Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Goodbye.....

I still can not get over the fact that the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games are over. It hurts to think that the flame that travelled through the country uniting all Canadians is gone. It is hard to believe that when I get off the Vancouver City Centre station I don't see a sea of people. I am going to miss the random singing of the Canadian Anthem. I am so sad that it all has to end, it felt like to me it went by so fast.
When I first was told that we were moving to Vancouver, Canada I did not know a single thing about this city. So I decided to Google it, and the first thing I saw was Vancouver 2010. I clicked on the site and from that moment on I wanted to be apart of the 2010 Olympic Games. I got to Vancouver and was just buzzing with excitement. I was going to live in the city were the OLYMPICS are going to be held! On my 16th birthday I said to myself I will go to an Olympic event on my 17th birthday. It has been a ride from them, a very crazy one. I tried my hardest to get my hands on some tickets but I just could not. I was starting to lose hope, but I started to also start collecting pins. My hope was in the pins now, trying to get all of them.
Then one day while I was sitting in my English class listening to the announcements when I heard about Students Live. I jotted down the website only to find out that this was the last day to enter. I entered via a Facebook post, and hoped for the best. A month went past and no sign from Students Live. I started to think that I was not picked, maybe they already sent out the people who got picked. I was wrong, when I got that email I jumped for joy!! I was so happy, this was going to be unbelievable. Students Live is so much more that I expected, I made great new friends and had the time of my life.
The 2010 Olympic and Paralympic games have changed me. I have become more confidant, I can go up to a stranger and ask them questions. My whole experience of the Olympics is something that I will never forget. The Paralympic games have shown me that the sky is the limit. People like Brian McKeever are fighters, they will never give nor will they let hardships and disappointments let them down. Goodbye Olympics and Paralympics, you have left your mark on Vancouver and on me. This is my last blog post. I had fun writing on http://www.evelyn-olympic-blog.blogspot.com/

Paralympic Games

Wow what an amazing ten days! The party had started again in Vancouver and it was jumping. Everyone was ready to witness some amazing athletes, and they performed spectacularly. I have to say that I think the Paralympic Games are an even match for the Olympic Games. Some may say the Olympics are better but the Paralympics ROCKED!! Vancouver put on a great show for the Paralympics and the world watched in awe. The Paralympics started off in a bang on March 12 with the Opening Ceremonies. The torch lit by a 15 year old boy that aspires to be on a Paralympic snowboarding team. It was all so inspirational, everything made me feel ready to do something great.
I watch a couple of wheelchair curling matches and it is so intense, Canada got the GOLD in that sport and I was proud to watch two of their games. Then Sledge hockey was a heart breaker for Canada, they did not even win bronze, but they played their hearts out. Japan was amazing, rewarded with a silver metal. This hockey takes so much skill and it is fun to watch. The game has the same hype as a regular hockey game! I went to Whistler for the first time and watch some epic cross country skiing. Canada's Brian McKeever, who I did an early post on, won GOLD. I was watching his race, it was mind blowing. I will never ever forget that fabulous day.
The Paralympics went to Sochi with a bang the closing ceremonies in Whistler was spectacular. I loved how children gave the torch to children from Sochi! The Paralympic games have shown me that you can reach for the stars. These athletes all know that they have a disability, but they never ever let it stop them. It motivates me to go out an shoot for the stars! My next post will be my final post.

Now a complete Pin Head!

At the beginning of the 2010 Winter Olympics started to collect pins. I was watching CTV news when they were announcing there pin give away. At that moment I was hooked pins, I wanted every pin I could get my hands on. I started to watch the news every night to find out when they were handing out the pins. I was behind on the CTV pin collection, but I was determined to get all eight pins. I heard about the Coca Cola Pin Trading Centre in the downtown Bay. I decided to go down there to check out, they had a wall of pins where you put a pin and they give you a pin.You could also make a pin with your picture in it, I made one and it has to my favourite pin!

There was some pin traders all ready were in Vancouver ready to trade there pins. These pin traders are serious, they come to the Olympics not to watch the games but to trade pins. I personally think that it should be an Olympics sport! Over the days my collection grew, especially the CTV pins. I had all the pins by the time February 12 rolled around, this was the date that they were giving away the final pin. Its my bad luck that I had food poisoning that day and I was in no condition to go wait in line. I was crushed I worked so hard to collect those pins and I could not get the last one. It did not stop me from collecting pins, I carried my pins around when I was downtown, hoping that someone had the pin I was looking for. The streets of Vancouver was filled with pin traders all over the world.

One day I was going home from the Media Centre when I saw some pin traders near the Canada Line Station. I looked at a couple of traders pin, but they did not have the pin I wanted. I started to lose hope, until I saw a final pin traders with his pins. I walked up and he had the pin I wanted! Finally I could finish my collection, but the pin did not come easy. I had to trade two of my pins for that one pin, but I think it was worth it. My CTV pin collection is finally complete. I trade a couple more pins and all together I have 36 Olympic Pins and 8 CTV Limited Edition pins. I have the whole mascot set, including Muk Muk!

Trading pins is really fun, and the Olympics have made me a Pin Head.

Cirque Eloize:Rain

I went to a circus tonight, but not you ordinary circus. This was a part of the 2010 Cultural Olympiad, the cultural side of the Olympics. The Olympics are not just about sport, the IOC has three strict pillars to the Olympics. The most famous one is sport, sustainability and culture. There have been many cultural events occurring around the city of Vancouver. Some of them have been art show, dances, singing and musical. Tonight I went to watch Cirque Eloize perform Rain at The Centre.
The show was spectacular, I loved every aspect of it. I really like to watch theatre and I understood the show. The show did not have a strict flow or narration, but a central theme. A man's fiance had left him, and he was thinking about the times they had played in the rain. The show had many circus type acts, but with a modern spin. There was several jugglers, , and they were all great actors. The acrobatics in the show was mind blowing, I really like when they did the curtain piece. It was funny at times, but also sad in other times. At the end it rained on the stage and topped the whole performance off. A great show!
Tomorrow I hope to post about my pin collection and the Paralympic Games!

Curling and Sledge Pics!




Gold, Bronze and SNOW!


Yesterday was a great day in Vancouver, the sun was shinning and it was my first trip to Whistler! I woke up at 5 AM to get ready and was in downtown at 7. Christina was going to drive me and my fellow Paralympic reporter Lorie up to watch Cross Country Skiing. The drive up to Whistler was fun, I loved seeing all the mountains covered with snow. Once we had arrived to the parking area we took a quick shuttle up to the venue. We had to walk a bit to where the race was taking place. While walking there was several demo area. You could try some of the paralympic sports and it was really fun. First I tried Alpine Skiing, it was pretty fun, it was cool to experience how the skiers to it. It was really awesome walking to the racing place because it was so beautiful. I got to enjoy the beauty of the mountains and the snow. I bet any visitor loved that because it was a great way to experience walking through a mountain.


Once we got to the venue Lorie and I decided that we want to try so more demos out. We both tried Sit Ski, an event that we were going to watch later in the day. It was really fun, I had not sense of direction and kinda crashed in to Lorie. It was fun, and I really like that they let us try. It was a great idea to give demos, this makes me learn more about the event. I really saw how hard of an event it is and it must take a lot of work to do it. Next was the hardest demo, biathlon shooting. It was soo hard, you had to shoot by sounds. I am amazed at how visually impaired shooter do it. Amaaaazing!! Then we got pictures with SUMI, the official mascot of the 2010 Paralympic Games! In about 2 mins the race was going to begin so we got ready to watch near the finish line. The first race was Men's 10 km, it was a great to see all those athletes. I was in awe when I saw them compete, they way they ski is incredible. A Japanese athlete won the race, he was not a favourite to win. It was a great surprise for the Japanese fans in the crowd. While the men were racing the women had started. The winner for that race was from Ukraine, next was the race that I was really excited to see. Men's ten kilometre visually impaired, Brian McKeever and his brother Robin. It was wonderful to see them race, I think the way they guide each other is mind blowing. Not just the McKeever brothers, but every competitor and guide. The guide is their eyes, they rely sometimes solely rely on them depending on how severe the disability. Brian won GOLD for Canada and I was glad I got to see him race. After that there was the flower ceremonies and then the Women's Sit Ski. Colette Bourgonje won bronze, she was really good. I am still mind boggled on how they ski and the power they have. It was such a magnificent day, I'm glad I got to go. We headed up to Whistler Village to check it out. It was my first time, and the place was really nice.

This was my last sporting event for the Paralympics and I have one cultural event tomorrow. I watch Cirque Eloize: Rain! I think its going to be loads of fun. It still hasn't really sunk in that this is all going to end soon. I am sad =( I'm going to write a couple more post in the next couple of days. Cirque Eloize is going to be one, I will write one about my pin collection that has grown and my overall experience of the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympics Games!

A Paralympic Day!

Today I was out and about watching paralympic events. I am extremely tired and tomorrow I go to watch Cross Country Skiing! So I will summarize my day today in a paragraph. I got to go watch Paralympic Curling with my Tourism class and it was fun. By the end of the matches I was frozen. We got nice seats, but they were right in front of the air conditioner. The sun was shining in Vancouver today so I warmed up right away after we left. At the game there was a lot of school children, from high schools to elementary schools. I believe that the government is giving the tickets to children at a low price. I think this is great, it a good way for children to see amazing athletes. They learn about the Paralympics too! On to the really amazing hockey game that I saw today! It was between Korea and Sweden and it was such a close game. Till the last second, they game was so intense. I was rooting for Sweden but they lost. They put up a great fight though.
Tomorrow is a fun day! Lots of pictures!

Curling =)

Life is pretty hard with out the Internet, specially when you want to blog about the awesome curling match you watched! (My Internet died for about 2 days.) Wheelchair curling is very intense and I am really starting to like the sport. Before I talked about the game I did want to say that there was NO security for curling either. I seriously could not believe that there is no security for these events. These are world class athletes and people do come and watch them play. It just annoys me that they do not get treated the same as able bodied athletes. As Rick Hansen said in the opening ceremonies, "no where in the definitions of an athlete did it say you need to use your legs." Of course he was talking about his disability but it ranges to all disabilities. Honestly I was one of those people who did not give the paralympics a big hype as Olympics, but now I know that these athletes work as hard as they can. They do amazing things and I am in awe in all that they do.
Curling! Wheelchair Curling is a new sport in the paralympics, it made its debut in the 2006 Turin Paralympics. I was surprised when I heard that because I though it would be a sport that was played for a while. It is a little different from regular curling, there is no sweeping involved. Due to no sweeping this makes the throw very critical and it must be really precise. There are only 8 ends instead of 10. The curler can also use an extender to throw their rock. Now I have been to Olympic and Paralympic curling and I now see that it's a very hard game. In Olympic curling there are sweepers to help the throw, but in wheelchair curling it all about the throw. It was so intense to see some curlers throw. There was four matches playing and Canada was playing Norway. Yes, they did have cool pants like the Olympic team! Norway was winning at first but then Canada can and beat them at the end. It was a great game and the excitement in the building was nice. After that I got my ticket signed by some of the curlers and got my picture taken with some of them. I do not have the pictures me with the curlers, but when I get them I will post them.
The next two days for me are all Paralympics! WHOO I am going to watch curling tomorrow with my tourism class and them some HOCKEY with students live. On Thursday I got to Whistler!! Cross Country skiing is going to be a blast!! My Internet is slow, pics are taking forever. I will upload as soon as possible.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

HOCKEY!!


Today I went to my second hockey game, but this was not your average hockey game. This was a world class battle of Ice Sledge hockey! The game was between United States of America and South Korea. This sport is very intense and the players are very skilled. Ice Sledge hockey is when players are in "sleds" and they skate around the ice with there sticks. The sticks are double ended, one side has a pick that is used to push themselves on the ice. The player have different degrees of disabilities. It was so amazing to watch them play hockey, they were so quick the game ended so fast. =(
Before I got inside the UBC Thunderbird Arena I have just one quick thing I wish to comment on. Security! All I had to do to get in was scan my ticket and I was free to go in. Hello!?!? I am so used to go through the metal detectors and the volunteers asking if they can look through my bag. Just because this is a paralympic event does not mean that they need to reduce security. VANOC needs to use security in Paralympic venues; I do not know if there is no security at the Paralympic Centre. I will find out tomorrow when I go watch curling. That bugged me a little, these men and women are athletes too. They deserve the same amount of security an able bodied athlete gets. Argh it just makes me angry when people don't think that these people are athletes. They train just as hard has any Olympic gold medalist, maybe even harder because they have other obstacles to go through. No matter if you are an Olympic or paralympic athlete they are both world class.


Anyway back to the game I was sitting next to a bunch of Americans that was supporting their country! They were hooting and hollering every time America got the puck. The Americans were clearly the better team and I knew that they were going to win. Still the Koreans tried their best and they had a huge section of supporters. A huge group of Korean school children was cheering them on. They kept cheering them on and the team seemed to feed of the energy. At the end Korea lost 5-0. I wish the Americans would let them score one goal. I think that just me being more and more Canadian! =D

Going to curling tomorrow, Canada is playing so it's going to be a blast!

Friday, March 12, 2010

An Inspirational Start!

The opening ceremonies of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games was phenomenal! It had so many great elements, and it truly inspired me. The ceremony started with children dancing and singing. I loved how the children brought out the Governor General and they all sang the national anthem. Then Sumi came flying out, I only wish that she had come near where I was sitting. Sumi lingered around the officials box, but there was a kid next to me that was waiting for it to come near us. It was okay though, there was other amazing parts. One of my favourite parts was the light up pom pom. It was in our audience kit that contained a colored poncho and a gold card. When every one in the stadium lit their pom pom it look spectacular in the stadium.

The show rolled on with the theme of one inspires many. The dancer that walked on to the stage was amazing, and yes he could not walk. Luca Lazylegs Pateulli was born with arthrogryposis and then he was diagnosed with scoliosis as a child. He was so amazing that at first I thought he did not have a disability. After the dance it did not matter about about his disability, he was an amazing dancer. The whole show felt like it was showing how a disability was not an obstacle. There was guys doing skateboarding tricks on a wheelchair!! How amazing is that!

Inspirational people was a apart of the show. Rick Hansen told his story and I was in tears again. On Thursday I was lucky enough to go see him speak. His message and story is truly amazing, it makes me believe that nothing is impossible. After his speech was a tribute to Terry Fox. I did not know much about Terry Fox, only what my sister had told me. After last night I feel that Terry Fox is a national hero! He tried to do something not for him, but to help others. The moment we were waiting for came. Terry Fox's parents came in with the paralympic flame. The flame that has travelled across the country and has inspired so many people. The cauldron was lit by a 15 year old boy who has dreams of one day becoming a paralympic athlete and representing Canada!

These are the first paralympic games to be hosted in Canadian soil! In just a couple of hours I watch Ice Sledge Hockey! Going to be a great game!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Not over yet, just the beginning

The 2010 Winter Olympics are over, it took some time to sink in. The spirit of the Olympic games have seemed to vanish. I went downtown today and when I walked out of the City Centre Canada line station i was hoping to see a massive amount of people. I walked up the stairs and it looked pretty normal, dead compared to two weeks ago. I hurried to Robson Square to get off the rain, for it was a typical Vancouver day. When I got there a smile emerged on my face, I had to wait in line. I had to wait in line in order to buy tickets to the Paralympic Opening Ceremonies! Its not over yet!
The Paralympic games begin in 1 day! The flame has been lit agian and it has traveled across the country and is in Vancouver. I forgot to mention but I did get tickets to the Opening Ceremonies and I saw an man with an Italian jacket on. I guessed that he was an athelete. The party may have ended for the for the Olympics but the party is just starting for the Parlympics! These are amazing athethes doing sports and achieving goals that they put for themselves no matter their sitution.
Going to four paralympic events, Opening Ceremony, Wheel Chair Curling, Cross Country Skiing and Ice Sledge Hockey <----Something I'm really excited for!