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Canwest News Service
= There are a lot of things about the Olympics that just make you go, "Hunh!" Sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a bad way, and sometimes just because the information is interesting.
Here are some of those things.
The 2010 Winter Games will mark the first time in Olympic history that cross-country skiing, biathlon and ski jumping will be held at a single venue. That venue is Whistler Olympic Park in the Callaghan Valley, which is about 20 kilometres south of Whistler.
The other unique thing about the cross-country ski courses is that they're in the woods. Former Canadian national biathlon team member Colin Bell says many of the European courses are in urban areas. This, he says, is "a return to the classic."
Weather permitting, the first medals of the 2010 Olympics will be awarded by noon on the opening day of competition, Feb. 13, at the ski jump. Awarded to men, of course. The International Olympic Committee refused to let women compete.
There's enough snow at the ski jump. But before the competition, there's a good chance organizers will take fire hoses to the course and water it down to bond the snow more tightly, making for a harder landing surface.
Getting the Olympic park ready for the Games has included laying 304 kilometres of television cable so viewers won't miss any of the action along the 15 kilometres of cross-country ski trails.
Spectators at the Olympic park will get their exercise as well as entertainment. They'll be walking about a kilometre through the woods to and from the events. If you've got tickets, make sure to wear boots with good grips.
Look across the valley from the biathlon stadium and you'll see Metal (not Medal) Mountain. But its height? 2,010 metres.
Whistler Olympic Park's facilities cost $120 million to build. Another $20 million was spent on test events last year and on getting the venues ready for the Olympics.
The Olympic park's ecological footprint is half of what was initially anticipated due to design changes that left old-growth forest and wetlands undisturbed.
Bears are one of the security threats at Whistler athletes' village, which is why conservation officers are part of the Integrated Security Unit.
Ronald McDonald is already sitting on a bench in the 42,000-square-foot tent, where athletes will be eating 300,000 meals over the course of the Games. If athletes prefer not to eat from the McMenu, they can go to different stalls that serve pizza and pasta, Asian food, continental cuisine and whatever's being fried up at the grill stations. Among the food options are halal and kosher meals.
Athletes will have to do their own laundry. But the soap and the machines will be free of charge.
In every athlete's room there is a greeting card. The one I saw had a drawing by Brynn, 6, from Don Christian elementary school. Inside, in both French and English, is this message: "The students of British Columbia welcome you to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and wish you every success."
The townhouses where athletes are staying are 98 per cent sold and owners are being allowed to hang framed photos of themselves and their families. In exchange, athletes will be encouraged to leave their own photos or a note giving some owners the prospect of bragging rights — if not a bump in property value — depending on their athletes' medal haul.
Hunh. Who knew?
dbramham@vancouversun.com
