My Olympic Work Schedule

Here's how my volunteer work schedule looks at this point:

Feb 4  - arrive in Whistler: pm
Feb 5  - venue specific training
Feb 6  - set-up: 7:30 am to 6:30 pm
Feb 7  - set-up: 7:30 am to 6:30 pm
Feb 8  - set-up: 7:30 am to 6:30 pm
Feb 9  - set-up: 7:30 am to 6:30 pm
Feb 10 - timed training - downhill: 6:00 am to 2:30 pm
Feb 11 - timed training - downhill: 6:00 am to 12:30 pm
Feb 12 - timed training - downhill: 6:00 am to 12:00 pm
Feb 13 - Men's downhill: 6:00 am to 12:00 pm
Feb 14 - Women's combined: 6:00 am to 12:00 pm
Feb 15 - timed training?: 5:30 am to 1:30 pm
Feb 16 - Men's combined: 6:00 am to 3:30 pm
Feb 17 - Off (Women's downhill)
Feb 18 - Off
Feb 19 - Men's Super-G: 6:00 am to 2:00 pm
Feb 20 - Women's Super-G: 6:00 am to 1:00 pm
Feb 21 - Off (Men's Giant Slalom)
Feb 22 - Off
Feb 23 - Off
Feb 24 - Women's Giant Slalom: 6:00 am to 3:30 pm
Feb 25 - Off
Feb 26 - Off (Women's slalom)
Feb 27 - Men's Slalom: 6:30 am to 3:30 pm
Feb 28 - Tear-down: 7:30 am to 6:30 pm

I'm scheduled to work all alpine skiing events except for women's downhill and slalom, and the men's giant slalom.  Of course, the competition schedule is weather-dependent - it is possible that some events might be moved.  That is why the speed events (downhill, combined, and super-G) are scheduled first - if snowfall or poor visibility should prevent running one or more of those on a scheduled date, they can be rescheduled to later dates.

I'm getting quite excited about working on these events and generally being around Whistler for the games.  It's going to be a very busy time, and adequate rest will be most important, but I hope to enjoy some skiing on a few of my days off, and to take in the Whistler victory ceremonies on at least a few evenings!  Also looking forward to visiting the Whistler Weasel House with all my fellow alpine skiing volunteers!

Pride in our Canadian Alpine Ski Team

My heart is breaking for five strong members of our Canadian Alpine Ski Team who have been injured in the past several weeks and who will miss the Olympics here at home in February. I cannot even imagine how hard it must be for John, J.P., Larisa, Kelly and Francois to accept how their situations changed in a moment and to move on with supporting their teammates and beginning rehab. But that is exactly what they have each done, with no hesitation, and a lot of class. I'm so proud of them - they are all winners and deserve our support always.

And, the rest of the team soldiers on, as difficult as that is. Emily with an awesome result on Friday, despite her heavy heart. Manny with the win on Saturday and Robbie and Erik with awesome results, and Jan on the comeback trail.

The entire team has been working hard, performing well and displaying personal qualities that make me proud to have them representing our country.

Postscript: Jan 13 - add Anna and Robbie to the list of those I'm wishing well now.  Glad to hear that Robbie should be OK for the Games and that Kelly's surgery is out of the way and it went well!

Back in Race Mode

I'm just back from serving as Chief of Timing for a six day Nor-Am series at Panorama Mountain Resort. The Nor-Am series is one step below the World Cup and features athletes that are on the cusp of international/Olympic competition, plus some who have already been there and are working their way back to the big stage.

I had an amazingly capable core crew of three guys that I had asked to work the event with me: Dusan Kafka of Whistler, Steve Mullen of Calgary, and Alar Ruutopold of Rossland. Plus, local volunteer extraordinaire, Gordon Bagan, joined right in with our crew while also sharing Race Chair duties. Gordon ensured that whenever we needed something else, it would be found for us. Finally, our crew was filled out by a variety of men and women who did a fantastic job with hand timing and start, finish and scoreboard control.

The entire series went off very well and I had a lot of fun. We were treated very well by Panorama Mountain Resort and Alpine

Canada Alpin - nice places to sleep, plenty of yummy breakfasts, lunches, apres ski snacks and beverages and lots of smiles and words to make us feel appreciated. Panorama is a beautiful place any time of year, but with fresh light snow just before Christmas, it is really magical.

We timed about 1300 runs in those six days and dealt with a few "curveballs" along the way, so I am definitely back in mid-season race timing form. I am really looking forward to working with Steve, Dusan and others from this event who will be at the Olympics in a little over a month now!

Here's a kid to watch for in coming years - he is only 16 years old and his name is Matej Falat. This young racer from Slovakia started 62nd in the men's slalom on Dec 15th and finished in a two-way tie for 30th place on the first run. That meant he just made the "flip" and got to run second in the second run. With a clean track, he managed to lay down the fastest time on the second run, and finished 19th in the two-run race. Here, he is shown competing in the slalom portion of the Super-Combined on Dec 17th. (I grabbed this shot when Dusan took the reigns for timing on that run!)

Training has begun!

The new snow and ski racing season has kicked off and I've been doing quite a few things that will help me to be ready for my volunteer work at Whistler in February.

My main technical preparation actually started eight years ago when the timing guy for Red Mountain Racers sold me on what a relaxing pastime ski race timing would be. Timing thousands and thousands of runs over those eight years and working three each of World Cup and Nor-Am events over the last couple years has sort of hard-wired my brain for the focused and quick-paced work required in timing. However, it is always good to get in some physical and mental prep for the season, and with this being the Olympic year, I'm committed to making an extra effort.

On November 9, I embarked on "Getting Games Fit", an 12 week exercise program offered by VANOC to all of its workforce. This is a great interactive, customized program that allows us to track our progress in improving our fitness. It's a bonus that I wasn't expecting when I signed on with VANOC!

On November 28th, I performed checks on the hill wiring at Red Mountain with my friend, Alar. As always seems to the case, we found a section where the cable is damaged, so we'll be scheduling an on-hill repair session soon.

Today, I skinned up Granite Mountain (800 m vertical) and had my first turns of the season coming back down. The coverage was good for this time of year, but the snow was variously thick, crusty and downright heinous in spots, so it was a really good workout.

Hoping to get in another ski tour next weekend, and then will head to Panorama to be Chief of Timing for a Nor-Am giant slalom, slalom and super-combined series. THAT will really get me back into timing mode!

About this blog

In this blog, I'll be sharing my experiences as a volunteer with the Technology Team at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. I'll be working with Omega on the timing team for alpine skiing events at Whistler Creekside. Postings will start when my training sessions begin.

All images copyright Steve Hilts, all rights reserved.