With 317 days to go until the Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Coordination Commission has finished its penultimate visit to the next Olympic Host City by congratulating the Vancouver Organisers (VANOC) for the high quality of the recently completed sports events. The Commission meeting also overlapped with the 8th IOC-UNEP Sport and the Environment Conference, which was held in Vancouver from 29 to 31 March. This Conference once again underlined the Olympic Movement’s commitment to the environment and sustainability.



A Great Olympic Experience

Speaking at the end of the Commission meeting, Chairman René Fasel said, “After six years of planning, we have finally seen athletes on the field of play, with the successful completion of the recent sports events and we congratulate VANOC and its hugely supportive partners on this achievement. While some of the spectators have had the opportunity to learn about new sports, it has also been the occasion for VANOC to learn and understand how its planning assumptions will operate in reality. There have been some important lessons learned, and VANOC’s team has taken them on board. We are confident that they will translate them into a great Olympic experience for the athletes, spectators and everyone else who will attend the Games or watch them on TV.”

In parallel to the Commission meeting, the 8th IOC-UNEP Sport and the Environment Conference also took place in Vancouver this week. The Conference is a bi-annual forum for bringing together the world of sport to talk about the environment and sustainability. The Games have sustainability right at their core from the bid stage, and no where has this been taken more to heart than in Vancouver. Commenting on VANOC’s work, Fasel said, “We often speak about the legacy of the Games for a community. One of the great legacies of the Vancouver Games will surely be VANOC and its partners’ work in the area of sustainability. From brand new venues that were built with the environment in mind to initiatives like their carbon offset plan, the Vancouver Games will leave a positive sustainable legacy to future generations. As Chairman of the Coordination Commission, it’s one of the things that makes me very proud about the work that we have accomplished thus far with VANOC.”



VANCOUVER 2010

Vancouver and Whistler will host the XXI Olympic Winter Games from 12 to 28 February 2010 and the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games from 12 to 21 March 2010. The seven Winter Olympic sports that will be on show in Vancouver are Luge, Skiing, Skating, Ice Hockey, Biathlon, Bobsleigh and Curling.

To coincide with the 8th World Conference on Sport and the Environment, which is being held in Vancouver, Canada, Worldwide TOP Partner Coca-Cola has announced details of its environmental action plan.

The plan demonstrates how the company is using the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games as a forum to showcase its ”Olympic Games Sustainability Programme” and its ongoing environmental commitments.

The Programme was created through consultation with WWF-Canada and the David Suzuki Foundation, and includes targets of 100% collection of all PET containers in the Olympic Village and the venues during the Games, and 100% reduction in Olympic carbon emissions.

 

Live positively and run with the Torch

Coca-Cola is also rewarding Canadians who Live Positively and reduce their environmental footprint, by providing them with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to carry the Olympic torch in the build-up to the Games.  Any Canadian who increases the amount they recycle, conserves energy and water and/or sets examples of environmental sustainability, can nominate themselves to become an Olympic torchbearer by logging on to www.icoke.ca. 

Coca-Cola has announced that Gerald Butts, President and CEO, WWF-Canada has been nominated by Coca-Cola as its first environmental Olympic torchbearer. He said: “We are excited by Coke’s commitment to introducing an Olympic Games Sustainability Programme at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, and by its efforts to support Canadians in living more sustainable lives."

“Congratulations to Coca-Cola,” says Linda Coady, Vice President, Sustainability, VANOC. “This is an example of a business using its Olympic sponsorship to incorporate and highlight environmental innovation in its own practices.” 

For more information on Coca-Cola’s environmental programme in Canada visit:

While the 8th World Conference on Sport and Environment is starting today in Vancouver, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has already pledged its commitment to provide sustainable legacies by strongly supporting the Sustainable Sport and Event Toolkit (SSET), a joint initiative by the International Academy of Sports Science and Technology (AISTS) and the Vancouver Organising Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). In fact, the IOC is the Principal Supporting Partner of the new toolkit, the SSET.

“As one of its founding members, the IOC is proud to partner with the AISTS to support new projects that promote sport and sustainable development,” stated Gilbert Felli, IOC Executive Director for the Olympic Games. “The SSET initiative profiles best practices and innovations developed by VANOC and other Olympic Games Organising Committees, federations and sport organisations, as well as the AISTS, a leading academic research centre in sport.”

Specifically designed as a “How To” guide for sports organisers, as well as national and International Federations and National Olympic Committees, the SSET provides a practical way to create a sustainable commitment and strategy around environmental, social, and economic issues ranging from selection and construction of the venue to community and supply chain involvement, and from transportation and accommodation to marketing and communications. 

 Learn more about the IOC policy on promotion of sustainable development

After a successful International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission visit to Vancouver last October, the Commission will make its eighth visit to Vancouver at the end of this month. The visit is particularly notable as it is the penultimate time the IOC Coordination Commission will be present in Vancouver before the city hosts the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

The Countdown Begins

With less than one year to go until the start of the  Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, the spotlight is well and truly on this city. The Coordination Commission will attend various meetings and receive updates and presentations from the Vancouver 2010 Organising Committee (VANOC) regarding its progress in a number of key areas, including sports events, venues, transport, and culture and education.

IOC member René Fasel is the Chairman of the Coordination Commission for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, and will lead the two-day visit, which will take place from 31 March to 1 April 2009.



VANCOUVER 2010

Vancouver and Whistler will host the XXI Olympic Winter Games from 12 to 28 February 2010 and the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games from 12 to 21 March 2010. The seven winter Olympic sports that will be on show in Vancouver are Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Curling, Ice Hockey, Luge, Skating and Skiing.

If you want to save your spot at the 8th World Conference on Sport and the Environment (WCSE) in Vancouver, register now at www.wcse2009.com. The event will be held on 29 and 31 March 2009 in the host city of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and is being organised jointly by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Vancouver 2010 Organising Committee (VANOC), in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Exciting programme – top level speakers

How to achieve environmental progress during economic uncertainty. Which are the best models to reduce the environmental footprint in sport? How to apply green planning, design and construction principles for Olympic venues. What is the role and power of athletes to raise awareness for environmentally friendly behaviour in and through sport? And how to engage communities at large and the youth in particular in these processes. These are but a few of the topics that will be discussed in plenary sessions, panels and workshops and during armchair dialogues under the main conference theme "Innovation and Inspiration". The list of speakers is impressive, featuring top-level representatives from the sporting family, UN bodies, Worldwide TOP Partners, civil society and the world of business and politics.



Vancouver – best practice for itself     With VANOC being the first Olympic Games Organising Committee to have integrated "sustainability" into its vision statement, Vancouver is the perfect location for such a conference. VANOC successfully incorporated its sustainability performance objectives into its business systems. A tour of the venues of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games will enable the conference participants to learn about building processes, challenges, sustainability attributes and site-selection considerations. Past and other future Organising Committees will also share their experience in working towards "Green Games". It was only in mid-February that UNEP assessed and praised the outstanding environmental initiatives of the organisers of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in its report "Beijing 2008 Olympic Games – Final Environmental Assessment".

Last week saw the last leg of this season’s Luge World Cup series staged in Whistler at the future Olympic track for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games. “The Olympic Games could well start tomorrow,” Josef Fendt, President of the International Luge Federation (FIL), said happily after the successful staging of the event.



Fine-tuning Games operations

This World Cup competition offered the Vancouver organisers (VANOC) the opportunity to fine-tune their operations at the venue exactly one year prior to the Games. Beginning with the training schedule, and including testing the transport system and medical services, a simulation of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games set-up was successfully implemented.



Enthusiastic athletes and spectators

“The entire layout is excellent and the atmosphere is just great,” stated Austria’s Andreas Linger after his competition. And his team mate Tobias Schiegl added: “If I had it my way, we could have all our events on this track next winter. It’s simply gorgeous here in Whistler”. 19-year-old Felix Loch from Germany concluded: “At every corner there’s someone who is working on something. You get the impression that the Olympic Games could well start tomorrow”. The final of this World Cup event saw undreamt-of spectator interest – both competition days were completely sold out, with a total of 6,000 enthusiastic spectators at the venue. Moreover, for the first time, a luge event in Canada drew more than 100 media representatives.



Mastering “Thunderbird”, “Shiver” and the “Lueders Loop”

The curves at the Whistler Sliding Centre have awesome names such as “Thunderbird” or “Shiver”, are named after animals such as “Lynx”, or commemorate famous athletes. There is, for instance, the “Lueders Loop”, curve number seven. It is named after Pierre Lueders, Canada’s 1998 Olympic two-man bobsleigh champion. And only those lugers who master the combination of curves 12, 13, 14 and 15 – the so-called “Gold Rush Trial” – without many mistakes might have a chance of reaching the top of the podium at next year’s Vancouver Olympic Winter Games.

The opening of the Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre, the venue for curling and wheelchair curling events during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, now means that all the sports venues for the 2010 Games are complete. With sports events already underway at many of the venues, and others scheduled over the coming year, the Olympic sites will be well tested before the Games begin next February.

John Furlong, Chief Executive Officer of the Vancouver 2010 Organising Committee (VANOC), said at the opening of the centre, “After years of teamwork and careful planning, together we’ve reached one of our biggest milestones. It’s wonderful to see athletes now competing and testing these venues while youngsters and adults alike experience the legacies far in advance of the Games.”

New sports competition venues for the 2010 Winter Games include the Richmond Olympic Oval, the Whistler Sliding Centre, the University of British Columbia Thunderbird Arena, Whistler Olympic/Paralympic Park, Cypress Mountain, and the Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre – one of the greenest curling venues in the world. Substantial upgrades were also made to existing facilities, such as the Pacific Coliseum and Whistler Creekside. All the facilities and upgrades were planned to leave lasting legacies in their communities. Further enhancements will continue to be made to some venues after VANOC receives feedback from athletes and officials competing at them during sports events this season.

The Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre is targeted for the gold standard in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. The eco-friendly venue captures rainwater and siphons it into the building to flush toilets and urinals. The toilets, showers and sinks also use low-flow water systems, reducing water usage by up to 30 per cent. The building is wrapped in a high-performance envelope that helps keep temperatures just right inside for the perfect ice sheet. Heat is reused during the ice-making process, and the building is powered by a mixture of electricity, natural gas and solar energy. After the Games, the venue will be transformed into a multi-purpose recreation centre. It will include ice sheets for hockey and curling, a gymnasium, library, and aquatic centre.

After years of planning, it is now time to start implementing. Representatives of 75 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) are currently meeting at the Vancouver 2010 Chefs de Mission Seminar to prepare next year’s Olympic Winter Games. Through presentations, working meetings, information booths and venue tours, the Organising Committee for the Vancouver 2010 Organising Committee (VANOC), in cooperation with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is briefing the NOC representatives present about various operational aspects which will be crucial for the smooth running of the Games in exactly one year’s time.



What’s the role of a Chef?

Chefs de Mission lead their NOC’s delegation, and are responsible for all their athletes and team officials during Games time. At the moment, they are getting familiar with the venues, city layout, transport, and all the detailed operations which VANOC is arranging for their athletes and team officials during the Games.



Complex operations

The variety of subjects covered during the seminar – such as Olympic Villages, athletes’ food, ticketing, accreditation and sport entries, medical services and doping control, support grants and protocol, to name but a few – reflects the meticulous operational management needed to welcome about 2,600 athletes to the 2010 Olympic Games. Accordingly, the variety of the questions posed by the Chefs de Mission from all over the world shows the diverse needs of the NOCs, depending on their differing size, structure, means and location. 

During his visit to Vancouver and Whistler last week for the Vancouver 2010 one-year-to-go celebrations, IOC President Jacques Rogge had the opportunity to see first-hand a number of the venues that will be used during the Vancouver 2010 Games. Rogge was able to visit the Olympic and Paralympic Village Whistler, the Whistler Olympic Park, the Whistler Sliding Centre, the Richmond Olympic Oval, Cypress Mountain, the International Broadcast Centre and the Vancouver Olympic Centre.

During his visit to the Whistler Olympic Park, Rogge commented on the progress of the Vancouver Games project: “Most of the construction is finished and VANOC is now in the sport event phase, which is going extremely well.” He continued: “Of course, there is still a whole year of work ahead but I’m very confident about the outcome. I think that these Games are going to be unforgettable for the athletes because of the quality of the infrastructure, the quality of the people running the events, the fantastic scenery, and the love of sport of the Canadian people. These are going to be smashing Games!”



Competition Venues

All the competition venues for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games have been completed, and sports events to test out their operations are currently underway. The snow and sliding sports will take place in Whistler and on Cypress Mountain, while the ice sports will all take place in the Vancouver and Richmond area. The unique setting and design elements of many of the venues will undoubtedly please not only the athletes, but also the spectators both in the venues and on TV.



Non-Competition Venues

Most of the non-competition venues are now nearing completion and will be handed over to VANOC during the course of 2009. This will allow the organisers to get them ready for the arrival of the athletes and media, who will be the principal users of the Olympic Villages and media centres.



VANCOUVER 2010

Exactly one year out from the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, the future Olympic snowboard venue just featured a superb show with more than 300 athletes from 31 countries. Last week, the world’s best riders met at Cypress Mountain for the Snowboard FIS World Cup to compete in the snowboard cross and halfpipe events.



“Buzz around the city”

Athletes, coaches, officials and spectators got a snapshot of the atmosphere that can be expected next year during Games time. IOC President Jacques Rogge, who visited the snowboard cross competitions during his trip to Vancouver on the occasion of the 2010 countdown activities, said: “It’s just great to witness here the enthusiasm of the Canadian people and the athletes. I cannot wait to come back here in one year’s time for the Olympic events.” Britain’s number one ranked female snowboard athlete, Zoe Gillings, shared these feelings just before her snowboard cross competitions in which she placed 10th: “I’m in Vancouver right now and there is a real buzz around the city. I can’t believe the Games are only 12 months away, I’m really excited” she said.



Enthusiastic athletes

The venue at Cypress Mountain received fantastic feedback from various athletes. World Cup leader Lindsey Jacobellis (US), who won gold in the snowboard cross event, stated enthusiastically: “I love courses like this one with great jumps and turns. It was a blast to ride this course and even better to win the race”. Likewise, US superstar Shaun White was also more than just pleased with his victory in the halfpipe event: “This win means a lot to me. You get to know everything, the pipe as well as the whole set-up. Next year is going to be wild! All the riders did well. There is so much talent out there.” And Ryoh Aono from Japan, who placed second behind White, said: “Well, of course I wanted to win today but I will get another chance in one year.”



Vancouver – a “spectacular host”

Despite the fact that the parallel giant slalom had to be cancelled, FIS officials can look back on successful competition days of on the very spot where Olympic stars will compete next year. FIS Snowboard Race Director Marcel Looze concluded: “Vancouver has been a spectacular host to the snowboard athletes for the past several days and we are fully satisfied with this venue for the 2010 Winter Games.”