Whistler Adaptive Sports Program

Just 86 Days until the Opening Ceremonies, and less then 80 until the Olympic Torch is in Whistler! Many updates below – please let me know if you need clarification.

Game Plan Winter 2009! Game Plan will take place the following dates from 7pm – 9pm

Pemberton: December 8 – Pemberton Community Centre

Whistler: December 9 – Whistler Conference Centre

Squamish: December 10 – Brennan Park Recreation Centre

Building on public information sessions held in 2008, the Game Plan 2009 meetings will offer attendees a snapshot of daily life at and around the venues, and provide an opportunity to ask questions. The sessions will focus on the activities associated with pre-Games and Games-time operations in areas such as venue and transportation operations, security and public safety, and will also provide insight into how a venue operates before, during and after the Games. Attendees will also discover the many ways to participate in the excitement of the 2010 Winter Games.

For more information on Game Plan please visit www.vancouver2010.com/gameplan

Sneak peak of Austria House for the 2010 Winter Games in Whistler: The Austria Passive Group, Resort Municipality of Whistler and Whistler Blackcomb Foundation are pleased to invite the Whistler community and interested partners for a sneak peak of Austria House for the 2010 Winter Games in Whistler.

November 26^th 2009

Austria Passive House - near Lost Lake (Parking Lot 5)

12:00pm - 2:00pm: Community Open House

12:30pm - 12:50pm: Live Link with Innsbruck

The Whistler Sliding Centre: has wrapped up three successful weeks of training for bobsleigh, skeleton and luge athletes from over 30 countries around the world. This is the last time these international athletes will visit the track before Whistler welcomes them back in February 2010. As Games-time preparations continue, The Whistler Sliding Centre will remain closed to the public. For those keen to see the venue and local athletes sliding on the track, local tour operators Whistler Eco Tours and Whistler Connections will offer a daily unique viewing experience Tuesday to Sunday until December 20, 2009.

Please see the attached information sheet with information for distribution to your staff and visitors

For more information please visit: www.whistlerslidingcentre.com

Tickets: There are still Olympic and Paralympic tickets for sale at tickets.vancouver2010.com This is the last chance for spectators to purchase tickets in time to receive the highly collectable, full-colour and oversize tickets that prominently display Vancouver 2010 pictograms, sport and venue illustrations. The tickets are currently being printed and the window for purchasing these special tickets closes November 20.

Whistler Blackcomb Edge Cards: The early bird offer ends on November 23 – and Creekside Gondola, Garbanzo and Dusty’s will be opening this weekend! More information available at www.whistlerblackcomb.com

Mountain FM 6^th Annual Christmas Breakfast Thursday December 3: From 6:30am – 9:00am at the Westin Resort and Spa’s Emerald Ballroom, please bring a toy, non-perishable food item or cash donation for the local food banks and in return receive a COMPLIMENTARY breakfast, local entertainment and more! For more details visit: http://www.mountainfm.com/images/2009/11/xmasposter.pdf

Paralympic Torch Relay to pass through Whistler: Three days after the Olympic Flame is extinguished the Paralympic Torch Relay begins a 10 day journey that includes a stop in Whistler on March 8. When the Paralympic Flame arrives in Whistler, it will ignite a boisterous community celebration, which will showcase the extraordinary achievements of local Paralympians and community members.

KICK START your Nordic season on November 21! Join us on Opening Day, Saturday, November 21 in the Callaghan Valley and kick start your Nordic season! Kick Start is the first event in our annual 3-part "Benchmark Series."  The series, designed to promote friendship, fitness and a reconnection to the natural world, gives skiers 3 opportunities over the course of the season to benchmark the time it takes them to ski to the lodge. There'll be a free BBQ and picnic up at the lodge for anyone who wants to ski up and join us. The base opens at 8:30am, the group ski starts at 9:00am and the BBQ at the lodge goes from 12pm - 2pm. Day tickets will be 1/2 price for all participants. 

For those who'd like to stay overnight, you can book a standard room for just $169.00 per person (not including taxes or gratuities, based on double occupancy). We'll be running the second event, the Callaghan Classic, on January 30 and the series will wrap up with the Spring Fling on May 1.  Register for all 3 events at once and get your overnight accommodation for just $139 per person (plus taxes and gratuities). Please call us at 604.938.0616 or email us at reservations@callaghancountry.com to register.

Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour comes to Whistler on November 27^th and 28^th: The Escape Route hosts the Best of the Banff Mountain Film Festival for the 19^th time this year as this annual kick off to the winter seasons returns again.  This year’s tour features a collection of the most inspiring and thought-provoking action, environmental, and adventure mountain films. Traveling from remote landscapes and cultures to up close and personal with adrenaline-packed action sports, the 2009/2010 World Tour is an exhilarating and provocative exploration of the mountain world. If you are a mountain enthusiast you don’t want to miss this.

For tickets and information contact Escape Route (604) 938-3228

News Releases – available at www.vancouver2010.com

VANOC confirms board leadership and updates on progress and remaining challenges:

• Over 750 Sea to Sky volunteers with accommodation in region still needed
• Public commuter challenge on Fridays coming in January
• Rusty Goepel named chairman; Jack Poole named founding chairman

VANOC received a comprehensive update on Games-time planning today, including the need for more volunteers with accommodation in the Sea to Sky region and expanded traffic management plans to encourage the public to leave vehicles at home and use alternative forms of transportation leading up to and during the Games.

With close to 12 weeks to go until the start of the Games, Vancouver 2010 still needs at least 750 people with accommodation in the Sea to Sky region to donate their time and abilities to hosting the world’s top winter athletes and spectators from around the globe. Volunteer positions at Whistler-area venues include: drivers, reservation assistants, technology positions for IT and helpdesk specialists, press and photo assistants, and photo runners. Applications can be made online at www.vancouver2010.com.

Vancouver 2010 ticketing operations running smoothly; Website experiencing high volume of Olympic and Paralympic ticket fans at www.vancouver2010.com: Ticketing operations for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are running smoothly today and as expected, the site is experiencing a high volume of visitors at www.vancouver2010.com. VANOC would like to thank everyone for their patience in the virtual waiting room. The wait time for customers today is comparable to the first sale days of earlier phases of the Games ticketing program held on June 6, 2009 and December 12, 2008.

VANOC statement on British Columbia Court of Appeal decision regarding women’s ski jumping at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games: the British Columbia Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal of a ruling by the British Columbia Supreme Court regarding women’s ski jumping at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The appeal was heard November 12 and 13, 2009 in Vancouver, BC, by a panel of three appeal court judges.

Vancouver 2010 Official Souvenir Program now on sale across Canada: the Vancouver 2010 Official Souvenir Program is now on sale. The program is available at Olympic Stores in Vancouver, Whistler, at the Vancouver International Airport, and online at www.vancouver2010.com/store. They are also available, along with several other Games-related VANOC licensed publications, at the Olympic Superstore at the Bay Downtown Vancouver, as well as Hudson’s Bay Company stores, and select retailers across Canada.

For more information on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay visit www.vancouver2010.com/torchrelay