Bronze Service is published regularly, but the most recent items here were provided to our subscribers about a month ago. For more timely news, please choose our Gold or Silver service at http://www.Morgan-News.com/2010/ . Bronze is free for the use of news services and for non-commerical public use under conditions described at: http://www.morgan-news.com/2010/CanBronze.htm and it is also available in an XML feed using this address: http://www.morgan-news.com/2010/atom.xml
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Morgan News:2010 |Sports| MacLean speculates Vancouver or Whistler could host 2010 "Hockey Day in Canada"
The host of CBC Television's highly successful "Hockey Day in Canada" says that Vancouver or Whistler could be the location of 2010's version of the increasingly successful program, which was broadcast to an average audience of 336,000 viewers last weekend during more than 13 hours of telecasting. That's up 79% from last year's show.
Ron MacLean says it will be difficult for "Hockey Day" to pass on Vancouver or Whistler as host city during the Winter Olympic year of 2010. Viewership reached 599,000 for several hours at one point during the day.
There's speculation that "Hockey Day" is popular because it is broadcast from a small community, such as Shauvanon, Saskatchewan, population of 1,800. But MacLean suggests it will work any place that has a back-yard rink.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/25/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |Sports| Jockeying begins for 2010 Olympics with Winter Games on Vancouver Island
About 1,800 athletes all about 14 or 15 years old, some of whom will have their eye on the 2010 Winter Olympics, will begin competing this Thursday in Port Alberni. Parksville and Comox in the 2004 B.C. Winter Games.
Helping them do it will be 400 coaches, managers and chaperones, plus 250 officials. All told, they will take part in 23 sports over four days.
The games are an important event for provincial and national team-development programs. Oceanside Place in Parksville is the site of speed skating and figure skating Friday and Saturday. Forty-six speed skaters from seven of the eight zones in B.C. Vancouver didn't send a team.
On Friday, 48 figure skaters - most of them girls - ranging in age from 11 to 14 will converge on Oceanside Place for preliminary rounds. Comox is scheduled to host the hockey events.
RESOURCES:
BC Games official website page showing upcoming games locations and dates:
http://www.bcgames.org/host_cities_intro.html
Page where results will be posted:
http://www.bcgames.org/results_intro.html
Contact info:
BC Games Society
Suite 200 - 990 Fort Street
Victoria, BC
V8V 3K2
Phone: (250) 387-1375
Fax: (250) 387-4489
E-Mail: info@bcgames.org
Port Alberni Games website:
http://www.portalberni2004.com/
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/25/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |General| Green Party flags environmental issue with part of Sea to Sky highway reconstruction
The head of the Green Party, Adrian Carr, says the southern end of the Sea to Sky upgrade appears to have environmental issues.
Carr says the BC government is thinking about building a four-lane highway through Eagle Ridge Bluffs, "an environmentally sensitive area in West Vancouver... The project risks destroying 500 meters of the Baden-Powell Trail and will negatively impact views from Howe Sound and the sensitive Eagle Ridge Bluffs ecosystem. "
Carr also questions whether the government has undertaken an environmental-impact assessment of the proposed upslope routes for the Sea-to-Sky upgrade to assess whether they meet the 2010 Games' "environmental sustainability" request.
RESOURCES:
BADEN POWELL TRAIL BACKGROUND FOR HIKERS:
This trail extends for 41.7 kilometres from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver to Deep Cove in North Vancouver along the North Shore mountains. The Cypress Park section passes over Black Mountain and along lower Hollyburn Mountain.
* Horseshoe Bay to Cypress Bowl (Alpine ski area): Length: 8.5 kilometres (one way). Suggested time: 6 hours. Elevation change: 1,040 metres. The trailhead is in a parking lot at the North end of Eagleridge Drive (just off Hwy 1) near Horseshoe Bay. The trail goes up to Eagle Bluff, over Black Mountain and down into Cypress Bowl.
* Cypress Bowl (Alpine ski area) to Craigmohr Drive (West Vancouver): Length: 9.5 kilometres (one way). Suggested time: 4 hours. Elevation change: 470 metres. From Cypress Bowl, the trail runs east through ancient forest on Hollyburn Mountain, intersects the Hollyburn Peak Trail, and heads down near Hollyburn Lodge to continue southeast through West Vancouver Municipal Mountain Lands to Craigmohr Drive.
A photo of a portion of the trail is here (search for Baden on arrival at the page:
http://www.trailsbc.ca/southwest_region/west_van.asp
Green Party website:
http://greenparty.bc.ca/
Bio and picture of Adrian Carr:
http://greenparty.bc.ca/meet/thecandidates/por/
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/25/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |General| 100 Mile House taps 2010 spirit for annual skating festival
The 100 Mile Figure Skating Club is launching whole-heartedly into the concept of the 2010 Olympics.
"Celebrate! 2010", as its skating festival is called, will start February 28, and will include - as organizers foresee it - an "Olympic-style opening ceremonies with a grand entrance of athletes, followed by a visual ride across the country, ending with a torch-lighting ceremony." It will take place at the South Cariboo Recreation Centre, starting at 6 p.m, with events taking place on March 1.
The annual ice show - this is the 29th - features group routines and solos by the club's 100 figure skaters. The highlight of this year's show is a guest appearance by B.C.'s top tanked junior pair team, Jericho Boulin and Jesse Sturdy.
RESOURCES:
100 Mile Figure Skating Club President Steve Pennock: 250.395.2484
http://www.figureskating.100mile.com/
E-mail: 100milefsc@sk8bc.com
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/25/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |IOC| IOC reappointment Commission overseeing 2010 Winter Olympics
The International Olympic Committee in Switzerland has simply reappointed its commission overseeing overseeing the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler. The continuity was confirmed when officials released a 26-page document this morning outlining its annual shuffle of the organization and the people that oversees various Olympics in preparation and support around the world.
The Co-ordination Commission for Vancouver continues to be chaired by Switzerland's Rene Fasel, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation, who was named chairman of the co-ordination commission last July, and Gilbert Felli of France, who is the committee's executive director as well as the executive director of the Olympic Games.
The re-appointed members of the Commission are:
Fraser Bullock - USA (IOC Member, past Organizing Committee representative)
Ottavio Cinquanta - Italy (IOC Member, IF representative)
Gian-Franco Kasper - Switzerland (IOC Member, International Ski Federation)
Gunilla Lindberg - Sweden (IOC representative)
José Luis Marco - Argentina
Le Prince d' Orange - Netherlands (IOC Member, (IOC representative))
Tsunekazu Takeda - Japan
Rita Van Driel - Netherlands (International Paralympic Committee representative)
Pernilla Wiberg - Sweden (IOC Member, Olympic alpine ski champion, athletes' representative)
A representative of the Vancouver 2010 games, yet to be named, will also sit on the Sport & Environment Commission of the IOC. The 2010 Commission is expected to hold its second meeting with the 2010 Organizing Committee in Vancouver for three days starting March 31.
RESOURCES:
ADDRESS
Coordination Commission
XXI Olympic Winter Games, Vancouver 2010
Château de Vidy
1007 Lausanne
Switzerland
TELEPHONE: (41.21) 621 61 11
FAX: 41.21) 621 62 1
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/24/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |OCOG| Furlong starts work on management structure for 2010 Olympics
The new CEO of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics Organizing Committee says the next few days of his job will be used to finalize the organization structure for operations, and he expects to provide recommendations to the Board shortly.
John Furlong, who has been working as the CEO of the Bid Corporation and the transition team and has just returned from a short holiday, is expected to be working on hiring a chief operating officer, a financial officer and a chief marketing officer, among others.
"The key strategy will be to hire against my own weaknesses," he said. "I hope when people look at our team they will say 'What an incredible lineup of talent.' In the areas where I don't feel I'm especially strong I'll be looking for us to be super strong."
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/23/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |General| Reporter suggests possible opportunities after experiences at previous winter games
Pat Hickey, a reporter for the Montreal Gazette newspaper, offers possible opportunities for those reading between the lines of an article today about her experience at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, in 1994.
Hickey recalls the bitter, "bone-chilling" cold for spectators watching outdoor events, such as freestyle skiing. The only way the crowd kept warm was by moving to the beat of the music, indicating that entrepreneurs should keep watch for ways to offer personal warmth items to spectators in 2010. Note, though that Hickey suggested that "alcoholic potables" were helpful as well as the music.
Offered are other tips as well:
"Restaurants and bars popped up overnight. One popular watering hole was a hardware store in real life and the decor consisted of tools mounted on the walls...
"Menus tended to be limited, with most establishments offering baby shrimp cocktail, followed by a choice of salmon or reindeer filet, followed by a pastry filled with berries and cream. Hot dogs were popular at the various venues and were accompanied by dried fried onions, adding crunch to the usual condiments....
"The press village consisted of rather spartan accommodations in prefab homes that were destined for Sweden after the Games. There were a dozen occupants in each unit and the trick was to time your shower so there was hot water available.
"Accommodation for fans was limited and many people stayed in Oslo and made daily trips by train."
Hickey also points out that some entrepreneurs took advantage of the strict drunk-driving laws to allow places for inebriated fans to sleep off their situation safely.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/23/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |General| Genetic doping raised as possibility for future Olympic games
A scientist told a conference over the weekend that genetic doping - where gene replacement therapy is used to enhance muscle mass - is being demonstrated in rats, raising the possibility that it may be necessary to investigate ways of checking for it in future Olympic games.
Prof Lee Sweeney of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and his co-authors will report next month in the Journal of Applied Physiology the details of comments made to a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
He described how exercise and genetic enhancement work together to increase mass and strength in rat muscles. The scientists injected a genetically modified virus that contained an IGF-I rat gene into a hind-leg muscle of rats. The gene increases production of that growth factor, which promotes gains in muscle strength and mass.
The World Anti-Doping Agency says it has begun research on how to detect the use of gene therapy in athletes, but suggests it is some years from perfecting methods, which opens a window of opportunity for athletes interested in bypassing doping measures at Olympic events.
Professor Sweeney said that the genetically enhanced rats doubled their muscle strength and that even without training, the injections increased strength between 15% and 30%.
Scientists report that gene therapy in humans has been tried in various ways but there is still much to learn about doing it successfully, however they suggest that won't stop some from peddling the concept to athletes, even if the treatments are a sham.
RESOURCES;
Professor Sweeney's resume:
http://www.med.upenn.edu/physiol/fac/sweeney.shtml
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/23/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |IOC| IOC's Henderson says Pound is "totally off base" with charges of CEO selection rigging
International Olympic Committee member Paul Henderson says fellow IOC member Dick Pound is "totally off-base" with his suggestion that the CEO selection process is, as Pound put it, "rigged,"to select former Bid Corporation executive John Furlong as head of the Vancouver Olympic Games Organizing Committee.
Pound made the comments to a Vancouver Sun reporter yesterday, saying that Premier Gordon Campbell had influenced the selection process. Three of the four government delegates on the Organizing Committee Board of Directors must approve the CEO's appointment, and that includes the provincial delegate and representatives of Vancouver and Whistler.
Henderson says Furlong, "for this period of time is the right man for the job." Henderson says the construction of the 2010 Games is just in its "first phase" and the CEO won't be the only person running the operation. "There will be a chairman, a president, a chief financial officer; it's not going to be a one-man show, it's going to be a team." Henderson says the International Olympic Committee would have "no problem" with Furlong as CEO.
And, adds Henderson, it's past time to get started on the process because the organization is in danger of loosing momentum, as well as public and volunteer interest in the Games.
"We're on a strict deadline. We have to be ready to go on that Friday in February of 2010."
Henderson says the delay in choosing a CEO has been due to the stakeholder process, and the realization that British Columbia, and particularly the Lower Mainland and Whistler will be the prime beneficiaries of the Olympics. "I think that Furlong being close to the Premier and close to the province is a plus, not a negative."
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/20/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |OCOG| Furlong confirmed as CEO of 2010 Olympics Organizing Committee
John Furlong has been confirmed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee during a conference-call meeting of the Committee's board of directors.
Furlong was the CEO of the process that won the Olympics bid for Vancouver and Whistler.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/20/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |General| CEO of Atlanta Olympics says cheerleading major requirement for CEO
The former CEO for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, Billy Payne, who was chosen after leading the successful bid process, says being a cheerleader for the experts on the team he chooses was a major part of his strategy for the decade he spent involved with his games.
Payne was commenting on the controversy that erupted on the eve of the selection of Vancouver's CEO of the Games.
"My strategy was to acknowledge my shortcomings and seek help for the things I knew nothing about," says Payne, who was at the time a lawyer with little experience in running the day-to-day operations of a huge corporation. "The most important thing for a CEO is to hire good people. The CEO's job is to be a cheerleader to inspire the people on the team and pick the right people for it."
Payne added that the people of Vancouver and Whistler "are in for the experience of a lifetime" during the run-up to the 2010 Olympics. "Never in your lifetime will you feel the pride in your community that you will feel when you present the Games."
Payne added that his approach was to "harness the power and the goodness of the community and present it to the world" in 1996.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/20/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |OCOG| Furlong confirmed as CEO of 2010 Olympics Organizing Committee
The chair of the Board of Directors of the 2010 Olympics Organizing Committee, Michael Phelps, confirms that John Furlong has been chosen as CEO of the organization out of a field of 400 candidates. The decision was made today during a two-hour conference call meeting of the Board.
Phelps said "there is no perfect person for this job" but that "we talked to about 200 of the candidates" to assess their interest in the job and to help determine the attributes that were needed for it.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/20/2004
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Morgan News:2010 || Furlong has confidence of majority of Board, says Phelps
The chair of the Board of Directors of the 2010 Olympics Organizing Committee, Michael Phelps, says John Furlong has "a high level of confidence" of the Board as its new CEO, despite controversy over the process that led to Furlong's selection. Furlong was endorsed by 75% of the Board's vote.
Phelps says "I don't pretend that John has all the attributes that this position requires, but he has most of them." And he adds, "There is no perfect individuals for this job." Phelps notes that Furlong has been working on "this file" for six years, and knows all the players in it." Phelps says Furlong is "highly ambitious."
Phelps says Furlong was chosen from two candidates chosen from a short list of four. The names of none of the also-rans is being released to protect their privacy.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/20/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |OCOG| Furlong hopes to build 'honourable, inspiring' organization
John Furlong, the new CEO of the 2010 Olympics Organizing Committee, says he hopes to build "an honourable inspiring organization during the next six years, adding, that he hopes it will be one "where people will look at what's he's assembled and say, 'I'm with him.'"
Furlong says his leading concern is to make sure the reputation of the games in Vancouver is always upheld, that "we have thumbs up from the IOC", and that he wants to continue to say ahead of the planning curve. "We're a little bit ahead of the planning curve now, and I want to stay that way."
He says he also intends to work with his Board of Directors to more firmly unite them in the cause. "Right now we have a board that's made up of seven partners, and it needs to become one, a family, to be successful in this. This is much less about me than people think."
Furlong says he intends to build a team where he hires "against my own weaknesses" to deal with "this multi-faceted project," which he calls "a gigantic, complex task." And, he says, as the operation moves from planning to implementing the plans, he wants the organization to be able to deliver them "in an effortless way," adding it was his job "to see that we hit as few of the bumps along the road as possible."
Furlong says the selection process was fairly arduous, noting that he had several interviews with the search team, the Board committee involved in the headhunting, and with Board chair Michael Phelps. "I didn't get the sense that there was anything [untoward] that occurred during that process." He was obliquely referring to Canada's IOC representative Dick Pound who inferred the selection process was rigged to favour Furlong.
"Dick was the first one to phone me to congratulate me, and he left me a [voice-mail] message that was supportive and generous. He said he hopes to be able to take his words back when we light the Olympic torch to start the Games."
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/20/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |Government| Whistler to advise OCOG on athletes village location by end of May
Whistler mayor Hugh O'Reilly says that his council will let the 2010 Winter Olympics Organizing Committee know by the end of May where the athletes village in Whistler will be located.
It's the first major decision Whistler will be making in connection with the construction of the Games facilities.
There will be two athletes villages for the Games, one in Vancouver at the southeast end of False Creek and one in Whistler. In general, the Whistler facility will house those contestants involved in skiing and related events, while the Vancouver facility will house those involved in skating and related events.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/19/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |OCOG| Vancouver OCOG to select CEO by conference call Friday
A telephone conference call Friday among the Board of Directors of the Vancouver Olympics Committee will decide the chief executive officer for the 2010 Winter Games.
Only one of the two names put forward is known: John Furlong, the man who headed Vancouver's successful bid for the Games. The other name remains as secret as those of the 200 applicants for the job, which was advertised in December and January. The secrecy was important because most of the applicants are already working, some said to be in high-profile positions.
The CEO must be endorsed by 75% of the board of directors in attendance on the call. That would be 15 directors if they were all available. The person also must receive the approval of three of the four levels of government on the board.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/19/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |Business| Summerland on board with May 3 summit meeting
When Premier Gordon Campbell said last week that the BC government will co-sponsoring a business summit May 3 to bring together business investors, community leaders and volunteers from across the province, Summerland was one community that took it to heart.
Campbell called the Spirit of 2010 Business Summit for May 3 in Vancouver to focus on tourism, labour, trade, and investment strategies during the 2010 Games, saying, "As we think of the Olympics, we should think of all the things we can do to show off the entire province in all of its richness and all of its diversity."
The Summerland Olympic committee says it will be working on getting the community's businesses involved in both the May 3 Summit and the economic spin-offs leading up to the 2010 winter games.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/19/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |Government| Victoria planning to spent at least $235 million on Olympics by 2007
The provincial government says it is planning make at least $235 million available for Olympic 2010 activities over the next three years.
The figures are contained in the budget documents tabled by Finance Minister Gary Collins in the B.C. Legislature yesterday.
* The government will start with $55 million this year to fully pay for its share of the federal-provincial endowment fund that will be used to look after the operating costs of the Olympic venues once they are built;
* $51 million, or 20% of the B.C. government's commitments to the International Olympic Committee as part of the bid process, will be made available during the government's upcoming fiscal year, which starts April 1, for venue construction. Five million will be provided to UBC and Simon Fraser University this year to help the universities with Olympic venues they will eventually own. The budget says that another$30 million in capital advances will go to the universities by 2007 for their Olympic locations.
* $22 million will be spent this year on its own co-ordinating department, the B.C. Olympic Games Secretariat
* $25-million in a one-time grant goes this coming year to Legacies Now, the organization that will oversee 2010-related sport, music, arts culture and volunteer ideas throughout the province.
* $3 million is expected to be spent on medical and security
* $15 million on various municipal Olympic legacies
The money does not include initial funding for upgrading the highway that connects Vancouver and Whistler Olympic venues, the so-called "Sea to Sky" portion of Highway 99.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/18/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |Sports| MacLean speculates Vancouver or Whistler could host 2010 "Hockey Day in Canada"
The host of CBC Television's highly successful "Hockey Day in Canada" says that Vancouver or Whistler could be the location of 2010's version of the increasingly successful program, which was broadcast to an average audience of 336,000 viewers last weekend during more than 13 hours of telecasting. That's up 79% from last year's show.
Ron MacLean says it will be difficult for "Hockey Day" to pass on Vancouver or Whistler as host city during the Winter Olympic year of 2010. Viewership reached 599,000 for several hours at one point during the day.
There's speculation that "Hockey Day" is popular because it is broadcast from a small community, such as Shauvanon, Saskatchewan, population of 1,800. But MacLean suggests it will work any place that has a back-yard rink.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/25/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |Sports| Jockeying begins for 2010 Olympics with Winter Games on Vancouver Island
About 1,800 athletes all about 14 or 15 years old, some of whom will have their eye on the 2010 Winter Olympics, will begin competing this Thursday in Port Alberni. Parksville and Comox in the 2004 B.C. Winter Games.
Helping them do it will be 400 coaches, managers and chaperones, plus 250 officials. All told, they will take part in 23 sports over four days.
The games are an important event for provincial and national team-development programs. Oceanside Place in Parksville is the site of speed skating and figure skating Friday and Saturday. Forty-six speed skaters from seven of the eight zones in B.C. Vancouver didn't send a team.
On Friday, 48 figure skaters - most of them girls - ranging in age from 11 to 14 will converge on Oceanside Place for preliminary rounds. Comox is scheduled to host the hockey events.
RESOURCES:
BC Games official website page showing upcoming games locations and dates:
http://www.bcgames.org/host_cities_intro.html
Page where results will be posted:
http://www.bcgames.org/results_intro.html
Contact info:
BC Games Society
Suite 200 - 990 Fort Street
Victoria, BC
V8V 3K2
Phone: (250) 387-1375
Fax: (250) 387-4489
E-Mail: info@bcgames.org
Port Alberni Games website:
http://www.portalberni2004.com/
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/25/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |General| Green Party flags environmental issue with part of Sea to Sky highway reconstruction
The head of the Green Party, Adrian Carr, says the southern end of the Sea to Sky upgrade appears to have environmental issues.
Carr says the BC government is thinking about building a four-lane highway through Eagle Ridge Bluffs, "an environmentally sensitive area in West Vancouver... The project risks destroying 500 meters of the Baden-Powell Trail and will negatively impact views from Howe Sound and the sensitive Eagle Ridge Bluffs ecosystem. "
Carr also questions whether the government has undertaken an environmental-impact assessment of the proposed upslope routes for the Sea-to-Sky upgrade to assess whether they meet the 2010 Games' "environmental sustainability" request.
RESOURCES:
BADEN POWELL TRAIL BACKGROUND FOR HIKERS:
This trail extends for 41.7 kilometres from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver to Deep Cove in North Vancouver along the North Shore mountains. The Cypress Park section passes over Black Mountain and along lower Hollyburn Mountain.
* Horseshoe Bay to Cypress Bowl (Alpine ski area): Length: 8.5 kilometres (one way). Suggested time: 6 hours. Elevation change: 1,040 metres. The trailhead is in a parking lot at the North end of Eagleridge Drive (just off Hwy 1) near Horseshoe Bay. The trail goes up to Eagle Bluff, over Black Mountain and down into Cypress Bowl.
* Cypress Bowl (Alpine ski area) to Craigmohr Drive (West Vancouver): Length: 9.5 kilometres (one way). Suggested time: 4 hours. Elevation change: 470 metres. From Cypress Bowl, the trail runs east through ancient forest on Hollyburn Mountain, intersects the Hollyburn Peak Trail, and heads down near Hollyburn Lodge to continue southeast through West Vancouver Municipal Mountain Lands to Craigmohr Drive.
A photo of a portion of the trail is here (search for Baden on arrival at the page:
http://www.trailsbc.ca/southwest_region/west_van.asp
Green Party website:
http://greenparty.bc.ca/
Bio and picture of Adrian Carr:
http://greenparty.bc.ca/meet/thecandidates/por/
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/25/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |General| 100 Mile House taps 2010 spirit for annual skating festival
The 100 Mile Figure Skating Club is launching whole-heartedly into the concept of the 2010 Olympics.
"Celebrate! 2010", as its skating festival is called, will start February 28, and will include - as organizers foresee it - an "Olympic-style opening ceremonies with a grand entrance of athletes, followed by a visual ride across the country, ending with a torch-lighting ceremony." It will take place at the South Cariboo Recreation Centre, starting at 6 p.m, with events taking place on March 1.
The annual ice show - this is the 29th - features group routines and solos by the club's 100 figure skaters. The highlight of this year's show is a guest appearance by B.C.'s top tanked junior pair team, Jericho Boulin and Jesse Sturdy.
RESOURCES:
100 Mile Figure Skating Club President Steve Pennock: 250.395.2484
http://www.figureskating.100mile.com/
E-mail: 100milefsc@sk8bc.com
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/25/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |IOC| IOC reappointment Commission overseeing 2010 Winter Olympics
The International Olympic Committee in Switzerland has simply reappointed its commission overseeing overseeing the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler. The continuity was confirmed when officials released a 26-page document this morning outlining its annual shuffle of the organization and the people that oversees various Olympics in preparation and support around the world.
The Co-ordination Commission for Vancouver continues to be chaired by Switzerland's Rene Fasel, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation, who was named chairman of the co-ordination commission last July, and Gilbert Felli of France, who is the committee's executive director as well as the executive director of the Olympic Games.
The re-appointed members of the Commission are:
Fraser Bullock - USA (IOC Member, past Organizing Committee representative)
Ottavio Cinquanta - Italy (IOC Member, IF representative)
Gian-Franco Kasper - Switzerland (IOC Member, International Ski Federation)
Gunilla Lindberg - Sweden (IOC representative)
José Luis Marco - Argentina
Le Prince d' Orange - Netherlands (IOC Member, (IOC representative))
Tsunekazu Takeda - Japan
Rita Van Driel - Netherlands (International Paralympic Committee representative)
Pernilla Wiberg - Sweden (IOC Member, Olympic alpine ski champion, athletes' representative)
A representative of the Vancouver 2010 games, yet to be named, will also sit on the Sport & Environment Commission of the IOC. The 2010 Commission is expected to hold its second meeting with the 2010 Organizing Committee in Vancouver for three days starting March 31.
RESOURCES:
ADDRESS
Coordination Commission
XXI Olympic Winter Games, Vancouver 2010
Château de Vidy
1007 Lausanne
Switzerland
TELEPHONE: (41.21) 621 61 11
FAX: 41.21) 621 62 1
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/24/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |OCOG| Furlong starts work on management structure for 2010 Olympics
The new CEO of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics Organizing Committee says the next few days of his job will be used to finalize the organization structure for operations, and he expects to provide recommendations to the Board shortly.
John Furlong, who has been working as the CEO of the Bid Corporation and the transition team and has just returned from a short holiday, is expected to be working on hiring a chief operating officer, a financial officer and a chief marketing officer, among others.
"The key strategy will be to hire against my own weaknesses," he said. "I hope when people look at our team they will say 'What an incredible lineup of talent.' In the areas where I don't feel I'm especially strong I'll be looking for us to be super strong."
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/23/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |General| Reporter suggests possible opportunities after experiences at previous winter games
Pat Hickey, a reporter for the Montreal Gazette newspaper, offers possible opportunities for those reading between the lines of an article today about her experience at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, in 1994.
Hickey recalls the bitter, "bone-chilling" cold for spectators watching outdoor events, such as freestyle skiing. The only way the crowd kept warm was by moving to the beat of the music, indicating that entrepreneurs should keep watch for ways to offer personal warmth items to spectators in 2010. Note, though that Hickey suggested that "alcoholic potables" were helpful as well as the music.
Offered are other tips as well:
"Restaurants and bars popped up overnight. One popular watering hole was a hardware store in real life and the decor consisted of tools mounted on the walls...
"Menus tended to be limited, with most establishments offering baby shrimp cocktail, followed by a choice of salmon or reindeer filet, followed by a pastry filled with berries and cream. Hot dogs were popular at the various venues and were accompanied by dried fried onions, adding crunch to the usual condiments....
"The press village consisted of rather spartan accommodations in prefab homes that were destined for Sweden after the Games. There were a dozen occupants in each unit and the trick was to time your shower so there was hot water available.
"Accommodation for fans was limited and many people stayed in Oslo and made daily trips by train."
Hickey also points out that some entrepreneurs took advantage of the strict drunk-driving laws to allow places for inebriated fans to sleep off their situation safely.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/23/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |General| Genetic doping raised as possibility for future Olympic games
A scientist told a conference over the weekend that genetic doping - where gene replacement therapy is used to enhance muscle mass - is being demonstrated in rats, raising the possibility that it may be necessary to investigate ways of checking for it in future Olympic games.
Prof Lee Sweeney of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and his co-authors will report next month in the Journal of Applied Physiology the details of comments made to a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
He described how exercise and genetic enhancement work together to increase mass and strength in rat muscles. The scientists injected a genetically modified virus that contained an IGF-I rat gene into a hind-leg muscle of rats. The gene increases production of that growth factor, which promotes gains in muscle strength and mass.
The World Anti-Doping Agency says it has begun research on how to detect the use of gene therapy in athletes, but suggests it is some years from perfecting methods, which opens a window of opportunity for athletes interested in bypassing doping measures at Olympic events.
Professor Sweeney said that the genetically enhanced rats doubled their muscle strength and that even without training, the injections increased strength between 15% and 30%.
Scientists report that gene therapy in humans has been tried in various ways but there is still much to learn about doing it successfully, however they suggest that won't stop some from peddling the concept to athletes, even if the treatments are a sham.
RESOURCES;
Professor Sweeney's resume:
http://www.med.upenn.edu/physiol/fac/sweeney.shtml
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/23/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |IOC| IOC's Henderson says Pound is "totally off base" with charges of CEO selection rigging
International Olympic Committee member Paul Henderson says fellow IOC member Dick Pound is "totally off-base" with his suggestion that the CEO selection process is, as Pound put it, "rigged,"to select former Bid Corporation executive John Furlong as head of the Vancouver Olympic Games Organizing Committee.
Pound made the comments to a Vancouver Sun reporter yesterday, saying that Premier Gordon Campbell had influenced the selection process. Three of the four government delegates on the Organizing Committee Board of Directors must approve the CEO's appointment, and that includes the provincial delegate and representatives of Vancouver and Whistler.
Henderson says Furlong, "for this period of time is the right man for the job." Henderson says the construction of the 2010 Games is just in its "first phase" and the CEO won't be the only person running the operation. "There will be a chairman, a president, a chief financial officer; it's not going to be a one-man show, it's going to be a team." Henderson says the International Olympic Committee would have "no problem" with Furlong as CEO.
And, adds Henderson, it's past time to get started on the process because the organization is in danger of loosing momentum, as well as public and volunteer interest in the Games.
"We're on a strict deadline. We have to be ready to go on that Friday in February of 2010."
Henderson says the delay in choosing a CEO has been due to the stakeholder process, and the realization that British Columbia, and particularly the Lower Mainland and Whistler will be the prime beneficiaries of the Olympics. "I think that Furlong being close to the Premier and close to the province is a plus, not a negative."
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/20/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |OCOG| Furlong confirmed as CEO of 2010 Olympics Organizing Committee
John Furlong has been confirmed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee during a conference-call meeting of the Committee's board of directors.
Furlong was the CEO of the process that won the Olympics bid for Vancouver and Whistler.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/20/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |General| CEO of Atlanta Olympics says cheerleading major requirement for CEO
The former CEO for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, Billy Payne, who was chosen after leading the successful bid process, says being a cheerleader for the experts on the team he chooses was a major part of his strategy for the decade he spent involved with his games.
Payne was commenting on the controversy that erupted on the eve of the selection of Vancouver's CEO of the Games.
"My strategy was to acknowledge my shortcomings and seek help for the things I knew nothing about," says Payne, who was at the time a lawyer with little experience in running the day-to-day operations of a huge corporation. "The most important thing for a CEO is to hire good people. The CEO's job is to be a cheerleader to inspire the people on the team and pick the right people for it."
Payne added that the people of Vancouver and Whistler "are in for the experience of a lifetime" during the run-up to the 2010 Olympics. "Never in your lifetime will you feel the pride in your community that you will feel when you present the Games."
Payne added that his approach was to "harness the power and the goodness of the community and present it to the world" in 1996.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/20/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |OCOG| Furlong confirmed as CEO of 2010 Olympics Organizing Committee
The chair of the Board of Directors of the 2010 Olympics Organizing Committee, Michael Phelps, confirms that John Furlong has been chosen as CEO of the organization out of a field of 400 candidates. The decision was made today during a two-hour conference call meeting of the Board.
Phelps said "there is no perfect person for this job" but that "we talked to about 200 of the candidates" to assess their interest in the job and to help determine the attributes that were needed for it.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/20/2004
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Morgan News:2010 || Furlong has confidence of majority of Board, says Phelps
The chair of the Board of Directors of the 2010 Olympics Organizing Committee, Michael Phelps, says John Furlong has "a high level of confidence" of the Board as its new CEO, despite controversy over the process that led to Furlong's selection. Furlong was endorsed by 75% of the Board's vote.
Phelps says "I don't pretend that John has all the attributes that this position requires, but he has most of them." And he adds, "There is no perfect individuals for this job." Phelps notes that Furlong has been working on "this file" for six years, and knows all the players in it." Phelps says Furlong is "highly ambitious."
Phelps says Furlong was chosen from two candidates chosen from a short list of four. The names of none of the also-rans is being released to protect their privacy.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/20/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |OCOG| Furlong hopes to build 'honourable, inspiring' organization
John Furlong, the new CEO of the 2010 Olympics Organizing Committee, says he hopes to build "an honourable inspiring organization during the next six years, adding, that he hopes it will be one "where people will look at what's he's assembled and say, 'I'm with him.'"
Furlong says his leading concern is to make sure the reputation of the games in Vancouver is always upheld, that "we have thumbs up from the IOC", and that he wants to continue to say ahead of the planning curve. "We're a little bit ahead of the planning curve now, and I want to stay that way."
He says he also intends to work with his Board of Directors to more firmly unite them in the cause. "Right now we have a board that's made up of seven partners, and it needs to become one, a family, to be successful in this. This is much less about me than people think."
Furlong says he intends to build a team where he hires "against my own weaknesses" to deal with "this multi-faceted project," which he calls "a gigantic, complex task." And, he says, as the operation moves from planning to implementing the plans, he wants the organization to be able to deliver them "in an effortless way," adding it was his job "to see that we hit as few of the bumps along the road as possible."
Furlong says the selection process was fairly arduous, noting that he had several interviews with the search team, the Board committee involved in the headhunting, and with Board chair Michael Phelps. "I didn't get the sense that there was anything [untoward] that occurred during that process." He was obliquely referring to Canada's IOC representative Dick Pound who inferred the selection process was rigged to favour Furlong.
"Dick was the first one to phone me to congratulate me, and he left me a [voice-mail] message that was supportive and generous. He said he hopes to be able to take his words back when we light the Olympic torch to start the Games."
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/20/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |Government| Whistler to advise OCOG on athletes village location by end of May
Whistler mayor Hugh O'Reilly says that his council will let the 2010 Winter Olympics Organizing Committee know by the end of May where the athletes village in Whistler will be located.
It's the first major decision Whistler will be making in connection with the construction of the Games facilities.
There will be two athletes villages for the Games, one in Vancouver at the southeast end of False Creek and one in Whistler. In general, the Whistler facility will house those contestants involved in skiing and related events, while the Vancouver facility will house those involved in skating and related events.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/19/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |OCOG| Vancouver OCOG to select CEO by conference call Friday
A telephone conference call Friday among the Board of Directors of the Vancouver Olympics Committee will decide the chief executive officer for the 2010 Winter Games.
Only one of the two names put forward is known: John Furlong, the man who headed Vancouver's successful bid for the Games. The other name remains as secret as those of the 200 applicants for the job, which was advertised in December and January. The secrecy was important because most of the applicants are already working, some said to be in high-profile positions.
The CEO must be endorsed by 75% of the board of directors in attendance on the call. That would be 15 directors if they were all available. The person also must receive the approval of three of the four levels of government on the board.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/19/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |Business| Summerland on board with May 3 summit meeting
When Premier Gordon Campbell said last week that the BC government will co-sponsoring a business summit May 3 to bring together business investors, community leaders and volunteers from across the province, Summerland was one community that took it to heart.
Campbell called the Spirit of 2010 Business Summit for May 3 in Vancouver to focus on tourism, labour, trade, and investment strategies during the 2010 Games, saying, "As we think of the Olympics, we should think of all the things we can do to show off the entire province in all of its richness and all of its diversity."
The Summerland Olympic committee says it will be working on getting the community's businesses involved in both the May 3 Summit and the economic spin-offs leading up to the 2010 winter games.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/19/2004
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Morgan News:2010 |Government| Victoria planning to spent at least $235 million on Olympics by 2007
The provincial government says it is planning make at least $235 million available for Olympic 2010 activities over the next three years.
The figures are contained in the budget documents tabled by Finance Minister Gary Collins in the B.C. Legislature yesterday.
* The government will start with $55 million this year to fully pay for its share of the federal-provincial endowment fund that will be used to look after the operating costs of the Olympic venues once they are built;
* $51 million, or 20% of the B.C. government's commitments to the International Olympic Committee as part of the bid process, will be made available during the government's upcoming fiscal year, which starts April 1, for venue construction. Five million will be provided to UBC and Simon Fraser University this year to help the universities with Olympic venues they will eventually own. The budget says that another$30 million in capital advances will go to the universities by 2007 for their Olympic locations.
* $22 million will be spent this year on its own co-ordinating department, the B.C. Olympic Games Secretariat
* $25-million in a one-time grant goes this coming year to Legacies Now, the organization that will oversee 2010-related sport, music, arts culture and volunteer ideas throughout the province.
* $3 million is expected to be spent on medical and security
* $15 million on various municipal Olympic legacies
The money does not include initial funding for upgrading the highway that connects Vancouver and Whistler Olympic venues, the so-called "Sea to Sky" portion of Highway 99.
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Originally Published to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers on 2/18/2004
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