not going to respond as quickly as you need them […] When I’m done my race or I’m done my workout, then right away you’re beating your muscles down all work out, basically breaking them down and now you have a really short window to recover and to get the right nutrients in so that you’re building your muscles back up to be stronger and ready for the next day. So that’s when you’re going to be your protein and your carbs and that’s the recover part of the line of the G Series”.

Maëlle is more than just a snowboarder but also an avid student of the sport. She admits that she’s not always paid attention to the training aspect of professional snowboarding. It wasn’t until an injury forced her to hit the gym diligently. Tearing an ACL is a common but devastating injury to a snowboarding as all day on the hill, they’re flexing and extending their knees for turns, jumps – they’re like human shock absorbers.”That’s the first time I was really serious about making sure I was fit and ready on my board […] the last few years working a lot with board technology and […] today working with sports nutrition. We’ve had nutritionists in the past with the team and they’ve been awesome but just being a part of this Gatorade family and testing this new G Series line and having that integrated into my personal program, it’s really cool”.

I had to ask Maelle more about the style aspect of snowboarding, being someone who’s into the fashion as much as the frontside spins. Snowboard cross may not ooze swagger like other events, but Maelle recognizes rider’s signatures just as easily on the course as the half-pipe “…Everyone has their own style on the course. I mean, you know your competitor, you can see them from a mile away, you know who it is just from the way they ride […] I don’t know how people describe my style […] I hope nothing negative!”. When it comes to her on snow apparel, she always choses comfort over fashion, favouring baggy pants, long jackets and more basic colours like blues, greens and reds. Besides her own Olympic gear, which she called “super tech […] and ready for the miserable weather”, she liked the faux jean outfits that the American team was wearing. She’s had a chance to work on the more performance area of apparel as well as board technology but hasn’t designed any of her own gear.

Maëlle snowboards for the love it, her eyes light up when she talks about free riding and mountaineering to further her exploration of the beloved backcountry. The training, along with World Cup events last all year round, which suits her just fine as she’s never been one to sit still. When it came to preparation for the Olympics, Maëlle had a very no non-sense approach, “the thing with the Olympics, even in my hometown, I still treated it like another World Cup. I didn’t drive my car [...] I went on the bus with the team. I made sure before I competed that nothing was drastically different from when I competed with the team in the rest of the season. Obviously, after the event, things got kind of crazy […] I was really happy to be back with my team in Europe and racing again, I felt like I was back in my skin and at my comfort level”.

Winning the Olympic gold medal has afforded opportunities but also a few challenges, “It’s forced me to learn a different side of snowboarding – the business side. I’ve probably matured a lot in the last year. But, I’ve had some amazing opportunities with ACT Now BC and Kid Sport Canada and then I get the chance to align myself with companies I believe in”. Where does she go from here? Olympic Gold medalist, Winter X-Games gold medalist, Gatorade endorser – what more can she do? “I’m still progressing and still moving on an upward slope in boarder cross and I’m looking forward to keep pushing myself in the next few years. And I’m also really passionate about free riding and being out in the backcountry – I have the mountain right at my doorstep”.

Maëlle’s honesty and laid back love of the sport is inspiring. She may not ooze style through what she wears but her riding and patronage of the sport is contagious. She’s not your typical athlete but she proves that you don’t have to be a typical jock or fit the image of the stereotypical snowboarder to succeed – she walks the fine line, all for the love the powder turn and the going for the gold.

For more on Maëlle, you can click below to read the transcript of our interview below. Special thanks to Laura from High Road Communications and Gatorade Canada Team.

Megan Wilson: How did you start snowboarding?

Maëlle Ricker: I kinda grew up in the mountains, my parents sorta live, eat, breath, speak skiing. So when I was younger I was ski racing, I followed big brother and started snowboarding and I kind of got hooked on that.

MW: Did it make you more competitive, learning from your brother?

MR: He definitely pushed me. When you’re out riding with all the older guys and you’re only girl, you don’t want to be holding up the crew, you don’t want to be a pain in the butt. You want to be part of it.

MW: How did you end up doing snowboard cross?

MR: It’s kinda bad, but I’ve never even tried racing…never been in hard boots. I think I have my background in ski racing when I started snowboarding I was all about freestyle, I wanted to jump and do the half-pipe and all that. When I tried snowboard cross, all my different sporting backgrounds, all of that experience from that, kind of combined into an event that I excelled at. I had the freestyle skills from riding and sort of the race skills from ski racing.

MW: It just kind of made sense?

MR: It’s neat. To be a snowboard cross rider you have to be an all-around rider because you’re getting a little bit of everything. Which is really neat because I think it’s the one race that really combines like all elements of snowboarding.

MW: Do you still get a chance to do more free riding? Do you find you can bring your style to snowboard cross?

MR: For sure. I love free riding. I love getting out on my split board and going out in the back country. And, snowboard cross is becoming more and more specific, you really do need to train and work hard at snowboard cross but at the same time, but at the same time, everyone has their own style on the course. I mean, you know your competitor, you can see them from a mile away, you know who it is just from the way they ride.

MW: How would you describe your style? How could someone watching a snowboard cross event pick out Maëlle on the hill?

MR: I don’t know how people describe my style. Hopefully nothing negative. (laugh) I’m not sure, I definitely come from the freestyle side of the sport.

MW: Talking about training. When did you have to start focussing on the off snow training?

MR: That’s a good question because there is this misconception that snowboarders aren’t working out, they’re not trying. I think that’s just the image we like to give off. We actually are working our butts off. We’re out on the hill everyday, all day. We are in the gym in the afternoons and in the offseason. We’re on the bikes training and getting our cardio up. I think one of the big turnarounds for me was the first time I tore my ACL and I got back into the gym to rehab properly and really put in the hours. And that’s the first time I was really serious about making sure I was fit and ready on my board. And things have just kind of progressed from there, you’re learning more about the sport science of everything and the last few years working a lot with board technology and that kinda thing and now being here in Toronto today working with sports nutrition. We’ve had nutritionists in the past with the team and they’ve been awesome but just being a part of this Gatorade family and testing this new G Series line and having that integrated into my personal program, it’s really cool.

MW: Ever since you tore your ACL, did it re-motivate you and make you see the sport in a different way?

MR: I think it just made me a little more serious. If I want to last as long as I want in my snowboard career and be able to do the things that I want to do and your body has to be able to take a hit and stand up afterwards and get up and try it again. If you’re not falling in a day, it means that maybe you’re not trying hard enough or that you’re that good.

MW: Now, how goes Gatorade and the G-Series factor into your nutrition and training both in the off-season and when you’re on the circuit competing?

MR: Well I use it off and on season. With the series that’s coming out, there’s pre, during and post exercise items so you can incorporate that into my gym training, as well as when I’m on the hill. When I’m on the hill, like for example when I’m at a race, I make sure 15 minutes before I drop in for my heats, I’m taking the Prime, I’m getting the right carbs, vitamins and electrolytes into my system so that I’m at my maximum energy for when I’m riding. Or when I’m riding or when I’m at the gym, it’s so important to keep hydrated. Even if you’re just slightly dehydrated, like two percent, you’re going to be off your game, you’re not going to be able to re-act as well, your muscles are not going to respond as quickly as you need them to so that’s pretty huge, so that’s where the perform comes in which is the Gatorade or the G2. And then as well after when I’m done my race or I’m done my workout, then right away you’re beating your muscles down all work out, basically breaking them down and now you have a really short window to recover and to get the right nutrients in so that you’re building your muscles back up to be stronger and ready for the next day. So that’s when you’re going to be your protein and your carbs and that’s the recover part of the line of the G Series. And so, I could use that on a long free ride day. If I’m doing peak to creeks in Whistler all day. In the past, I’d go up there and ride for six hours and not even stop for water – how stupid is that? How easy is it to have Gatorade with you. And now water isn’t enough, you need to be replacing the sodium and potassium and all those things are going to allow you ride day after day. I mean you could have six powder days in a row, you gotta maximize!

MW: Do you feel a lot better physically than in the past now that you know how to train and what to eat and drink?

MR: For sure. When I’m on it and when I’m using the product and we’ve been testing it for about six months – ya it’s not much easier. I think it’s the repetitiveness, when you’re out there constantly pushing your body and you’re not fuelling your body properly, your body can only do so much, you gotta keep on top of those kinds of things.

MW:  Is your training a lot different from when you’re in season than during your off-season?

MR: Well I train in cycles, right. You can’t always be lifting the heaviest weights or doing the longest runs or whatever, sort of in phases. So like in the off-season, the beginning of the off-season, you’ll start working on base. You’ll start with cardio, working on all the little muscle things, make sure all the right muscles are firing at the right time. And as you work up, towards the season you start putting in heavier stuff, some squats and building up the strength. And then as you get closer and closer to the season, you start doing all the fun stuff. That’s like the plyos, the Olympic lifting, getting all the explosive muscles working and then when you’re in season it’s all about trying to maintain what you spent the off-season building. So then, you;’re kinda hanging on for dear life as you’re snowboarding during the day, but you still have to be at the gym making sure that your body will be able to stay strong during that long stretch in the winter. You’re not always able to go and lift weight everyday because you already did like 3000 squats on your snowboard when you’re on the mountain. That’s recovery, making sure you’re on the bike everyday and you’re well rested.

MW: I guess you don’t really ever get a break?

MR: There’s always something, which is good because I don’t like sitting around so it works well with your lifestyle.

MW: Do you get to travel in the offseason to South America or Australia and New Zealand?

MR: Ya, we have a World Cup every September usually in Chile or Argentina. The last few years it’s been in Argentina so that’s pretty cool. It’s a bit of a funny schedule because we have this World cup in September then we don’t compete again until December. But, I’ve been to Australia the year before the Olympics. Last summer we went down there and trained with the Aussie team and did some races, so that was tons of fun.

MW: It must feel like being back at Whistler with all the Australians that live there.

MR: Ya, we have such a good rapport with the Aussie guys. We share training facilities and they come up and train with us and we go down and train with them, it’s a pretty good little deal.

MW: Do you get a chance to work with board technology at all like you did with Gatorade and really customize what you ride?

MR: I race on Oxess, they’re a Swiss company and they make custom snowboard cross boards. Technology is changing constantly, especially in snowboard cross, they’re quite specialized now. There’s nobody on tour now who isn’t on a boarder cross specific board. We do have a tech that travels with us full-time, sometimes we have two, depending on the event, boarder cross, there’s so much gliding you need a fast base if you want to be competitive. You want somebody who knows exactly the science behind getting your board much like how you’re fuelling your body, your board is a huge part of it.

MW: Do you get to customize exactly what you need? Is it a one of kind board?

MR: Oh yeah. We had a great tech leading up the games and we had a shop in Squamish where we grinding the boards and getting the ride texture on the base for the right snow conditions. You’d show up at an event with like four or five different boards and depending on the snow conditions, and what the course is like, you chose your board accordingly.

MW: At the Olympics you were given gear, do you get to put your own signature or style on it?

MR: A little bit. Especially with our race stuff we did some research with some people who made racing suits. A lot of time I’m just all about the comfort, I like the baggy pants, I like room to move. I love long fitting things, having a jacket that covers my bum and just something like that. There’s obviously a huge style element to snowboarding and the trends change every year.

MW: There’s the whole tight pants craze…

MR: I’m a big fan of the looser pants.

MW: What did you think of the Olympics gear you got?

MR: It was nice, for sure. It was super tech stuff. It was good. We had some miserable weather, and the last thing you want to do is be in some gear that’s not made for the rain.

MW: Style wise when it comes to apparel, who really stood out to you at the Olympics or on tour?

MR: The Americans had the faux jean thing going on. They got a lot of press about that. I actually quite like it, I think it’s cool but I don’t think everyone shares my opinion.

MW: Do you like bright colours or neutrals?

MR: When you’re doing photos and stuff you want to be in bright colours so you pop with the camera. But my favourite colours are greens and browns and reds.

MW: Who’s your favourite rider when it comes to style, or who do you really like to watch? I read that you grew up riding with Natasza Zurek who has amazing style, was she someone who influenced you?

MR: For sure, Nat (Natasza Zurek). She’s such an amazing rider and definitely at the forefront of Canadian women’s and the world women’s snowboarding for so long. Um, in the boarder cross course, Mellie Francon from Switzerland, she’s a great rider. Of course my teammate, Dominique (Maltais), we have a lot of fun together. Free riding, Annie Boulanger. There’s a lot of good Canadian women out there…Marie Francois, she definitely oozes with style, too. [...] We got all these nice mountains, we’re taking advantage of it…we’re not afraid to get dirty!

MW: Was there anyone growing up who you really admired?

MR: For sure riding with my brother and his friends was huge. Craig Kelly and Terje (Hakonsen), always wanting to check out their video parts. Now so, with free ride stuff that Jeremy Jones is doing with Project Deeper, combining the mountaineering with snowboarding, those adventures…those guys are nuts. Xavier De Le Rue…the lines that he’s doing and his approach to the sport. And he’s a snowboard crosser, too. The guy is succeeding in both parts of the industry [...] it’s hard to balance.

MW: You’ve won Olympic gold on home soil, but what else do you want to do in your snowboarding career? Do you have any goals in mind?

MR: I do. I’m still progressing and still moving on an upward slope in boarder cross and I’m looking forward to keep pushing myself in the next few years. And I’m also really passionate about free riding and being out in the backcountry – I have the mountain right at my doorstep. I took some mountaineering courses this summer to get some more experience.

MW: Here’s a Twitter question from @Ryan_A79. What is it like transitioning from an event like the Olympics back to the regular World Cup tour? It is a big transition, how do you deal with it?

MR: The thing with the Olympics, even in my hometown, I still treated it like another World Cup. I didn’t drive my car down to Vancouver to the Olympic Village – I went on the bus with the team. I made sure before I competed that nothing was drastically different than when I competed with the team in the rest of the season. Obviously, after the event, things got kind of crazy – good crazy and that was tons of fun. I definitely was itching to get back on my board and I was really happy to be back with my team in Europe and racing again, I felt like I was back in my skin and at my comfort level. I didn’t have a trouble transitioning back to the circuit, I was actually looking forward to it.

MW: You treated it like another event?

MR: Obviously the Olympics isn’t just another event but that’s how you have to approach it. You make sure that you’ve been training and preparing for is what you execute.

MW: Do you think since winning the Olympics, you’ve been offered a lot more opportunities?

MR: It’s definitely forced me to learn a different side of snowboarding, more of the business side. I’ve probably matured a lot in the last year. But, I’ve had some amazing opportunities with ACT Now BC and Kid Sport Canada and then I get the chance to align myself with companies I believe in like Gatorade. That are out there to push sport in Canada and to be with this company that is doing that is pretty huge.

- M

Pretty much everything is getting a bad case of Needsanotherdamnpage. It’s more likely a problem with the keyboard, but there is an outside chance it is (gasp!) me that is experiencing difficulty reining in my digressive tendencies causing the issue.

So to assuage my building guilt I offer up a bit of fun from one of my favorite shows How It’s Made. This video is how curling stones are made.

Not too far from me is a curling rink by the name of “Granite Curling“. As a kid, whenever we’d pass by in the car I’d wonder how they could curl granite. It being a rock and me being a rather curious cat I simply could not figure out how they could curl a substance with no flexible properties. I finally asked, and eventually got to watch the game played, and realized I was asking the wrong question, which should have been; Why are they sweeping the ice like that?

Cheryl Bernard - Curling Vixen. (yeah, I'd spend an afternoon at an ice rink to watch her curl...)

I’ve been a fan ever since and (somehow) became an even bigger fan during the 2010 Olympics, and specifically of the Canadian Women’s team and one Cheryl Bernard.

Now, before I ramble off on a digression on the delectability of Ms Bernard (who is married, by the way) let me re-direct both our attentions back to the subject of the How It’s Made show.

There’s a good number of How It’s Made videos on YouTube – enough to tank an entire afternoon easily and it would be well worth it.

Just a quick update before I’m off again. I had a lovely Valentines day with my boy, which involved yummy Greek food and a giant bouquet of flowers (it didn’t fit in our booth!). I had this idea to take some pictures in a photo booth and make a card out of it. I ran out of time to go to a real photo booth, but I found a digital one that really impressed me. This is the strip I ended up using:

If you are wondering about the last photo, it’s actually a flier for this site. I discovered it while reading Jen Loves Kev. Her wonderful husband created this website where people can dedicate their love, and it’s a reminder each time of how much he loves her *squee*. So I thought it would be a perfect Valentines card.

Last weekend I spent the day in down town Vancouver to soak up some Olympic memories and see the cauldron re-lite.  It was a great day, even with a rain storm. But at 4pm when the cauldron burst into flame it stopped raining.

While I wandered around down town, I went into the Bay and was lucky enough to try on some Olympic memorabilia. It was amazing to feel even more of a part of Canada’s victory in Hockey last year (both our men and women won gold!)

So that’s my week in a quick re-cap. See you next week!!

Postmedia

It’s been fun watching Vancouverites sport with pride this country’s colours again. It’s our small way of honouring the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The games were defined by the public’s embrace, and the displays of affection during anniversary celebrations this week and last have felt genuine. A bit subdued, but sweet.

There is my barista, wearing last year’s coffee-stained red and white Canada fleece. I boarded a city bus; the driver had a familiar 2010 scarf wrapped around his neck. I disembarked on Robson Street, where most of last year’s big spontaneous celebrations took place; a young couple in old Games regalia two-stepped across the red light.

Such simple expressions make fine antidotes to the official, packaged Games nostalgia-fare. Governments and corporate sponsors looking for residual payback on their ill-timed Games investments are pushing treacly Heritage Moment stuff. And of course the Hudson’s Bay is selling those made-in-China red mittens again; I saw dozens of them for sale on the men’s floor inside The Bay’s giant downtown store.

John Furlong, chief executive of the 2010 Vancouver Organizing Committee, has succumbed to the sell-sell frenzy. He’s flogging himself, and his new ghost-written memoir, using an unabashedly self-aggrandizing website [johnfurlong.ca]. Go there to book him for your next keynote speech. Never mind those wooden lectures he delivered during the opening and closing ceremonies last year; Mr. Furlong now says he’s “known for his masterful storytelling…he continues to inspire, regaling audiences with the many remarkable and fascinating untold stories behind the Games.” One story he doesn’t like discussing much is the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, on the Games’ opening day. Mr. Furlong chastised CBC journalists last week for investigating circumstances that led to the athlete’s demise. The reporters uncovered and exposed VANOC emails that put him in an unflattering light.

But the CBC story — and Mr. Furlong’s surly response to it — are minor notes compared to the symphony of wails that’s echoing across False Creek, from the star-crossed athlete’s village. Here’s Vancouver’s version of the Olympic Owe, a real estate debacle in Canada’s most over-priced housing market. On Thursday, as the 2010 anniversary celebrations start fading to black, a court-appointed receiver will launch a new village sales campaign, an effort to unload at saner, lower prices 230 of its un-purchased condominiums. It’s the latest attempt to recoup some of the City of Vancouver’s $742.6 million investment in the residential project.

The receiver will keep 244 pricier condos off the market until selling conditions improve. Next year, perhaps, or not. In the meantime, about half of the 244 set-aside condos will be offered for rent at the current market rate, about $2.30 a square foot.

The village was originally marketed as Millenium Water, a reference to its now-departed developer, Vancouver-based Millenium Development Corp. Wags started calling it Millenium Underwater, which would not do. It’s now billed as The Village at False Creek. Just over 1,100 condos and social housing units have been built but only a fraction have been occupied since athletes decamped at the end of the Games last year. The community seems well designed and is easy on the eyes, but the emptiness feels creepy. Two giant sculpted robins stand guard in the deserted central plaza. I’m sure the birds are meant to make us feel welcome, but they look ready to attack, make meals of us.

Most of the village’s retail space remains closed. No promised high-end grocery store for now. No drug and department store either. There is a cavernous, private liquor shop doing what looks to be a slow if steady business. This is useful; village condo dwellers who bought at 2008-era inflated prices can drown their sorrows with just a short walk. Maybe they’ll have more neighbours by next year’s anniversary celebration. Someone needs to paint their village red.

bhutchinson@nationalpost.com

National Post

Ahem. Now where was I? Ah yes,

The Re-Olympics: An attempt to bring back the unbridled excitement and elated emotions that once surrounded a city.

Exceptions: This phenomenon is only available in cities where the Olympics took place or where medal-winning Olympians were born. (Sorry loser cities but bite us!)

Let’s get to it

At long last the re-Olympics are here. I’ve been waiting a whole year for this unexpected opportunity and, as expected, it had unexpected results. Originally I thought I’d be forced to write another boring piece on Valentine’s Day (gag!…but see below post) but luckily the Re-Olympics saved me from that fateful task (for the record though, I do love any event involving an inordinate amount of chocolate and getting said chocolate in my belly).

The Re-Olympics are here

The Re-Olympics are the official one year anniversary celebrations of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. So much has been planned around this event too: stage shows, concerts, street parties, demonstrations, festivals, random hook-ups, etc. and I was happy to take part in every aspect of it. No matter how early the event, no matter what time the activities would start, I was going to be there.

The first event of the Re-Olympics was at the famed Robson Square. It was supposed to boast free ice-skating while a renowned DJ played some tunes.  Our sexy mayor was also going to make an appearance and play a round of hockey somewhere in the vicinity and all this was scheduled to start Saturday, February 12 @ 9:00 AM sharp. Waking up at the crack of 12:07 PM, I rushed to get ready, ate a quick 3-course breakfast and was quickly out the door in record time. A mere 2 hours and 45 minutes later. Phew. Good job me!

Checking the weather by actually walking out into the Vancouver monsoon, I got cold feet (literally) and almost turned back to the warmth and loving embrace of my comfy couch.
But no, gold medal winning athletes wouldn’t be turned off by a little mini hurricane and neither would I (plus I promised a friend so I was, like, legally bound). Some others weren’t so brave though. Our group of 10+ fanatics was whittled down to a scrappy group of four enthusiasts.

Not willing to stand around in sideways blowing rain, we intelligently sought shelter in a nearby bar. Over several hours and several pints (pints of vodka for me, of course) we reminisced on how we had all last gotten together during the original Olympics.  This prompted us to remember what we were actually here together today to do (oh yeah, the Re-Olympics!) and we stumbled out into gale force winds to get our celebration on.

But first, we detoured to a friend’s house for a few more drinks (boozy logic) and then finally arrived in the thick of it all (or what was left of the thick) just after 6pm.

The Re-Olympics

@ the Convention Centre:

Re-lit for the re-Olympics!

@ Robson Square:

Everyone who woke up after 3PM is here!

With performances by En Karma with South Asian Arts!

Ya I have no clue who they are either. Crowd loved em though!

On Granville Street:

I took a camera phone picture of a bus shelter picture of a camera picture taken from and @ the 2010 Olympics. Trippy.

Blurry shot: proof that vodka & photography don't mix

15 minutes too many

30 minutes later, the four of us were thoroughly Re-Olympic’d out (it’s quite a work out you know, trying to give strangers high-fives plus all that ridiculous ear-to-ear grinning). The atmosphere downtown was still high energy but the Olympians had already left, most of the events for the day were done and we heard rumours of a crazy group of four people who kept trying to give everyone high-fives with ridiculous grins on (how scary!).  After a brief discussion, we decided to save ourselves and agreed that the best place to celebrate a successful Canadian Olympics themed day was…at a nearby Australian bar.

hic.

All in all, the Re-Olympics were a great excuse to daytime drink spend some time with long lost friends and I can’t wait to celebrate the Re-Re-Olympics (start the movement now!) with this group (give or take a few million others) in 2012!

High five!

.

.

.

A little something for all of you who want a little V-Day love… look no further (thanks to Virgin Mobile):

Dear whats-ur-face. I think ur not as bad as my other douche-bag. Luv, 'ol 2-timer.

and for those of you who don’t want any V-Day love:

Dear jerkface, I don't even care enough to fill in the blanks. We're through!

These three amazing folk are more over-the-top than anyone else I know- and one year ago, our city finally reached the level of energy that suits this trio.  No matter what the controversy was beforehand and no matter what the Olympic legacy issues are now, for a few weeks these three were in ecstasy and so were we!

Anna T Fabulous!

Tommy D!

Desmond!

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany  — Erik Guay of Canada won the downhill title at the world championships on Saturday ahead of pre-race favorites Didier Cuche and Christof Innerhofer.

Bode Miller charged down the course, but was disadvantaged as the 22nd starter in warm conditions on a deteriorating course and finished 15th.

Guay sped down the 3.3-kilometre Kandahar course in 1 minute, 58.41 seconds, beating Cuche — the World Cup downhill champion from Switzerland — by 0.32 seconds. Italy’s Innerhofer, who won super-G gold on Wednesday, was third. Miller finished 2.42 seconds off the leader.

“This is the best feeling in the world,” said Guay, who wore bib No. 10 to start ahead of most top racers. “It’s really amazing. Some of the best skiers in the world came down after me but my time stood. I had put my money on Cuche.”

The 29-year-old Guay said winning skiing’s most prestigious title “has always been on my to-do list. An incredible day.”

Guay is the second consecutive Canadian winner of the world downhill title after 2009 champion John Kucera, who is recovering from breaking his left leg last season. They are the only Canadians to win the title.

Guay dedicated his victory to the injured racers on his team, which also included Manuel Osborne-Paradis.

“Our team has gone through hard times,” Guay said. “So this title is also for them, who are recovering. They will be back.”

Guay won three career World Cup races – two of them on the same course in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. His last win came at a super-G in March last year, which earned him the discipline’s crystal globe.

“Somehow Garmisch has always been great to me,” Guay said. “I don’t think I realize what I’ve done, I am just very happy now.”
Cuche, who won the past two World Cup downhills prior to the worlds – in Kitzbuehel, Austria, and Chamonix, France – came close to beating Guay as he led the Canadian by 0.23 at the first intermediate time.

However, Cuche went wide on a couple of turns and lost pace going into the final section. Cuche earned his country its first medal after Swiss racers placed fourth in all three previous races at the worlds – Cuche and Lara Gut in super-G and Dominique Gisin in super-combined.

“I am very glad with this result,” Cuche said. “Before the start, I knew it would be hard to get into the top three. I think I won second place and not lost victory.”

Cuche’s teammate, Olympic downhill champion Didier Defago, is sitting out the entire season after tearing ligaments in his left knee.

Innerhofer started ninth and charged from the top. His right ski went up in the air after catching a bump, but he adjusted quickly and didn’t seem to lose much speed.

His best time up to then, 1:59.17, was immediately bettered by Guay, who was flawless in the steep and turning middle part of the course.

“I felt no pressure, I had nothing to lose after taking the super-G,” said Innerhofer, who was suffering from a fever Friday.

“Pressure was on the other guys, I tried to relax though I wasn’t as fresh anymore as in the super-G race.”

Innerhofer was delighted with his showing in the event after collecting a second medal.

“I could only dream about championships like these,” the Italian said. “You always start a race to win it. So did I in the past two years, but I finished on a podium only once.”

Relatively high temperatures softened the snow on the slope, which earlier this week had been described by many racers as too icy and too bumpy.

“This proves that I am also fast if it’s not very icy,” Innerhofer said. “We trained a lot on soft snow in the last couple of years.”

Aksel Lund Svindal, the 2007 world champion who was second and third in the training runs, avoided major mistakes, but could not keep up with the pace and finished 1.52 back in fifth.

He fell after crossing the finish line and crashed into the boarding. He initially appeared injured, but officials helped him to stand up after two minutes and he walked out of the finish area waving to the audience.

Michael Walchhofer, the last Austrian to win the men’s downhill world title in 2003, competed in his last major race before retiring at the end of the season.

The 35-year-old Austrian wasn’t clean from the start and played catch-up throughout his run and finished 1.87 behind for seventh place.

“My run wasn’t perfect, but even if it was, I would not have been 1.87 faster,” Walchhofer said. “Visibility was not great, but that’s no excuse as I was too far off the lead anyway.”

Adrien Theaux, who was fastest in Friday’s final training, misjudged a left turn early in his run and slid full speed into the safety nets. He lost both skis but appeared unhurt.

VANO SHLAMOV/AFP/Getty Images

A young man dies, horribly, tragically, and naturally somebody is to blame. There has to be a smoking gun, somewhere. It is how we are wired as a society: accidents don’t happen anymore. Personal responsibility is passé.

And so here we are, again, talking about the awful death of Georgian luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili, on the eve of the 2010 Olympics. Emails obtained by the CBC under the Freedom of Information of Act have unearthed a juicy, potentially damning bit, a missive written by VANOC CEO John Furlong — 12 months before Kumaritashvili flew off the Whistler track at 145 km/h.

Furlong’s note was in response to a letter from International Luge Federation president, Josef Fendt. Fendt wanted a guarantee that the track for the 2014 Games in Sochi would be a slower course than the rocket ride at Whistler.

“So after my usual seven second delay on this — while I am inclined to ignore this as not our deal — embedded in this note (cryptic as it may be) is a warning that the track is, in their view, too fast and someone could get badly hurt,” Furlong wrote.

“An athlete gets badly injured or worse, and I think the case could be made that the track is, in their view, too fast and the case could be made that we were warned and did nothing.

“That said, I’m not sure where the way out is on this. Our legal guys should review it at least.”

Presumably, the legal guys did review it. Dozens of modifications were made to the run at Whistler in advance of the Olympics. And, well, we know how that turned out. But what we forget is what the other sliders said in the wake of Nodar’s death. They mourned him. But they also uttered a lament that the men’s start for the luge final, their Olympic final, would be dropped down to the women’s start in an effort to reduce speeds.

Many said it diminished: The Test. It was the Olympics, not a winter carnival, and the track, fast as it was, was a worthy challenge.

And make no mistake: the track killed Nodar Kumaritashvili. But crass as it sounds, the poor kid — and the Olympic ethos that says EVERYBODY gets to participate — is equally at fault. Kumaritashvili should have never been in Whistler, just like Eddie the Eagle, quaint as he was, should have never been flying off ski jumps at Calgary in 1988.

Kumaritashvili was serious about his sport, but within his sport he was a novelty act, a nobody, a no-hoper who qualified for the Games by finishing 40-something at some event, somewhere. He was proud. He was young. He was in WAY over his head.

Thousands of runs were taken at Whistler without incident. A man dies and, well, not to be cynical, but the CBC turns an old story into a new story around the anniversary of his death (while sending out press releases promoting a Fifth Estate episode dedicated to it on Friday) by publishing an old email that basically tells us what we already knew: The track at Whistler was really FAST.

Was it dangerously so? Or was it the ideal test, a run worthy of an Olympic champion?

A young man dies, horribly, tragically, and naturally someone is to blame. Or else: an accident happens.

Maybe the truth lies somewhere in between. Maybe it’s time to let Nodar Kumaritashvili rest in peace.

Follow Joe O’Connor on Twitter: @oconnorwrites

Coincidentally, the feature article for the Tyee today is titled, Building Jobs by Tearing Down Houses the Green Way, using the same eco job creation model in the “deconstruction” industry. About time!

Ken and two United We Can employees collecting recyclables along Granville Street

Although United We Can has been around for 15 years, 2010 turned out pretty epic. First, in February, Vancouver hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics. During this time, United We Can flooded with business as the primary recycler for major downtown venues, restaurants and hotels including the busy Molson House. United We Can also hired residents from the Downtown Eastside to use UBU (Urban Binning Unit) carts to collect recyclable containers from the busy downtown streets, thanks to a $50,000 grant provided by the City of Vancouver. With the generous grant, we were able to hire 90 residents from the neighbourhood who collected over 80,000 containers, not including the mounds of containers brought in by our binner friends and from our commercial collections! Everyone here also had a particularly proud moment as United We Can founder, Ken Lyotier, lit the community cauldron.

2010 also saw the official birth of SOLEfood Farm with the first ever growing season producing about 10,000 pounds of produce, sold at 3-4 Farmers Markets around Vancouver and supplying 3 local restaurants, generating enough revenue to cover the wages of 7 SOLEfood farmers. With these great successes, United We Can was given the opportunity to be a presenter at the Strathcona Sustainability Expo 3.0 to talk about the importance of social, environmental, and economic sustainability in the economic revitalization process of the Downtown Eastside.

Finally, the inside of the United We Can Bottle Depot saw a face-lift with the replacement of our rotten wood sorting tables, with safer and more sanitary stainless steel tables thanks to a grant provided by Central City Foundation

Hopefully, 2011 will see greater improvements to the United We Can workplace and more employment for our friends and neighbours of the Downtown Eastside. From all of us at United We Can, happy holidays!

Wazzup Bitches?!?  Miss me?  Just lie and say yes.  I Rode The Short Bus was super busy over the holidays and I just checked it today.  I should have posted at least a couple of times as to not disappoint my fans.  Yes, I am talking to the two of you.

I am kind of sad to say goodbye to 2010.  It has been the best and the worst year of my life.  Mostly the best though.

2010 Recap: 

• After 90 hours of excruciating, back-breaking labour, my beautiful baby boy was born.
• The Olympics were in Canada and we simultaneously rocked the house and showed the world how much beer we can actually drink.
• I became a mother – mentally as opposed to physically.  Giving birth sucks ass but the transition of letting go of yourself and becoming a mom sucks ass even more.
• I saw, after 10 years of near bliss, all of my husband’s faults.
• I forgave my husband’s faults.
• I lost all 70 pounds I put on during my pregnancy (if you are new to IRTSB, yes – I put on 70 pounds when I was preggo…it’s ok to be completely appalled and judge me).
• We bought a house and were able to get a mortgage to keep our current condo and rent it out…woot woot!
• I was a good person this year.  Usually I am an asshole, so this counts for something.
• I kind of learnt how to use Microsoft Office 2007.  I mean not really, but at least I can navigate around a little bit.  You know what is sucks?  Being a young person and having to ask the old creepy guy at work with a comb over how to insert something into Excel.

So, may not seem like much, but those are some major accomplishments.  Way to go me!

For the last 3 hours I have been running over options for my new year’s resolutions.  I generally don’t do up a list – leads to disappointment and all that, but I actually think I am going to put pen down to paper for 2011.  I’ll be back tomorrow with my list.

I know, I know…enough with the ‘year in review’ blog posts, already. I couldn’t agree more possums, however for me; New Years Eve is always a time of reflection. Some people say that NYE is over rated, but I think it’s one of the best days of the year. It’s important to take a look at the last 12 months and acknowledge all the amazing moments. To be present long enough to express gratitude for all the good bits, and I don’t mean breezing over your Facebook status report.

So here’s my list. The good bits, that I’m eternally grateful for this year…

• Witnessing the Woodwards W light up again over Gastown. Not only is this one of the most iconic Vancouver landmarks in our brief history as a city, I now have a lovely view of the dubya from my bedroom window.
• The 2010 muthafuckin’ Vancouver Winter Olympics, yo. We sure did have one humdinger of a party, didn’t we Vancity? HELLO WORLD! Hockey gold. Fucking rights. *fist pump*
• 3 weeks of pure bliss in Belize and Guatemala with the bf. This is now one of my favorite little nooks of planet Earth. We trekked around the ancient ruins of Tikal, we swam with (cuddled, molested) nurse sharks, we lingered for days on little islands with no cars or paved roads, and I disconnected from all of my social media means. How ya like me now.
• BC Place deflated. Poof! GONE. The roof fucking imploded, people. It was awesome to watch and sad all the same, but now instead of seeing a big white balloon outside my window, I’ll peer down onto…what looks like a giant mechanical tarantula.
• Girls Gone Wild weekend with my favorite MILF and being part of an Andy Warhol portrait exhibition. What happens in Seattle stays in Seattle.
• Being invited by WOM World Nokia to cover the Rihanna concert here in Vancity. I love getting invited to fabulous events in exchange for posting on this here blog. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it.
• Peeing in my raft down the River of Hell, *ahem* Golden Dreams in Whistler. I assure you, no pun intended. Not so pleasant at the time, but this manic episode ended up producing my funniest blog of the year (in my humble opinion).
• Rocking the Canadian film fest circuit for another year. First TIFF with my partner in crime @bicoastalfoodie and then onto VIFF with the bf and a mélange of other film fanatics.
• It was another stellar year for concerts in this town. I attended but a few, including: Ian Thornley, Citizen Cope, Lady Gaga, Crowded House, Live @ Squamish, Gorillaz, N.E.R.D., Stone Temple Pilots, and Alexisonfire. Groupie wha? Groupie please.
• Whilst partying my Red Queen rack off at a Halloween soiree, I became a pseudo auntie as my good pal @lteetzel was holed up heaving a child from her loins. And it was a girl. And we’re going to teach her all sorts of fine female trickery. How awesome is that shit?!
• Taking a last minute trip to Mexico to witness the nuptials of some dear friends of mine. Glad I was there, despite the perpetual poopies and the week-long hangover.
• Spending quality time with the fam and our fabulous friends over the holidays. Cliché? Maybe, but I do like how we all seem to make more of an effort to re-connect during the month of December. Maybe Santa sprinkles is magical elf dust on us, or something?

Photo Montage

Thanks 2010, it was a pleasure. You really kicked my ass and rocked my world…for the better.

Happy New Year possums,

UC xo