Who will win the Medal count for the Vancouver Winter Olympics and is any else going?
http://www.justbuytickets.com/Tickets/Olympic-Games-Tickets.php

The Olympic torch received both a warm welcome and a protest in BC Capital Victoria. The Games ignited a series of protests in Vancouver when the city won its bid 8 years ago. The Games is coming close. Security has been tightened up, with the largest security force ever deployed and the greatest trampling of human rights this government ever executed in this province. More financial information regarding the budget cost of the Games’ facilities has been kept hidden from taxpayers. Some well-known anti-Olympic activists have been visited by the security personnel to ensure they know they are being watched. Municipal bylaws have been amended to give police more discretion to suppress protesters. Vancouver residents will have to foot the bill of billions of dollars spent on the Games facilities and workers, while the poor and children in this province need immediate assistance. Politicians do not listen. They like international parties. Vancouver has been cleaning up its street, including its street people, to show the world unreal Vancouver. The Games, which is supposed to promote sports and good health, has become a profit-making opportunity for businesses and a photo opportunity for politicians.

I was a volunteer in the 2004 Olympics in Athens Greece…a medical officer at the Olympic stadium…, THE BEST OLYMPICS EVER !!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/diasostis/sets/72157601592995475/

While reading the book, “The Olympic Movement in the Philippines” by Celso Limjuco Dayrit, I was surprised to know that the first Filipino to win a medal in the Summer Olympic Games was an Ilocano.

In the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games, which was the second time that the Philippines participated in the O;ympic Games, we won our first Olympic Medal, a Bronze Medal, through swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso who was a native from the Province of Ilocos Norte. He was qualified for the Finals in the 200-meter Breaststroke after registering the fastest time among the third placers in the swimming trials. In the finals, he finished third to give the Philippines its first ever Olympic Medal. Yoshiyuki Tsuruta of Japan and Erich Rudemacher of Germany, got the 1st and 2nd places, respectively.

After four years, in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games, Teofilo Yldefonso repeated his third place performance in the 200-meter Breaststroke, swimming event, winning his 2nd Olympic Bronze Medal.

Fall is a funny time of year. The majority of our culture is content to let the clocks fall back an hour, watch the leaves go through their iridescent changeover, and generally buckle down for another go at the cold and soggy slog that is winter in Vancouver. There are those, however, who look at things a little differently. It’s twofinger 360’s off any curved surface; picturing that neverotherwise- noticed hillside under a white, billowy blanket of snow; or just watching that same ski movie over, and over, and over again. It’s winter, and it’s time to come out and play.
Luckily for Vancouverite followers of the latter philosophy, Mother Nature came through early this year. While we’re not out of the woods yet – you never know what the freezing level is going to do in December – Washington’s Mt Baker, the north shore’s local mountains, and Whistler- Blackcomb all opened last weekend. The powder was plentiful on opening day, smiles wide and legs were tired.

Yes, with the fall semester wrapping up in a couple of short weeks, and winter seemingly here to stay for a while, it’s time to start planning those ski and snowboard trips. Whether you’re on one plank or two, the following is a quick and simple resort guide to some of the winter wonderlands on offer around the province; read on for a whole bunch of radness.
Whistler Blackcomb: Time and time again North America’s go to resort destination, Whistler Blackcomb and the surrounding village dwarfs any other resort on the continent. With 80,000 hotel beds, some of the burliest nightlife the North American ski industry has to offer, over 200 named runs, 5 terrain parks, 38 chairlifts, 1,600 meters of vertical, and 8,100 acres of skiing, all just an hour and a half’s drive from Vancouver, it’s everything you could ever want. If the statistics alone don’t clobber the competition, consider the fact that the world shows up in February for the two-month circus that is the Olympic Games. Yes, 2010 is a big winter for Whistler, and wouldn’t it be fun to experience the party fi rst hand? Whistler is already open, Blackcomb goes live November 26th, and one-day lift tickets go for $91, with lots of opportunities around for discounts.
The Thompson-Okanagan: A veritable gold mine of dry interior powder, vibrant villages, and not-so-long lift lines, the Thompson-Okanagan is a great place to ski. Vernon has Silverstar, Kelowna Big White, Penticton Apex, and Kamloops Sunpeaks, and with less than 2 hours in a car between any of them, it’s a great region for some serious, and seriously fun skiing. While no extreme steeps abound, these hills are excellent for just about everyone, boasting great beginner areas, meticulously groomed terrain parks, and long, comfortable cruisers and technical bump runs for the intermediate to expert sliders. With the Olympic spotlight on Whistler this winter, it’s an out-andout competition to attract skiers and snowboarders to the Okanagan, and all four resorts are doing their best. Sunpeaks has national ski teams practicing on their mountain for all visitors to see free of charge, and Silverstar and Big White are both hosting large-scale, family oriented festivals with something for everyone.
Kicking Horse Mountain Resort: Kicking Horse burst onto the snow sport scene with a bang at the turn of the century, and showed North American skiers what was meant by serious vertical. The mountain rises above Golden, BC, a small mining town in the western Rockies, and offers a $79 lift ticket from the December 11th opening day to whenever the snow runs out in April. With 60% of Kicking Horse’s terrain rated advanced or expert, it’s a great place to head if you’re after some hardcore skiing or riding. The Dogtooth mountain range is known for it’s steep, dry champagne powder, and it usually comes through, pounding out over 700cm a year at the peaks. Once you exhaust the 2,800 acres of gnarly inbounds terrain, including the hike-to Redemption and CPR ridge zones, there are plenty of guide outfi ts and helpful locals to help you get out into the backcountry and get the real goods. It’s absolutely key to be prepared however, as Rocky Mountain avalanches come hard, fast, and, not surprisingly, aren’t nice to inexperienced or negligent backcountry explorers.
Revelstoke Mountain Resort: Just down the westbound Trans-Canada highway from Kicking Horse lies another crown jewel in the BC ski and snowboard industry. Revelstoke Mountain Resort of Revelstoke, a town known for it’s dry and plentiful snow and epic mountains, opened in the fall of 2008 to critical acclaim. While real estate sales have been less than inspiring due to the economic recession, the skiing and riding is quite the opposite, and has impressed pretty much all who have come to experience it. Boasting the largest vertical drop in North American ski-dom at 1,720 meters, and offering lift-accessed skiing in cat and heli quality terrain, it’s just more proof that BC is a world hub for this sort of stuff. The hill opens for the season December 5th, with a one-day adult ticket costing $74.
So, while the mentioned resorts are merely a brief highlight of what can be had here in BC, keep in mind that there is plenty more out there to be explored. Mt. Baker, rated as the “best value lift ticket in North America” by ski area operator magazine, lies in wait just a two-hour drive into the United States from Vancouver. The Kootenays and Selkirks are also smack-full of resorts, with soulful Nelson’s Whitewater and sleepy Red Mountain outside of Rossland leading the charge. Regardless of how you look at it, skiing and snowboarding in BC is awesome. Big, small, steep, fl at, deep, fast, chill, or extreme, it’s all out there waiting for you. Put some snow tires on the car, grab your boards, and go shred some pow. Winter’s only here for a short while, remember, and then we have to wait through all again…

-Theo Birkner (BCIT)

The X Games, that annual ‘living on the edge’ tournament of extreme sports, is an Olympic celebration of all that is dangerous and thrilling – skateboarding, BMX biking, snowboarding and, if an IT worker from Aberystwyth gets his way, kebab eating.  For Barry Evans is campaigning for his favourite pastime, the consumption of doner kebabs, to be added to the extreme sports pantheon. 

By the very nature of their pursuits, extreme sports enthusiasts must ideally be young, fit and healthy – a stereotype that Barry, 42, hopes to overturn with his campaign.  ‘I used to love watching the X Games on telly, but despaired at all those lean and tanned adrenaline junkies taking part.  What about all the middle-aged, overweight and physically inactive extreme sports fans such as myself?’

Determined not to let this seemingly prejudicial attitude prevail any longer, Barry began to think about how people of his ‘comfortable lifestyle’ could participate in the dangerous world of X competitions.  It wasn’t long before he had a revelation: ‘I was tucking into a particularly spicy chicken tikka lunchtime kebab special when it hit me – why not make that an extreme sport? I’d have shouted ‘eureka’ if I didn’t have a mouthful of pickled chillies at the time.’

Since then Barry has emailed the organisers of the X Games with his suggestion several times, but has yet to receive a reply, apart from an out of office message over Christmas, but he remains undeterred.  ’Kebab eating would open up the world of extreme sports to millions of less-than-active enthusiasts, and just think of the sponsorship deals – Pizza Hut, KFC, Ali’s Takeaway Bazaar – the possibilities are endless.’

Barry’s defiance in the face of his critics is also worthy of an endurance event, as time and time again he defends his campaign against those who say that eating kebabs doesn’t hold a candle to the edge-of-your-seat peril of bungee jumping, hang gliding or mountain boarding.  But Barry is defiant: ‘What do they know about danger? Have they ever been a diabetic who spends most of their time sat in front of a screen munching on sweets? Does BMX champ Shanaze Reade take little or no exercise except walking down the pub every lunchtime against their doctor’s firm and emphatic orders? Does skateboarding star Tony Hawk subsist on a diet of junk food whilst having a family history of heart disease? Let me tell you, if that’s not living on the edge I don’t know what is!’

(Written 15 Apr 2009)

By CHARLES HAPPELL

David Crawford’s long-awaited report into Olympic funding yesterday created the sort of impact – and yelp of pain – in the corridors of the Australian Olympic Committee that Dean Lukin’s 240kg-loaded barbell might have done had it been dropped on John Coates’ foot.

For Crawford’s recommendations that the Federal Government cut back on the funding of some smaller Olympic sports – weightlifting among them – in favour of encouraging greater public participation in sport, and boosting ‘national psyche’ sports such as tennis, cricket, cycling and surf lifesaving, are dramatic and far-reaching.

Essentially, the report is saying to the Government: get serious, it’s time for a rethink on Olympic funding; the AOC’s demand for $109million to maintain a top-five position in the medal table is unrealistic because we are competing in a race with much bigger, more powerful rivals that we cannot hope to win; and the bias towards some Olympic funding – at the expense of other more popular, mainstream sports – made little strategic sense.

Coates, the AOC president, was immediately on the front foot – the one Lukin’s barbell didn’t crush – saying the report insulted everyone who worked hard for the Olympic movement since its nadir in 1976 when the Australian team came back from Montreal with not one gold medal. He said Crawford’s five-person panel was ignorant and disrespectful of Australia’s Olympic traditions and it was un-Australian that we settle for second best.

But on the surface, it’s hard to take issue with the thrust of Crawford’s report. In fact, most of it makes perfect sense.

At a time when we’ve just emerged from recession, when childhood obesity in Australia is at an all-time high and when some state schools have little or no sporting equipment – let alone PE teachers to supervise that sport – it’s a great moment to be having this debate. And posing the question: as a matter of public policy, should government sports funding subsidise elite athletes and the pursuit of Olympic medals in minor disciplines, or encourage junior sport and popular community team sports such as cricket, the football codes, netball and hockey?

The report says Olympic medals come at great cost – perhaps $15 million per gold medal. That’s an awful lot of money to spend just so the nation can bask in a fleeting moment of glory. How many cricket sets, or footballs, or netball rings would $15million buy for neglected state schools in the country?

I’ve written about sport for 20 years and covered two Olympic Games – in Sydney and Athens – but I have to say there’s not much in the report with which I can seriously quibble. We all got very excited about the gold medals won by Simon Fairweather (archery), Lauren Burns (taekwondo) and the women’s water polo team in Sydney, and then Suzie Balogh’s trap-shooting gold in Athens, and we shared in their joy. But the brutal truth is for the other 3.9 years in between Olympic Games, we wouldn’t have known, or much cared, how these individuals or teams were performing.

In saying Australia should stop trying to over-achieve on the Olympic medals table – a top-10 finish was more than satisfactory – Crawford’s panel urged a review of the funding of these smaller sports such as taekwondo, archery and water polo. It said the money saved on them would be better spent on projects which benefited the greater sports-playing community. Water polo, for example, received as much high-performance and AIS funding as golf, tennis and lawn bowls combined.

Coates countered by describing the recommendations as an insult to ‘great Olympic champions’ of the past. He asked whether Crawford was suggesting that the gold medals won in Beijing by diver Matt Mitcham, pole vaulter Steve Hooker and kayaker Ken Wallace meant nothing to the Australian people.

Of course they were significant achievements and they did mean something to Australians. But not everything. Once upon a time, our sense of self-worth as a nation might have been tied up in our lofty position on the Olympic medal table. In how we consistently punched above our weight and reveled in the vicarious pleasure of giving those Yanks and Russians and East Germans an occasional bloody nose. Not any more. We’re past that and I reckon most people understand that there are more pressing priorities for government funding.

Coates and his Olympic brethren have clearly been taken aback by this 240-kg reality check. And they’re now behaving like the spoilt child who’s had a toy taken away from them in the sandpit. Their sense of entitlement is breathtaking – and, it has to be said, winning them few new friends in the court of public opinion.

Usain Bolt. No more appropriate name could there be for the fastest man on the planet, with the possible exception of Flashy McSpeed. The Lightning Bolt. The slickest, coolest, quickest cat on the block. From the preening and posing – done with a boyish glee and bravado suitable to someone who genuinely is the best and knows it – to the globally-recognised lightning-strike celebration, Usain Bolt has every star quality in spades. Not only that, but he is a winner, and everyone loves a winner. Everyone loves watching someone outdo themselves, exceed expectation time and again, win not just easily but in mind-blowing fashion.

In Dublin Airport, on 20th August 2009, I sat in a bar waiting for a flight to Edinburgh and watched, admired and applauded as the world record for 200m was smashed by the brightest star in the athletics galaxy. The Berlin crowd went wild, everyone in our bar moved a little closer to the screen to check and recheck that time. 19.19 seconds. “Sweet Jesus!” “Incredible” and the wonderfully understated and unnecessary “Fuck, that’s fast.”

Athletics has had a rough time of it of late. Doping scandals are not quite as rife as they were during the horror years of the 80s and early 90s, when the likes of Ben Johnson and his 1988 Olympic 100m co-finalists were almost all disgraced, Flo-Jo’s superhuman times and early retirement left more than a whiff of suspicion around her greatness, and the Iron Curtain nations spewed out wave after wave of specially-created, steroid-filled robots. Yet they are still there, and still claim the high-profile names.

One such name is Marion Jones, an athlete universally admired at her peak for her enduring spirit, undeniable talent and apparent “clean-ness”. My granny – a huge fan of Jones – and I were surely not alone when Marion was found to be a cheat and forced to hand over her Olympic medals from Sydney. We had watched those games and marvelled at this engaging and gifted young woman who had carried all before her in a 5-medal haul. She was a shining beacon for fair play, or so we all thought. Then, in 2005, she was brought into disrepute along with the likes of Kelli White and Tim Montgomery in the course of the BALCO investigation, finally confessing to taking performance-enhancing drugs prior to the Olympics in 2000. She forfeited all results dating back to September of that year.

BALCO played a massive role in the continuing sorry tale of athletics cheats. Nowadays, many people watch athletics with a certain cynicism. Any athlete who displays great muscle mass, a sudden burst of form or an unprecedented success are sneered at with suspicion. Certainly, the scenes in the Cube at Beijing 2008 left many feeling cold and hollow, as China swept to gold medals left, right and centre, especially in the women’s events, some achieved by swimmers heretofore ranked beyond the top-20 in their discipline and by phenomenal margins. Witness again the furore surrounding Caster Semenya at the World Championships only a few short months ago, and it seems no champion is safe from the finger of suspicion and the taint of rumour.

Except, possibly, Usain Bolt. When a champion is JUST THAT GOOD, he is even more heavily scrutinised than those who have come before. He cannot go anywhere without being heavily drug tested; there is too much riding on him. With athletics on the ropes, Bolt is the Messiah viewed by all who love the sport as its saving grace. Here is a charismatic character, a surprisingly articulate and down-to-Earth speaker, and a superhuman runner. He is as Sea The Stars is to flat racing – the pinnacle of athleticism thus far, the greatest that has yet to be seen. He strolls past high quality fields which, in any other era, would be breaking records of their own. He is, quite simply, the perfect sprinter, with a long, easy stride and more gears than a spare-part shop.

So Usain Bolt CANNOT be a cheat. It is too important for athletics that he is a freak of nature (in the nicest possible way!) and nothing more. People who don’t always watch athletics will often watch the Olympics. It is rare that the World Championships would garner even half that attention, yet there were millions glued to the races featuring Bolt, both in that airport bar and around the world. He is the hottest ticket in town, the biggest draw the sport knows and the most vital part of an uncertain future. People WANT him to win, because they want to be able to say “I saw Bolt”. And they want him to be clean, because they want to be able to say “I saw Bolt, and he was the best, beyond doubt”.

If Bolt is clean, he will be remembered as a god by all who saw him, just as golfers remember Nicklaus or Hogan and will remember Woods, just as footballers remember Pelé or Maradonna and will remember Kaka, just as rugby players remember Willie John or Campese and will remember O’Driscoll. If he is clean, athletics will grow again, with new trust invested in its biggest names and a new generation of competitors all inspired to compete in one of the world’s oldest sporting traditions with a spirit of fair play on which the Olympics were founded. If he is clean, he will have single-handedly saved a dying sport, and a great sport.

If Bolt is a cheat…well, maybe it’s time for the majority of competitors to give up the game, because there will never be any joy in competing against peers you can no longer trust in front of dwindling crowds who, quite frankly, no longer care.

Sport fans all over the world can choose from a massive range of choice if they want to follow or even practise a certain sport. But although there are of course more popular sports, such as football (soccer) or tennis, some “sports” haven´t quite made it into the new GLOBAL world yet.

In England sports fans might argue that Darts is a sport and the British Dart League does indeed sell out big sports halls immediately. In southern European countries dart only plays a minor role and it is already an exception if a bar has a dartboard to play for some “crazy” people. Examples like this exist all over the world where regional sports are very popular but are not well known. Another famous example is Chess. In particular in the Eastern World it will probably be strogly argued that the board game is a sport whereas in Europe sports naturally has to involve physical activity.

One might guess that therefore one can only turn to the most important institution in sport, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in order to get definitions and answers to the question: What is a real sport? But, even the IOC made controversial decisions about their choice of sports. However, one should not mix up that there is a difference between sports and what the IOC calls Olympic sports. The IOC does recognize many more sports than the Olympic Sports but only according to their organizational status. For example, if a sport does not have a sport organization, it can not be recognized by the IOC. This is the reason why, as recently quite often discussed, video game playing is not a sport (despite the fact that absolutely no physical activity is involved in playing a video game).

The most recent IOC discussion involved Golf and Rugby and whether they should be involved in the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. Both sports and their organizations could convince the IOC members and finally Tiger Woods can strive for Olympic Gold and New Zealand definitly will not be unhappy because of the decision either. But to come back to sports in Britain, especially these two sports would and will always be considered proper sports. Not only because they are very popular but also because the sports were “invented” on the British Isles and are therfore part of the culture.The sport officials in the United States reacted rather upset on the decision, had one of their main sports baseball been dropped after the Olympic Games in 2004.  And they raise the fair question: If Rugby is included, why is American Football not part of the Olympic program? Many sports, including American Football, Bowling and Water Skiing, have been demonstrated at several Olympic Games but were never included. But can anyone explain why Curling is an Olympic Winter Sports but Bowling can not be an Olympic Summer Sports? The reason for the IOC´s decisions probably lies somewhere in between politics and financial reasons or it is even more likely a combination of the two reasons.

So if even the IOC can not give an appropriate definition or argumentation on sport, who can? The answer is simple, only ourselves and the world which is surrounding us. If it fills us with excitement to watch Darts, fair enough. If French people love to play Boules because of the cultural heritage of the game in France, no problem. There is no sports more important than another just because of the attendance. Important is that we enjoy doing or watching a physical activity, a definition for sport does not exist and can not be given. Not even by the “mighty” IOC.

I sometimes wonder whether I have limits, like as in, how far can I go?  Even with no competitors, can I make my own Olympic Game to ensure I achieve the best I can?

Miley has this heart condition which is known as Tachycardia, which is where the heart rate speeds up, and the rest of the body can’t keep up.  Although it isn’t life threatening, it acts as her limit.

Sometimes, I’ve thought what my limit is.  Like, whether after studying law, accounting, engineering, medicine… MAYBE, I mean just MAYBE, I might consider stopping lol???

I don’t know, but God is my strength!!!

If you are looking for the perfect job, or a change of career, you could do a lot worse than joining the Olympic movement as a member of the board. Not only are you responsible for promoting amateur athletic sport both in your country, and around the globe (a very worthy endeavour), you will also live the life of a Banana Republic potentate by everyone you meet on the planet, with the possible exception of your wife. When you also consider many athletes are no longer amateur, but millionaires from their day jobs, you don’t even have to be very successful at your main purpose, either. It’s one of the easiest jobs on the planet – especially when you consider you are paid one of the best salaries in history, and are on expenses. But why are you treated the way you are?

Ever since the politic debacle’s of the early ‘80’s, when politics dictated an amateur athlete’s career arc, consider the size of the venues that have hosted the games. On the winter games side, Calgary, Lillehammer, and Nagano, and Atlanta and Athens in the summer months weren’t’ exactly global metropolises. After Moscow and Los Angeles, it looked as if a leaner, more stripped down games would soothe the diplomatic wounds we were all suffering from, and also get back to basics for the quadrennial celebration. Unfortunately, it also opened the experience of actually ‘getting’ the games up to local governments. In many cases these meant the very first time that the venue in question were going to be the focus of the world. So anything spent at the time to sway people’s minds, would be repaid exponentially in future tourism and investment cash. Therefore whatever these cities could do ‘above the table’ the better. Unfortunately, as is usual with human nature, these lessons were well learned by future venues, expanded, and therefore expected by the inner circle of a few thousand that make up the Games’ secretariat.

For this Olympiad, we have been shocked as host cities what we have to do when this Star Chamber gets here. First class travel, complimentary tickets to final events, penthouse hotel rooms, changes of traffic patterns in their favour, and member’s individual choice of meals during official Olympic events are not only expected, they are demanded – a necessary part of the host’s responsibilities. This is all for the handful of decision makers, and their support staff, and secretaries, their whole families, and members from their own countries. All in all, about 2% of all expenditure expected to be made by us proles on the sidelines is given away in order to make these people feel at home. Unfortunately, Vancouver is the largest city ever to host the winter games, so we are now using a different set of rules – and we have to do this by trying to make money from a much larger visitor number than those smaller towns. At what point is it our job to maximize profits? I guess it greasing palms after your product is bought, trumps any support the Olympic movement owes us for soldiering on through a huge global economic explosion to continue to present their product, and make less money from it. While paying more for it after these members of the sporting royal family have left for pastures and troughs anew.

Vancouver is the perfect place to write about seeing as how the 2010 Olympics are just around the corner! Approximately seven million tickets are sold to spectators coming from all around the world to watch the games.. and this year they’ll all be traveling to Canada starting February 12th.

Vancouver is hosting the 2010 Olympics from February 12th to the 28th. In order to find information regarding traveling to Canada click here. Of course the town will be bustling with excitement over the course of the time and because of the Olympics there are olympic-related events events which can be found here.

Although, Vancouver was always a great spot to travel to, even when they aren’t hosting one of the greatest events world-wide. One of the more popular activities for the adventurous traveler is the Capilano Suspension Bridge. It’s a bridge 250 feet about the Capilano River that brings you into the heart of the forest for spectacular views.

For a list of more of Vancouver’s must-see attractions, you can check it out here

(pictures found at infohostels.com and destination360.com)

PKL at the Olympics - Athletes Village Dining

The Beijing Summer Olympics was the largest Olympics ever – and this was also true of the athletes dining facility in the Olympic Village. There were 16,000 athletes and officials from 204 countries, as well as 10,000 staff and guests – all to be fed 24 hours a day.

Working through the master caterer ARAMARK, PKL were responsible for the design liaison, specification, supply, installation and 24 hour maintenance of all the foodservice equipment and coolroom facilities, in an area, which covered 20,000 sqm or three soccer pitches.

To ensure a successful delivery, PKL established a project office in Beijing 12 months before the Games began. In addition to permanent PKL management and engineering staff, a team of Chinese project managers, translators and administrators were employed overcome any language, cultural and technical hurdles. All facilities were designed in full compliance to local fire, hygiene and construction standards.

The key operational factor of this project was the ability of PKL to utilise prefabricated complex Portable Kitchen modules, and ship them worldwide quickly and cost effectively. All the equipment used was from the PKL hire fleet and at the end of the Games was re-hired to other projects.

For more information regarding this case study, or to download a PDF version, please vist the link below

http://www.pkl.co.uk/foodservices/beijing-olympics-athletes-village-catering.asp

Many people still remember the stunning 100 meter run of Usain Bolt and the seven gold medals of Michael Phelps of last years Olympic Summer Games in Beijing without realizing that the next Olympic Games are only a few months aways. Or to be more precise: 100 days.

The media are very quiet about the Games ahead although Vancouver 2010 might yet be the best Olympic Winter Games ever to come. Nevertheless, it seems that in recent years not the well organized and structured Olympic preparations seem to have caught our attention but the controversial ones. How often was the legimacy of giving the Games to Beijing and China, a country troubled by human right issues, discussed in the warm-up to the Games? How were doping issues treated into its very detail after Athens 2004 and how was Nagano 2002 critizised for its problem in the organisation of the Winter Olympics in Japan? About and around the Organizing Committee of the Games (VANOC) is pure silence. And this is only due to the fact, that everything seems to be going perfect. The sport grounds are prepared already, the organization is still running ahead of the timetable and even the Olympic flag is already in Canada, after an untroubled trip around the world. Was he last torch relay disrupted by protests against China´s politics, this time barely a newspaper noticed the trip of the most prestigious fire in the world. But does VANOC make the mistake because it does not make any mistakes and does Canada have to pay the price for its democratic politics and good organizing skills? The answer is simple: No. It almost feels like the quiet wind after a huge storm and it feels good this way. Actually, I could not be any better for the Olympic Movement and Olympic Sport after the troubles with China in summer 2008. Now, people start thinking again about the important values of the Olympic Games: a peaceful togetherness. Being quiet about itself, is exactly what was needed. No one wants the involvement of scandals and problems in a sporting event which is supposed to promote peace and athleticism according to its founder Pierre de Coubertin. No one can predict that the Games itself will be as perfect as its preparations, especcially in a sport world where doping seems to be unavoidable but is this not something that comes along with sport since its existence?

Of course the lack of discussion on the Games might also have to do with the fact that it is “only” Winter Olympics and not Summer Olympics. But still, Olympic Games are the most important sporting event in the world for every athlete, no matter if he is a sprinter, a shot puter or a ski jumper. Some winter athletes prepare since four years for this only moment when they will start their race in the mountains of Whistler and we should pay them tribute as much as we admire the 9.69 run of the Jamaican wonder boy. And this is what the Games should be about, sport and the performances of the athletes. Before the start and after the finish line, it is best to have silence. Best for everything and everybody.

Le best-seller des articles promotionnels Vancouver 2010, sans aucun doute, ce sont les mitaines rouges. Anneaux olympiques sur le dos de la main, feuille d’érable sur la paume, leur petit côté tricoté maison et un peu enfantin font un tabac. Mais pas seulement. Vendues seulement 10 dollars, chaque paire soutient directement les athlètes canadiens.

Les 12 000 porteurs de la flamme qui courent dans plus de 1 000 communautés canadiennes pour le relais de la flamme olympique portent ces mêmes mitaines.

Au superstore olympique The Bay (c’est un peu le Globus local), c’est la ruée. Il y en a des mètres et des mètres linéaires, des toutes petites pour les enfants jusqu’au 3XXL pour les grands grands garçons…. et les mitaines rouges partent comme des petits pains. Les touristes et les Canadiens en achètent par dizaines, c’est le cadeau idéal et sympa, tellement typique.

Il faut dire que c’est le seul article qui rappelle la couleur du drapeau canadien dans tout le merchandising olympique. En effet, la palette officielle de Vancouver 2010 se décline dans les teintes froides, du vert au bleu, du blanc au gris, directement inspirée de la nature environnante, mer, montagne, forêt, neige et glace (le gris se veut sûrement citadin, mais en même temps, le ciel de Vancouver est souvent dans un beau dégradé argenté).

Donc pour être à la fois Olympique et Canadien, les « red mitains » c’est l’accessoire indispensable!

Dont acte:

When we hear of or see someone of another race, color, ethnic group, what is the first thought that comes to mind?

And where did those stereotypes come from?

The word current is described as that which is common, widespread or popular.  The common view of an Asian is no longer the irreverently bowing, physically smaller individual.  Today the Asian economies are second to none, China recently hosted what some have described as the finest Olympic Games, and Asians leads the world in mathematical sciences

There was a time when Latinos in America was viewed as Ricky Ricardo, or Scarface.  Today Latino’s are governors, mayors and supreme court justices. They are now known as God fearing, family oriented and hard working people.  And while there is still much work to do, they seem more than equal to the challenge.

A black man has ascended to the highest office in the land, yet he can’t seem to escape the current of racism, bigotry and hatred.

The current state of Black in America is that of abandoned mothers, imprisoned fathers, wayward son’s and hurt daughters.  And while we celebrate the Oprah’s, the Cosby’s and Johnson’s, these dilemmas are proof positive that no single individual can rise above the current condition of his or her people.

Currently, there is a new movie on tap, which is brought to life under the genius of Mr. Lee Daniels, supported by none other than the great Oprah Winfrey as well as Tyler Perry.  The movie, according to reviews, deals with the abuse of a young black woman, and the many trials of her young life.  While we must, forever thank the great Miss Winfrey for bringing these elements of black life to the consciousness of not just black people, but the world.  I couldn’t help but wonder do we ever get a second chance to make a first impression?  Most of the black women I know are strong, dignified, elegant, and dependable.  Strong women have held what remains of the black community together, they run our churches, schools and most homes.  And one can never underestimate the power behind the throne at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. When will their stories come to light? I couldn’t help but wonder, why I prefer the genius of Tyler Perry on display in movies like “Why did I get married”?

Then came the answer given by none other than Mr. Bill Cosby himself, black people are no longer unable to solve our own problems.  Black people need to take responsibility for our own destinies.  Black men need to be better fathers, black women better mothers, thereby producing betters children and families.  Self-improvement we are taught, is the basis of community development.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan recently reminded readers in the Final Call newspaper that “We must depend on Allah (God) and ourselves”.  In all of our churches, we sing songs of salvation, redemption and resurrection.  The television is filled with wonderful preachers of the gospel, who speak of the same.

As a child, I enjoyed watching the television program called interestingly enough “Good Times”.  However as I got older I reflected that times never did get good for the Evans family.  Each and every time they seem to be making progress, there was another problem, which they just could not seem to overcome.

The movie “Color Purple”, made its star Whoopi Goldberg, synonymous with pain and heartache, for her brilliant portrayal of Miss Celie.  In the current climate that theme is once again revisited, sadly there are far too many cases where this is all together real.  For as the great Bob Marley once spoke “it’s a world that forces lifelong insecurities”, but as the song says we are the survivors.

The great rapper Jay-Z recently said it is now time for the “Death of Auto-Tunes.” A Black man is in the White House, a black man is arguably the greatest golfer of all time, and black players make up the majority of all major professional sports. Two black women rule professional tennis, blacks have helped to make cities like Atlanta, Chicago and Charlotte world-class destinations.

Our young and gifted are constantly being challenged to produce the kind of art that would uplift and transform the children of the world, as they are their recognized leaders.  Meanwhile, they continue to say they are simply reflecting the realities that confront them each and every day.

The poet Maya Angelou says “And still I rise”, because regardless of the tremendous obstacles that present themselves each and every day, we are encouraged to look beyond our current circumstances and see “the promised land”.

Sadly, the reality that is the movie “Precious” is far too real in the lives of too many young women and men in today’s world.  The idea of the abuse of any child should be heartrending to any human being.

However as we work to change the dress, behavior and attitude of the children, we must use every avenue to uplift and encourage.  We must continue to challenge and accept the challenges to change, for change we must.

While abuse is a part of the story, there is more to the story, and the moral of the story must be focused on transformation, and renewal. Not just for a people, but a world in crisis.

The appointment of Brazil to host the Olympic Games in 2016 is more than an innocent statement, it represents a change in sport arena in which politic is denoted. More then packets to infrastructure, the Olympics have became a crucial test for marginalized countries to demonstrate their responsibility to cast in international scenario.

Sydney 2000 ends an ideological era of International Olympic Committee, where along with Barcelona, Atlanta and Seoul, the Games reflected an idea of sporting excellence linked with wealth and development, representing something like “the Olimpic way of life” and those countries whose reality does not fit in this pattern were invited to experience what they were loosing not following the mainstream. This, however, lasted until the appointment of symbolic city of Athens, the place where everything began and where would start the new millennium for Olympics.

Passed the nostalgia of the appointment, it was clear the international concern with that statement: priority projects amounted delays, coupled with the lack of infrastructure of the city, in addition to international conflicts between Greece and Yugoslavia. The dust of fear smell up to the Olympic Committee but the end, Athens was able to demonstrate excellence with the same quality as the almighty Sydney. In the ending celebration, Athens allow Beijing to demonstrate that the Red Dragon wanted to show their sovereignty in sports world (or a little more than that).Showing exaggeration of records, China indeed established how far it can do and everywhere in the world could see what they are able to do.

In the same ferment Brazil was appointed this year to host the 2016 games. More than showing it’s competence in preparation of the event, the world’ll seek to meet if the giant of the South really is worthy to call itself a “giant”.

And in this challenge, victory does not mean properly the highest amount of medals.