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Post by Laura (Lori) on May 5, 2009 10:31:21 GMT -8
This thread will be used for discussion and trip-planning for the Winter Olympic Games, Vancouver, Canada (Feb 12-28, 2010).
Discuss any topics related to this event - pre-competition, post-competition, or Game Day!
For those who are planning to attend the event, pertinent information gathered here (as it becomes available) will be summarized and posted for quick-reference at Rocker-U.net - www.rocker-u.net/olympics.htm - for the following topics:
Media Links - TV Coverage; Webcasts; Live Fan Chat, Etc. Participating Skaters Event Schedule and Time Zone Conversions Venue Info Ticket Info Hotel Suggestions & Info 'Practical' Info - Clothing, Cameras, What to Bring, What NOT to Bring... How To Meet Up With Other Fans Transportation Tips (Ground and Air) Sightseeing Ideas Weather Reports Carpooling/Room Sharing Connections Links to Watch for More Info Links To Results When The Event Has Concluded
Please share any info that you have about the above topics!
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Post by Laura (Lori) on May 5, 2009 18:57:59 GMT -8
Maybe another option for those scrambling for accommodations, etc.? It's worth looking into - if I dig up anything, I'll let y'all know! USS Teams Up With Ludus ToursFrom Peri Kinder, USS May 5, 2009—Salt Lake City, UT. Ludus Tours has been appointed the Official Tour Operator for US Speedskating in time for the Vancouver Winter Games in February 2010. Ludus Tours will provide US Speedskating with custom fan packages that include hotel accommodations, transportation, excursions and local guide assistance during the Vancouver Winter Games. Ludus will also provide VIP hospitality suite access for US Speedskating clients. "We are pleased to have Ludus Tours supporting our efforts in Vancouver and are confident they will provide a quality experience for our speedskating families, friends and fans," said Bob Crowley, Executive Director for US Speedskating. To date, US Speedskating has won 75 Olympic medals, the most ever won in any Winter Olympics Sport. USS athletes are expected to bring in another haul of medals at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, which take place February 12-28, 2010. "We're extremely excited about this partnership," said Adam Dailey, Managing Director at Ludus Tours. "Any opportunity we get a chance to work with such a successful organization like US Speedskating is a great one. We're extremely honored as well as enthusiastic about being able to provide our services to speed skating fans." Ludus Tours provides packages available to the public in both Downtown Vancouver as well as Whistler Village. Dailey said a major focus of Ludus is finding affordable accommodations for the friends and families of athletes. In addition to US Speedskating, Ludus Tours is also a sponsor of USA Luge and US Bobsled & Skeleton. About Ludus Tours Since its inception in 2003, Ludus has prided itself on being a grass roots tour and hospitality company, offering affordable hotel packages to events including: The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany and the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain. Ludus Tours focuses on hosting individual sports fans and families as well as various corporate clients and international sports federations. For additional information on Ludus Tours, visit www.LudusTours.comContact: Ashley Blake, Director of Events Ludus Tours Office: 512.351.7825 Direct: 541.740.7091 ashley@... www.vancouvertours2010.com www.LudusTours.com
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Jun 1, 2009 13:52:34 GMT -8
Happy Hunting! Phase 2 Olympic tickets go on sale Saturday, June 6, 2009 at 10:00 am (Pacific Time). Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Save yourself time on June 6 by following these helpful hints: Timesaving Tips 1. Your Vancouver 2010 ticketing account o Take a moment to register your Vancouver 2010 ticketing account before June 6 if you don't already have one. Register your ticketing account now( tickets.vancouver2010.com/ ) o If you requested tickets in Phase 1 or bought Paralympic tickets, then you already have a ticketing account. Re-familiarize yourself by using your registered e-mail address and password to sign in to your account before June 6. Sign in to your ticketing account now>>>( tickets.vancouver2010.com/ ) 2. Plan ahead — While tickets are available for all sport and ceremony sessions, the majority are for preliminary ice hockey and curling . Check out the Competition Schedule before June 6 and make a list of the sports and sessions that you want to see. View Competition Schedule>>>>>> View ticket prices>>>>>> 3. Simplify your search — After you sign in to your account on June 6 go to Search and select only the sports on your list. Then, look for the date and session you want and add it to your shopping cart! 4. Have your Visa ready — In recognition of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Visa sponsorship, we are proud to acknowledge Visa as the only payment card accepted. For additional information on payment see Payment FAQs ( www.vancouver2010.com/en/ticketing-information/tickets-general/tickets-payment/-/53278/ubkw5l/index.html ). The Vancouver 2010 Ticketing Call Centre: Special hours for Phase 2 (Pacific Time): Saturday, June 6, 10:00 am to 7:00 pm Sunday, June 7, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Regular hours: Monday through Friday — 9:00 am to 7:00 pm Saturday — 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Phone: 1-800-TICKETS (1-800-842-5387) E-mail: customercare@tickets.vancouver2010.com TDD/TTY: 604-629-7140 (for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing)
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Jun 22, 2009 22:51:23 GMT -8
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Post by mtnme on Jul 18, 2009 7:47:58 GMT -8
Mercifully, Vancouver has a good public transportation system, at least in the downtown area. Those of you going to the events may want to check out your options ahead of time, as the following will put a real cramp in your style if your intention was to drive to the events.
______________________________________________________________________________ Car limits in 2010 By BOB MACKIN, 24 HOURS
Want to drive in the Olympic lane and park your car at or near venues during the 2010 Winter Olympics?
You can, but it will cost $3,000 and you must be an approved VANOC sponsor, government, national Olympic committee or media outlet. Vehicle access and parking permits include entry to the Olympic lane system and scarce parking at venues.
The bid book estimated 670 Olympic family parking spots at the Pacific Coliseum, host of short-track speedskating and figure skating. Spectators must use park and ride shuttles or public transit.
Coliseum neighbours were updated at a Game Plan 2009 session at Hastings community centre on Thursday night. Renfrew Street will be closed from Hastings to McGill, but approved buses and vehicles will be routed down Dundas to leave the area. VANOC takes over the Agrodome, Rollerland, livestock barns and parking lots this fall.
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Post by mtnme on Aug 12, 2009 20:10:40 GMT -8
Vancouver 2010 Lambert readying strategy session
Help By BOB MACKIN, 24 HOURS
Nathalie Lambert is looking beyond the six-month countdown.
The chef de mission for Canada's 2010 Winter Olympic team is gearing up for a five-day, mid-September conference in Vancouver and Whistler with more than 220 team support staff, such as doctors, physiotherapists, video technicians and uniform fitters.
Lambert won four short-track speedskating medals at three Games, including an Albertville 1992 gold.
The nearly one-to-one ratio of support staff to athletes will be key in Canada's bid to own the podium.
"It's about staying healthy, being prepared, really the last few steps to bring them to the Olympics," Lambert said. "(Athletes) have been preparing for it for 10, 15, 20 years. It's about making sure every day matters."
Most athletes will arrive Feb. 5-7, 2010. The men's hockey team will gather Feb. 15.
Lambert said 30 per cent of Canadian athletes will "at one moment or another be outside of both villages" in private accommodation for rest and preparation before their competition.
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Aug 12, 2009 22:08:30 GMT -8
Nathalie Lambert - any relation to Valerie Lambert???
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Post by mtnme on Aug 12, 2009 22:31:11 GMT -8
don't know... Hey, I just post 'em, don't necessarily 'know' 'em. (as in 'know what I'm talking about') LOL ;D
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2009 21:22:10 GMT -8
www.rbr.com/tv-cable/16410.htmlNBC is ready for the games. If you are going and would like to visit with the 4 anchorrs, they will be filming live starting at 4 am Canadian time. Don't think too many people will be hanging out at Grouse Mountain THAT early in the morning GOOD GRIEF
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2009 21:24:29 GMT -8
Lambert said 30 per cent of Canadian athletes will "at one moment or another be outside of both villages" in private accommodation for rest and preparation before their competition.
I guess this takes the pressure off on completing the Olympic Village? LOL
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Aug 15, 2009 21:25:40 GMT -8
We already knew that Charles Hamelin would be competing against our 'kids' in the Olympics, but now we know two more who will be on the Canadian Team: Kalyna Roberge and Olivier JeanCongrats to both, and we'll be in your corner ( except when you're competing against a 'Yank'...) ;D Keep watching the 'Canadian Olympic Trials' thread at therockerforum.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=canada&action=display&thread=406 for two more days of exciting competition to find out who some of our staunchest competitors will be in Vancouver!
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Aug 27, 2009 18:42:54 GMT -8
Vancouver Departs From Olympic Norm From the Fort Worth Star Telegram Posted Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009 By GIL LeBRETON
Six months from tonight, the Olympic Winter Games will begin in Vancouver, B.C., and it’s going to be a splendidly enticing sight.
Lovely Vancouver, surrounded by water and mountains, will be a disarming departure from recent Winter Olympics hosts. Turin in 2006, for all of its porticoed walkways, was a factory town — an Italian Detroit, except with better pizza. The Salt Lake City 2002 Games, held in the wake of 9/11, bring back memories of mountains and metal detectors.
Vancouver is going to be different, as different as Alberta and Oklahoma. It will be Canadian and, if form holds, clean and unfailingly polite.
The Vancouver organizing committee (VANOC) wants you to come — Feb. 12-28, 2010. Bring the family. Bring cash. Especially the cash.
The process of naming Olympic host cities begins seven years before the Games are to be held. Who knew, though, back in 2003, that Wall Street would be sending investors to Skid Row? The Vancouver organizers thought they were being responsibly frugal when they submitted a $1.59 billion (U.S.) budget for the Games.
Now, they’re scrounging for 11th-hour sponsors and compiling "never mind" lists. VANOC recently has asked Canadian businesses to consider donating employees for the 1,500 Olympics-related jobs that still must be filled.
Do the Olympic Winter Games still matter to the viewing public, in this age of video games and steel cage, pay-per-view mayhem?
Vancouver will soon find out. NBC’s Olympic ratings plummeted 37 percent in Turin from what they had been in 2002. But a Canadian Olympics, just as in Salt Lake City, allows NBC to present the audience — and advertisers — with a mostly live telecast.
What the viewers will see remains sprinkled with intrigue. Host Canada launched its government-backed program, Own the Podium, four years ago with the idea of leading the medals count in Vancouver. In the Olympics, history tells us, competing in front of your own countrymen can have a medal-winning impact.
No one can calculate, either, what effect the global recession will have on some nations’ Olympic teams. Maybe no impact at all. But it’s more likely that some countries’ winter athletes will arrive in Vancouver after having scratched one or more tune-up events.
One who definitely won’t be in Vancouver is two-time Olympic figure skating medalist Michelle Kwan. The five-time world champion announced two weeks ago that she was returning to college and was abandoning her plans to compete for a spot on the 2010 U.S. team.
The fact that Kwan, 29, even entertained the thought of a comeback in Vancouver underscores the turnover that has taken place in figure skating since Turin. Viewers accustomed to seeing three American women compete for the singles gold medal will have to get used to seeing only two in February — Rachael Flatt and Alissa Czisny. The two finished fifth and 11th, respectively, at the most recent world championships. A higher combined finish for the two would have given the U.S. a third spot in the Olympics.
On the men’s side, meanwhile, Evan Lysacek and Johnny Weir are stronger medal contenders than the American women.
Other names in other events will sound familiar in Vancouver. Apolo Anton Ohno will compete in September for a chance to be on the Olympic team again in short track speedskating. Chad Hedrick of Spring is back competing and should again be among the medal favorites, along with rival/teammate Shani Davis, on the long track.
Since it’s Canada, hockey is likely to provide the daily drama.
Coach Ron Wilson has promised to field a U.S. team infused with youth. But the Dallas Stars’ Mike Modano, a three-time Olympian, is among the 34 who have been invited to a U.S. pre-Olympics camp next week in Woodridge, Ill.
Most of the Olympic venues have already been constructed. VANOC spent around $500 million to build some new facilities and upgrade old ones. That’s a refreshingly small figure compared to other recent Olympics, winter and summer.
Organizers are counting on Vancouver to sell itself. Whistler Mountain, 70 miles north of the city, will host the alpine events. The skating events will be staged in the city.
Six months from tonight, the flame will be lit at B.C. Place, and the Games will begin in the largest city ever to host a Winter Olympics.
And the first nation ever to host the Olympics in the middle of a global recession.
Credit cards will be accepted.
American dollars, no doubt, preferred.
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Aug 28, 2009 13:18:53 GMT -8
Is it Too Late to Find a Good Deal to the Olympics?Posted on August 27, 2009 at 5:22 pm ET by Christine Sarkis, SmarterTravel.com StaffI remember a few months ago reading that there were more than 100,000 tickets to Vancouver Olympic events available for $25. So cheap! At the time, I thought that even someone on a pretty tight budget (say, for instance, me) could probably find an affordable way to go to the Winter Games. But that was then and this is now. Sure, you can probably still get decent deals on flights to Vancouver during the Games (I found a round-trip flight from San Francisco for $437, including taxes). But more than likely, you'll quickly run into the following budget-pummeling realities: Accommodations are hard to find and very expensiveWhen I looked at staying for a full week, my accommodations options narrowed dramatically because very few hotels had availability for seven days in a row. And even what was available was priced far out of most people's reach, and level of sanity. I'm talking $588 (U.S.) per night for a room at a one-and-a-half star hotel in a suburb of Vancouver. Yikes. Thinking I might be able to outsmart the hotels, I looked into shorter stays at vacation rentals. But with rates for a rental with room for four starting around $900 per weeknight during the Olympics, it wasn't the deal I was hoping for. My next tactic was to consider the hospitality packages being sold by CoSport, the Olympic ticket vendor, that combine accommodations and event tickets. On the upside, CoSport offered a better variety of accommodations options. The (big) downside was the cost: a four-day package at the River Rock Casino Resort, with tickets to ice hockey, snowboarding, figure skating, and the February 15 Vancouver Victory Ceremony, cost $2,782 per person. Finally, finally, I found my in. Hostelbookers.com had one listing with availability: a budget bed and breakfast in a suburb of Vancouver from $139 per night. Hostels.com had a similar option from $146 per night. The location wasn't ideal, but the price was right. Tickets to many events are priceyIf you want to watch the most popular events of the Olympics, expect to pay for the privilege. The cheapest tickets to the Opening Ceremony are going for $678 right now. The lowest price I could find for anything related to ice skating was $202 a ticket. Tickets to in-demand events are expensive, but there are still affordable tickets to be had. Catch some luge or bobsleigh action for $41 per ticket. Biathlon tickets are positively cheap at $34. See women's short-track speed skating or snowboarding for $67, or speed skating for $128. How to book smart and (hopefully) save moneyIs there any hope for those of us who don't have a gold medal to hawk to finance an Olympic trip? Maybe. Here are some tips for booking: Choose your dates wisely: Check out the Olympic event calendar and find a window of days with events you want to see. Don't be too ambitious: It's much easier to find accommodations for say, three weekdays in a row than it is for a full week or a long weekend. Book accommodations now: There are very few options left. You'll need to be wily and creative to find anything less than extortionate rates. Go beyond online travel agencies and look at hostels, vacation rentals, or even couch surfing. Consider less popular events: Tickets to biathlon, luge, and other events are currently under $50 per tickets. Click on any date in the event calendar to check ticket prices and piece together an affordable set of events. And consider a ticket to the Vancouver Victory Ceremony. I'm not entirely sure what happens at these nightly events (I think there are medals and live music), but at $22 a ticket, it's the best deal in town. (Go to the original story for active links to some of the websites referenced by the writer): www.smartertravel.com/blogs/today-in-travel/is-it-too-late-to-find-good-deal-to-the-olympics.html?id=3537889
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Post by musicalmom on Aug 28, 2009 20:42:29 GMT -8
Hi, If you're still uncertain of your Olympic plans, pm me and I may be able to help. Have a room for rent for Feb. 21-28 and may know of some available tickets for the 24 short track event. Musical Mom
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Aug 28, 2009 21:09:53 GMT -8
Hi, If you're still uncertain of your Olympic plans, pm me and I may be able to help. Have a room for rent for Feb. 21-28 and may know of some available tickets for the 24 short track event. Musical Mom For any guests checking in - I met MM in Vancouver, and would be happy to recommend her as a 'host' if you're so inclined!
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