It’s a wrap! See you in London – I hope!

gaetanblog — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:57:07 +0000

I’ll be on a plane back home in just a few hours. The athletes have now all left, some have more competitions, others will be home training on their own until camps in late Summer. Our leadership group will meet again in mind-May for a review of what we did well and where we could have done better. Learning from one set of games to the other is crucial in keeping up with what other countries are doing. I’ll also be back in Late April to a Canadian Paralympic Committee Board meeting to discuss how we springboard from our amazing success at home games to ensure growth of the movement.. So there isn’t really an off season for several of us! If I am successful in getting a position for the London 2012 games, the first site visit will likely be this August or September.
We had our mission staff dinner last night. It’s a tradition for us to have a big bash before we all go our different ways. It’s part of a grieving process really – there is nothing like a Games atmosphere and over these last three weeks, we really developed a family spirit but it’s now time to let go.
We took the gondola up Grouse Mountain for a Fondue dinner. It’s a very nice restaurant with a stunning view of the city on a clear night. For some reason, there was no rush hour traffic today and we made it across the bridge in no time – the Gods must have been with us. We’ll take it as a good omen for our future endeavours.

The Best Paralympic Winter Games Ever!

gaetanblog — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:52:26 +0000

	And I didn’t say it – Sir Phillip Craven, the President of the International Paralympic Committee did – on national TV live. I did think they were, but of course I am biased. Never before was the combination of thorough preparation, impeccable execution and unbridled enthusiasm present to this extent. Not even the pouring rain during the outdoor closing ceremonies could curb the energy of the athletes and volunteers. Even the Mounties, who were trying to keep a serious look, quit trying after a while. I managed – finally – to get to Nordic skiing and watched the sprint preliminaries. Then I had to quickly drive to Whistler village – about 35 minutes away – for a quick protocol function with Prince Edward. I had met his brother Andrew several years ago and he was equally pleasant and friendly. I commented on the nice GB Paralympics jacket he is wore and that I actually own GB Paralympic clothes that I traded from previous games, but that this time would be a challenge because their chef de mission, Tanya, is actually quite petite. He’s quite a fan and supporter of Paralympics and knows her well and without skipping a beat, he says “I don’t think Phil is your size either”. Phil Lane is the CEO of GB Paralympics, a former school principal who brought to the British Paralympic Committee a level of professionalism we are trying to emulate. Phil is indeed a size or two bigger than I am and we have a good chuckle. We discussed policy levers to encourage physical activities for people with disabilities and other interesting topics, but I’ll probably remember the “Phil comment” best. I zoomed back to Nordic just in time to see Brian McKeever win his third Gold medal. He used a trick he practiced last year during the test event. Even though this is a Classic ski race and not a skate race, he choose to use skate skis and foregoes the grip wax to get better speed going downhill. However, he cannot skate the uphill and had to double pole the whole way up, quite the athletic feat. But it paid off; he even finished ahead of his guide who stayed with the traditional wax. On the podium, you may have noticed a Swedish kid who won Bronze in a tough field. Their team doctor told me they were never expecting him to medal – he just turned 15 a few weeks ago and hasn’t quite finished growing! A fine finish to the competition. We finish 3rd overall in Gold medals and in total medal count, eclipsing our best ever finish of 6th in Torino. You don’t achieve your stretch goals everyday and we’re very proud of what the team has accomplished. I made a quick clothes change and we held a press conference to announce our closing ceremony flag bearer, the well deserving Lauren Wolstencroft. Sir Phillip actually mentioned by name Lauren, Brian & Viviane as “new Canadian heroes”. Between the three of them, they have 13 of our 19 medals, and nine out of ten Gold medals. I tease Lauren that she just cracked a smile after crossing the finish line. She brushes it off saying “I was really happy” – but through the evening, it started to sink in. During the media scrum, you can see he starting to comprehending that she is indeed a national role model, with all the pressures and responsibilities attached to it. She barely escaped the closing ceremonies – people approached the fence and they all wanted their picture taken with her. I rode the bus back with VANOC officials in charge of the Villages and we had a good discussion about how one gets addicted to Paralympics. Najeet started as a volunteer in Sydney, Dan as a worker in Atlanta. Dan has now worked at running the villages since Salt Lake City (he is American) but told me he is going to be a full time dad in Vancouver for the next little while. That night was party time in the Village and most athletes are flying out tomorrow. Although we were all tired and could use a rest, this is the toughest time of all – when the games are over and we all go return to our “normal” lives, leaving behind new and old friends we may, or may not, see again for years to come.

We have had our best medal count ever and still one day to go?

gaetanblog — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:45:20 +0000

	Saturday was one of the best day ever for Canadian Paralympic history. I headed out for the press conference with minister Finley. Human Resources and Skills Development Canada gave us $189K for our advertising campaign. I was part of the focus group that helped develop it and the agency that did it for us (BBDO) pro-bono, did a fabulous job. Since I was already downtown, I picked my family and brought them to the Gold medal hockey game. This will be their first live Paralympic sport and I have to say I’m a bit nervous about whether or not they’ll have enjoyed it as much as I did. I purchased my daughter a bunch of Japanese flags and she even tried to give them to American fans! The majority of the audience was waving Japanese flags – everyone likes rooting for the underdog. Before the game, I had an excellent conversation with the Quebec Minister for Social Services (responsible for Sport). I always like a chance to leverage our amazing athletes for the development of sport and health in general. Japan kept it close and the outcome isn’t certain until 2 minutes from the end. It was defining moment for sledge hockey in Japan. They even broadcast-ed the game live there. My wife and daughter think it’s way cool and stay until after the medal ceremony is done. Then I’m off to curling and watched our team in their Gold medal match. They easily beat Sweden that morning and faced South Korea for Gold. Our entrance to the curling venue goes through the staff cafeteria where 2 big TVs were showing downhill skiing. Lauren Wolstencroft won her fifth Gold by another large margin thus making history as the first woman to win five Gold medals in Winter Games. She cracked a smile but made it look like it was just another day at the office. The curling game looks like it was going to be a runaway. We led 8-1 after four, but Korea came back strong. Jim Armstrong needed to do a take out with his last stone to win. It’s a simple take out, unless it’s the last stone of the Gold medal match at home in front of five thousand screaming fans…With Jim, you never know if he’s happy or unhappy with his throw. The face remains exactly the same no matter what. Same this time, it isn’t until the stone if halfway through that he finally pumped his fist in the air. It was a perfect takeout and we win by one. In the evening, the Government of Ontario held a reception for our athletes. One more Minister to lobby! Our sledge team is there and they were surrounded by their best fans – their families who keep snapping pictures. They are also very gracious as they congratulated the curlers on their Gold medal. Real class being demonstrated once again by Paralympians. The location is high up over the harbor and the cauldron. Stunning views! Then I returned to Whistler so I could be at the Nordic Sprint event in the morning. Sunday is the closing day and we had a shot at a couple more medals. That would be the icing on the cake – we already have our best Gold medal count, best overall medal count and best ranking ever at the games.

Can We Talk About Anything But Hockey?

gaetanblog — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:37:59 +0000

	It was a sad day for our hockey team. After dominating play for two periods, they fell to a fluke deflection with seconds left in the game. A bad finish to a few of our players’ national team career. The audience was full of VIPs – the Prime Minister, the Liberal leader Michael Ignatief, BC’s Premier Gordon Campbell and Rick Hansen. We all felt sad for the team that has worked so hard but fell on hard luck in their last two games. I actually started the day unexpectedly being awakened by a call that CBC needed a live interview in 45 minutes…Splashed some water on my face and shaved, brushed my teeth and out I was off . I ended up doing an interview without an interviewer to look at. I stared at a camera while the interviewer in Toronto posed questions through an earpiece connected to a cell phone. Then a live interviewer showed up and wanted to ask a few more questions to which I am asked to answer in both English and French although she doesn’t herself speak French. Surprisingly, I gather from the e-mails I received that this might be the best viewed interview I did to date. I had the morning off and skied with my daughter who had recovered from her cliff hanging adventure. She really wanted to try the Peak to Peak lift, a wonder of engineering connecting Whistler and Blackcomb peaks. We ended up getting lucky and got one of two gondolas with a glass floor so we g o t the full impression of how high the gondola is off the valley. As we drove back, a call came in that I had a press conference Sunday AM with a Federal Minister and I’m expected to speak for three minutes. However, we didn’t know what the press release was all about and might not get the details until minutes before I go on. Funny that it almost feels normal to do this now – this last minute rush. I generally prefer to prepare carefully for important activities rather than improvise. That being said, I often get better feedback from my “improvisations” because they feel less scripted and more natural. We stopped at Squamish for lunch and saw a horse pull up to the Tim Horton’s drive-through window. I snapped a quick photo with the camera on my phone. The day finished with a late meeting to discuss the closing ceremonies which will be televised live nationally. However, they were to be held outside in Whistler and the weather forecast is atrocious so we needed to set contingency plans in case anyone got hypothermic. At this point we’re still in third place by Gold medal ranking and 4th on total medals – still our best result to date with another day at alpine and two at Nordic. Curling semis and finals go on tomorrow PM as well. The games are drawing to an end just as we start feeling comfortable with the place – as is always the case. Pictures today of my daughter at Blackcomb peak (hiding behind goggles), the view from the gondola, the picture a colleague took of me, my daughter and Brian McKeever – and the first Canadian Paralympic Gold Medal at home games. And – why not, Stephen Harper signing autographs between periods at the hockey game.

Yes, Yes, Yes…OH NO!!!

gaetanblog — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:29:31 +0000

The day started great – Gold for McKeever, Gold for Viviane Forest to complete her set (Gold, Silver & Bronze). Not too shabby on a bad leg! Then a third Gold for Wolstencroft. We were positively beaming, the mood was upbeat, and we headed out to the hockey semi-final against Japan.

We scored first. Our guys were playing well, but not quite on target. Lots of shots missed the goal in the first period. 1-0 going into the first intermission. It was the same story in the second period although the shots were more accurate with no reward as the Japanese goalie was having a great day. Nothing to fear, until a poor pass in the defensive zone, right onto the stick of the Japanese forward who scored an easy goal. 1-1 going into the second intermission and stress levels drastically increased, mine in particular as my wife phoned me , upset that our teenage daughter had gone missing.

I didn’t consider it a big deal. “Missing” in this case meant “not being at the agreed upon meeting place” – it probably happens to the parents of teenagers thousands of time a day in Toronto alone.

As it turns out, my daughter was stuck on a cliff. She followed some extreme snowboarder tracks and decided not to jump fifty feet off a rock face, but she didn’t know the safe path down, so she sat down and asked someone below to send some help. It’s a decent excuse for not being at the rendez-vous point, and good judgment for not making a bad situation worse. Two locals showed her the way down safely.

Unaware of the drama unfolding on Whistler mountain, I returned to my seat. We peppered the net with shots in the third period but the goalie didn’t allow anything by him. We pushed harder with two minutes to go – then came a bad bounce and three Japanese players got a breakaway – no chance for our goalie . Suddenly we were behind with 90 seconds to go. We pulled the goalie out – it didn’t work . The final score was 3-1 Japan. We were devastated. This wasn’t supposed to be a tough game.

We now had to figure out how to change all the Gold Medal match tickets our supporters bought for Bronze Medal match tickets. This would be a long evening for our staff.

I made it up to Whistler and the mood was better here with our flag raised three times that evening (and my daughter in the hotel room – not in hospital with broken bones).

And I realized that I never made it to the biathlon despite teasing you about blind men with guns. So I headed to my archives and pulled a few pictures. The gun is actually a laser rifle (hence the photographer being comfortable with me shooting right at the camera) and the shooter wears headphones. The closer to the target the shooter is, the higher the sound pitch. I actually found that finding the target is the toughest part – there is no sound until the laser is actually hitting the target. Of course, when I did it, I was totally rested and didn’t have a heart rate at 160…

The other picture shows me and Jordan trying a ski sled. It looks easy – it totally isn’t. There was a barely noticeable hill and we just managed to make it up before our muscles quit. Oh yes, Colette Bourgonje won another Bronze today. Good to be in Whistler! Flag going up 4 times, anthem 3 times. That’s sport. You win some and you lose some. My daughter has decided she’s cheering for the Japanese Saturday!

The sights and smells of Vancouver

gaetanblog — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:18:29 +0000

It’s been a good day to catch up on a few things– sleep (8 hours), exercise, and some Toronto Rehab hospital work. I figured that the hospital e-mails wouldn’t take me very long since I have been keeping up pretty well on my Blackberry. However, what I failed to think about is the fact that I had opened and deleted all the “easy” ones, which left 30 or so e-mails that require some thinking and attention and several minutes each to respond to. So despite coming back from breakfast at 9:30 a.m., I couldn’t go for a run until 2 PM.

The sun has finally returned to the west coast. Today was 10 degrees and sunny with a bit of a breeze – not nearly as nice as Toronto, but the scenery is better here – when you can actually see the mountains. The Brits jokingly said that they had heard a rumour about mountains being close by, but they hadn’t seen any. I didn’t plan to take pictures, but I had my camera phone with me, so today’s pictures are a reflection of my encounters during that run.

The trees are in full bloom early here after an unusually warm winter. Allergy sufferers on the team aren’t that happy, but I personally like the look and smell. I ran along False Creek, and you can the smell the blossoms, the sea (occasionally a bit too strong I have to say), horses (unusual I’m sure but the police squad was there taking pictures) and dogs…lots of dogs being walked. Running here is like navigating a dog slalom. And since it’s Vancouver, the occasional illicit substance smell hangs in the air, within 20 paces of the police officers no less!

I also got a very nice view of the Paralympic village from across the creek. Back in the village, the volunteers are all smiles. It’s amazing what a bright sunny day can do the one’s mood! Oh yes, Lauren received another Gold Medal in GS. Let’s see how well she’s known after these games. For fun, try to name one Olympic Gold medalist who helped design the villages’ electrical grid system!

Our curlers won the early game and I followed their progress through regular text messages to my cell phone. We try to keep everyone abreast of the latest results in real time. A few of us headed out to see the late game, and it was another win. Wheelchair curling is different from standing curling in that there is no brushing to change the trajectory of the stone. Once it’s released, the work is done and you can only watch it go. So strategic placement of stones is crucial as is a very predictable delivery – which uses a special stick that allows release and twisting of the handle to determine the curling direction.

Thursday is the hockey semi-final and I’ll head out to Whistler afterwards, hopefully to see a Canadian on the top step of the podium at the medal plaza. It amazing how fast time has gone by and already we are talking about departure procedures.

This is the link to the pictures and a few more: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gaetan_tardif/sets/72157623642947638/

Setting up for Saturday’s finals

gaetanblog — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:41:13 +0000

I spent the night in Whistler and worked most of the morning on less than fascinating things. The weather in Whistler was miserable; cool and pouring rain. Fortunately, I was inside the hospitality tent and did get too wet other than during the chairlift ride from the base to the finish line. They still ran the GS in the rain and fog and we got a Bronze medal from Viviane Forest. She actually caused quite a stir by asking for a ride to get a sore leg muscle treated. The quickest way down was to use the ambulance that had been there idling all morning. This led major news outlets to report that Viviane had been taken off the hill in an ambulance – a story that was proven to be false when she ran an excellent race and moved up from 4th place. Chris Williamson threatened the podium, moving from 5th to 4th

	I offered to drive back from Whistler as Jordan, our manager of Paralympic Teams, was sleep deprived and needed to gather his strength before that night’s hockey game. He was in fine form later, juggling three beers and a cell phone at once (see photos), attending our game against Norway whom we had beaten for Gold in Torino. They have a problem similar to that of Sweden – not enough young talent. We won 5-0 in a very physical game. Unfortunately, a Norwegian player took a shot at another player’s head 2 seconds after the end of the game. I’m curious to see what the referees will do and whether they will suspend him. For me it’s an easy decision, aim to injure and you’re out for a good long time. The NHL and junior leagues should operate in the same way. A colleague in the US told me that their regional elite league has eradicated fighting completely – drop the gloves and you’re out for the rest of the season. Our curling team, unexpectedly beaten by Sweden yesterday, beat Switzerland 15-1 and established a new scoring record for Paralympic Games. Saturday will be a day to watch for sure with Nordic, Alpine, Curling and Hockey all having medal events. CTV has readjusted their broadcast schedule and will now televise the closing ceremonies live, at least in BC. And after days of marginal to bad weather, the forecast is for several days of sunshine starting Thursday. If it all goes well, this could be the most fun I’ve had in one weekend.

I have received a couple of updates from my colleagues who are in Haiti helping in the aftermath of the earthquake. It really puts things in perspective for me. Sport is a great way to build personal confidence, health and a sense of community, but what we are doing here is improving on what is already one of the best places one could ever want to live in. In Haiti, I don’t think we are close to talking about sport development yet. However, with good government and some outside help, one can only hope that Haitian people with disabilities can one day march in the Paralympic parade of athletes.

Golden Day #1

gaetanblog — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:03:22 +0000

	Another busy day which went late – hence the delayed blog. While in Vancouver, we watch on TV Brian and Robin McKeever win our first Paralympic Gold medal on home soil. They did it easily although later in the day they told me they were at their target heart rate and couldn’t go faster. Frankly, they looked like they were on a training run and could have gone another 20k without difficulty. As soon as the race is finished, we head up for Whistler. I drive as Jordan and Darren were both on the phone non-stop; planning the evening’s event with our friends and families who are staying at the hill. We were victims of our own success as a number of dignitaries plan on showing up at the last minute, all wanting the opportunity to address the audience. It’s a difficult balancing act – allowing these supporters to speak yet not overload the families with speeches when they’d rather spend some time with the athletes. We got on the hill just in time to see our women take Gold & Bronze in the slalom. Another excellent day, and Lauren Wolstencroft became the first woman to win a Gold medal on home soil. She skis two flawless runs and her competitors didn’t even come close. The rest of the field was really fighting for Silver. I have known Lauren since the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City – we got acquainted early thanks to a particularly nasty spill she took in downhill training. She is an accomplished woman who managed to get an degree in electrical engineering while being an international level athlete. Most people notice the left prosthetic arm, but many are surprised when they are told there are also two prosthetic legs hidden under those pants. Our Bronze medalist is Karolina Wisniewska, who also medaled in Salt Lake City before retiring from competition to complete her studies. She worked with us as a volunteer in Torino and decided she just needed to come back. To say that she was thrilled to get back on the podium 8 years later would be an understatement. The medals plaza is packed for the ceremonies with lots of flag waving, screaming and the opportunity to sing O Canada twice in 20 minutes! The evening event went really well despite being absolutely packed. Our medal winning athletes made an appearance. Robin & Brian McKeever, who are not racing the next day, stayed until the very end and pretty much allow all 325 people in the room to have their picture taken with them. They give a short speech that focuses on thanking others rather than boosting their own ego. They are truly a class act. We make several new “converts” to the Paralympic movement during the evening, and will make many more in the days to come. Nearly one million people watched our first hockey game and we think we can hit two million if we make the finals on Saturday, and there is a very good chance of that. Minister Lunn told me that the US Ambassador asked if we good leave them one hockey Gold medal, which of course we have no intention of doing! The game will be live Saturday afternoon on CTV and I just can’t wait to be part of what could be another historical moment.

The Changing Face of Paralympic Competition

gaetanblog — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:14:35 +0000

	I had a busy day but not many pictures to show for it. The day started at 7:30 – which felt like 6:30 because of daylight saving time. We had to stay up and negotiate new ticket allotments for our families since bad weather has played havoc on the downhill skiing schedule. So parents who had tickets to see their kids compete on Sunday were going to be hugely disappointed since all the race days were changed. Not a big deal if you’re the general public, but a huge issue if you’ve spent years watching a child learning to race – only to miss his/her big race at the Paralympics. Fortunately, VANOC figures it out but not until the wee hours of the morning. . Since we didn’t get to bed until after midnight, the alarm is somewhat painful. Finally, time to do laundry before I run out of clean clothes. I always try to wait a bit, and let other people test how coulourfast the team clothes are before I launder my own garments. We’re always in a rush, there are few machines, and matching colours is not always an option. A leaky red shirt can do a lot of damage to the rest of your wardrobe! While doing the laundry, we watched the feisty Italian hockey team that gave us some trouble yesterday almost beat the Norwegians, which would have been a huge upset. The Italians scored one goal the entire tournament in Torino but have used the home games to spearhead talent development, something we Canadians need to do as well. The Swedes, who beat us to the bronze medal in Salt Lake City, have stagnated and their game has not evolved over time, They rely on a few better players who will spend as much as 10 minutes on the ice at a time whereas we change every minute or so. We destroy them, 10-1, in front of a full house of Canadian fans, and they are lucky to get a single goal out of their meager three shots for the entire game. It’s a good lesson for us in terms of the need to develop new talent. In interviews, I often place this as one of my top goals for the home games – make kids, and their parents, want to get involved in parasport. Parents are generally a bit overprotective these days, and parents of kids with a disability are even more so. However, these kids can learn great skills through sport and develop confidence and tenacity that will serve them well later in life. Last night we held a reception to thank our families and friends for their support. We’ll do the same in Whistler this evening. Our volunteers are busy assembling a small gift for our families and friends. I ended up being the lone MC for this event as Blair, our Chef de Mission, stayed in Whistler to attend the ceremony for the first ever Paralympic medal on home soil. This first medal goes to Colette Bourgonje, a school teacher from Saskatchewan I blogged about from Torino. She competes in both Summer and Winter games and this will be her ninth games – and she keeps beating competitors literally half her age. She won silver and immediately gave credit to the wax technicians for a fabulous job. One thing is for sure, Paralympians know how to say thank you. We got two more silver medals yesterday in Alpine skiing – Vivian Forrest in the visually impaired class, and Josh Dueck in the sit ski class. It was a very good day indeed, topped by our curling team coming back from a 3-0 deficit and stealing two in the last end to win by one. Over 300 people came to the reception last night – a success again. Dare I say thing are going almost too smoothly? We know there will be some rough patches but to date everything is humming along. Besides my role on the team, I am also on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Paralympic Committee and my fellow Board members are all smiles after the Toronto Star put our Paralympic ad campaign on the from page today. It’s tough to complain about anything right now. I’m heading up to Whistler today and bringing my ski boots, although my schedule and the weather forecast don’t look too promising for me to put them on even for a couple of runs. However, by mid-week the forecast is for several days of sun and temperature in double digits. I hope you are enjoying the coverage. We certainly are proud of what we have achieved as a team to date. Spread the word!

Extended Week-End Edition: Let the Games Begin!

gaetanblog — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:16:35 +0000

	After many days of preparation, it’s finally time to finally get into Games mode. The lunch with the Governor General was a success even though it started late – a blessing since it gave the hockey team time to join us. Many children attended and were delighted to have a chance to mingle with the athletes and the GG. We gather all of our Vancouver village team members for a quick “pep rally” before heading to the transport mall for the short bus trip to BC Place and the opening ceremonies. We all look good in our Cowichan sweaters and black cords if only a little warm since these sweaters are definitely not for indoor use! They are thick and heavy. For once though, we’re not the ones looking like we’re wearing pajamas. The US team is wearing loose white sweatpants tucked in their boots. Not sure who thought of that … We gather in the bowels of the stadium and wait for our turn to go in. Everyone has a bit of the jitters and make one or two trips to the washroom – where we notice a rather peculiar sign. Out chief doctor cannot resist the need to “pretend” to use the area. He clowns around a little more when he spotted a tall and good looking young female RCMP officer in full uniform. He asked if she will pretend to arrest him for a photo op. Unfortunately, I’m not fast enough on the shutter and miss it. However, a long line up of young men wanting to be “arrested” develops – some asking if she can pretend to frisk them…boys will be boys. The US team gets in the action – some of these photos could probably start an international incident! The spectators have been in their seats since 5PM, rehearsing “their part” in the opening ceremonies. We left the village around 5:30 and finally start to move around 6:50 so it’s a rather lengthy, but not unusual wait. Now we know how the US feels – they are always at the end of the line. The roar as we enter the stadium is very, very loud. The seats are full, the GG and the Prime Minister are there, and the show was spectacular with a real focus on abilities. One young man enters the stage awkwardly on crutches, then all of a sudden does a full flip, drops the crutches and start break dancing like I’ve never seen before There was also a BMX and skateboard show with two acrobatic wheelchair athletes spinning off the ramps undoubtedly making their mothers age prematurely. Terry Fox’s parents were chosen to enter the stadium with the flame, passing it to Paralympic veterans Marnie Abbott and Dan Wesley. Interestingly, it isn’t a celebrity who lights the cauldron, but rather a young para-snowboarder who represents the future of the Games. I actually like to concept of looking at our future rather than just celebrating the past.

I finally get to see my family this morning – breakfast together at the hotel then they’re off to Whistler and then to UBC for sledge hockey. Lots and lots of snow at Whistler – too much in fact and today’s races got cancelled. We have a few good placements in Biathlon today but no medals. Sledge hockey is against Italy and shouldn’t be a problem. However, the guyshave a case of the nerves and only lead by a goal despite buzzing the Italian net for the first two periods. Then they finally start loosening up and we win 4-0.

I finally go to curling where we beat Great-Britain 9-2 in the afternoon draw and the USA 10-5 in the evening draw. A great start for our team.

I’m back at the village and get to the gym which is absolutely deserted. All the athletes are either still competing or had a match today so nobody is thinking of lifting weights. I get lazy and decide to watch the evening curling on TV while helping the volunteers put together the small gifts we will offer our guests at the Family and Friends reception in Vancouver and Whistler. A fairly easy day – the media slows right down on the week-end but more interviews are scheduled first thing Monday AM.

I have a few photos up on flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/gaetan_tardif/sets/72157623491022325 Our assistant press chief John also has a large set if you want to see more.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/teamontario/sets/72157623611452722/