Wow!  I’d like to congratulate all of our athletes, all of whom did such a wonderful job this weekend!

In Short Track Speed Skating congrats to Charles Hamelin Gold in Men’s 500m, Kalyna Roberge Bronze in Women’s 500m, and to the Canadian teams for Silver in Men’s 5000m relay and Bronze in Women’s 3000m relay!  Great work!

Men's ISU World Cup 500m race in Seoul, South Korea (photo from CTV)

The Jennifer Jones’ team won the first bonspiel of the season, the Radisson SAS Oslo Cup in Norway.  A great way to start the season.  We had one men’s team in the bonspiel as well skipped by Mike McEwan, they came in 5th!  So with Brad Gushue’s rink winning both of their first two competitions of the season we’re looking good for the Olympics!

In hockey, the Women’s team was playing in the Icebreaker tournament, a beat their local AAA midget competition 4 games to 0!  There was some fierce competition (and great training) for our women!  I can’t wait to see them play in the Olympics!!

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My day did not involve a heckuva lot that I would say felt particularly Olympic, but I did spend an overtime shift in the Olympic Superstore today to help to make sure that we’re ready for the Grand Opening on Thursday, October 1st.  It almost doesn’t feel ‘Olympic’ in there sometimes because we’re stressed and focussed on making things perfect.  But then, I hear a laugh, or see a new item, or hear a story, or about an upcoming event and it once again becomes something much larger than a regular ol’ store opening.  I know that companies are making money off of the items that we have for sale, but for me some of those items mean so much more than that.  I guess the first thing that comes to mind is the Red Mittens and the urging of the Canadian Olympic Committee to ‘Wear your heart on your hands’.  It’s huge.  Could you imagine skating across a rink or skiing into a stadium and seeing a sea of Red Mittens?  It is more than a mitten, it’s a declaration to our Olympic and Paralympic athletes of our support and admiration!

There are also the items that focus on Ilanaaq, the Inukshuk that is the emblem of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and Man-becomes-Mountain, the emblem of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Games!

Or how about the Olympic Torch Relay that starts in 32 days?  We have more than 10,000 Canadians that are going to carry the Olympic Flame across our Nation!  I’m so proud to say that I know two of them: Robyn and Vicki!  For goodness sake, I cried holding a replica Torch, which is 1/3 of the actual Torch size, I’m going to cry like a baby when I get to hold an actual Torch!  (Thanks Vicki for offering! I am really looking forward to it, though I may need lots of tissues!).

Replica Olympic Torch

OK, so I’m waxing poetic a bit tonight, which I’m not all that inclined to do on such an extensive scale normally, but somehow I’m just feeling the Olympic Spirit this evening.  It comes from offers to hold an Olympic Torch.  From a crew of people working together to make something perfect.  From a great pin trade (thanks Krystal, totally love my Omega pin!).  From writing an interview email to an Olympic athlete.  And also from my own hopes and dreams that we, that Canada, will make this a Games to remember for all of our athletes in the Olympics and the Paralympics!  These people train, practice and push themselves in ways most of us never experience.  I admire that.  I also am proud that the World will be looking at us.  I want to do all that I can to make them all feel welcome, and hope that you do to.

And of course, I stand behind our Canadian Olympians and Paralympians with my Red Mittens, and cheer them to be the best that they can be!  Go Canada Go!!

Gosh I’m tired tonight so it will probably be a short post, but as always, there are things to talk about and after 72 days without missing a day it would be silly to miss one now!!

Vancouver 2010 Store September Pin of the Month

First up, the Vancouver 2010 Store has released their September Pin of the Month!  Plus a selection of other new pins, including a daunting “Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Collectors’ Pin Album – Volumes 1 to 4“.  Now, you could buy an empty album to fill with your own pins, but what is neat about the album set that  they’re offering is that it will include all of the individual retail pins available through to the end of the Games   As far as I know this will be around 460 different pins starting from a price of $8 per pin.  The entire set will cost $2999.00!  Which seems expensive except that even if all the pins were $8 that’s $3680 for the pins alone (assuming that it does include 460 pins, my numbers may be wrong, but close I think).  The albums are being sold for $60 each so that’s another $240 tacked on so I would say this will probably be a great deal for collectors.  (Note: the album set won’t be delivered until March sometime and it seems that it won’t include the ‘puzzle’ pin sets or other pin sets).

Vancouver 2010 Pin Collector Album Set

I have also recently found out that Coca-Cola will be doing a ‘Pin of the Day’ campaign during the Olympics and that their Happiness Cafe in the Olympic Superstore will be the place to get those!  Coca-Cola opened their first “Pin Trading Centre” at the Calgary 1988 Olympics and it’s a tradition that they’ve continued ever since!  There will be 20 designs to start but it will build to 120 Coca-Cola pin designs by the end of the Games!!  I have to say that even though it’s incomplete still, the Happiness Cafe is looking rather fabulous!  I’m looking forward to its Opening as well (I’m pretty sure that it will be on October 1st, along with the rest of the Olympic Superstore!).

A Coca-Cola Torch Relay pin - not a retail pin but pretty! (Photo courtesy of pincollectorsite.com)

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CONTEST! – “Le Glove“!  This contest isn’t directly related to Vancouver 2010, but it is a Whistler Blackcomb contest and gives you the chance to win a 2009/2010 season’s pass!  That’s a pretty darn great prize!  All you have to do is visit the Whistler Blackcomb website and hunt around until you find the missing glove!  When you do, take a screen shot (their site includes instructions for this) and email it to them with some information about you (all required particulars are also on their website).  The link I’ve provided is to the info page, not the missing “Le Glove”.  You’ll have to find that for yourself!

Le Glove Contest Ad

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