Morgan:News:2010:Bronze Edition: June 2004

Monday, June 28, 2004

Bronze Service is published regularly, but the most recent items here were provided to our subscribers by e-mail month ago or more. For more timely news that comes right to you, simply upgrade to our Gold or Silver service at Morgan:News:2010. Bronze is free for the use of news services and for non-commerical public use under conditions described at: Morgan:News:2010:Bronze . The archive dates refer to when a story was posted here, not the date of the story. To estimate when a story was first published, subtract one month from the archive date.

Morgan:News:2010 |Business| #339
CANADA TO "INFLUENCE" OLYMPIC DESIGN COMPETITIONS IN FUTURE

The president of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada says that the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee has agreed to a process that will let the GDC 'influence' the future course of Olympic design competitions.

Peggy Cady, speaking in Toronto where she is involved with the formation of Trade Team Canada, says that during her face-to-face and e-mail discussions with VANOC CEO John Furlong during the past week, he agreed to allow the GDC to "present formal guidelines" that, once approved by VANOC, will be included in the official Transfer of Knowledge Program of the International Olympic Committee. The guidelines, yet to be drafted, will make recommendations on how to conduct future logo-design competitions without raising the ire of international graphic design societies.

The Knowledge of Transfer Program is a formal process, only recently created by the IOC, to pass along knowledge gleaned by each Olympic Organizing Committee. It was partly in place for the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002, but the Vancouver 2010 is the first full beneficiary of the program.

"It's wonderful for us to be able to influence the future of design competitions among the Olympics, and how they'll work," said Cady, a professional designer based in Victoria, B.C. and who has only been on the job as president of the Canadian society for three weeks of her two-year term; she will have an additional two years after that as the Society's Past President, an executive position. "Canadians will get to influence the best practices of the Olympics for years to come."

She says, however, that even though the GDC was unable to convince VANOC to change the 2010 competition, and that she agreed to allow her organization's 2,000 professional designers to participate, she says the Society's ethics committee will not be asked to redraft the ethical rule involved "at this time."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 28, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |IOC| #338
IOC 'NEWS' ABOUT 2010 LOGO COMPETITION SANITIZED OF CONTROVERSY

The International Olympic Committee's website news report about the 2010 Games logo competition contains no mention - at all - of the international furor it stirred among professional graphic designers, but then it doesn't comment either on the fact that the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee isn't going to do anything significant about the furor, either.

"All they [VANOC] wanted was a PR event," said a source close to the discussions. "And that's what they got."

The Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC) received e-mail and a wide range of other support from their international equivalents in the United States and Mexico, and stirred a controversy in Canada among its 2,000 corporate members, when it protested the ethics of VANOC limiting the logo-design competition to professional designers, but holding a contest instead of going through a standard Request for Proposal Process or paying them for their efforts.

However the rewrite of VANOC's news release, by the IOC's public relations department, about the matter makes no mention of any aspect of it, not even the fact that the VANOC release quoted GDC's president, Peggy Cady, as saying that following discussions with CEO John Furlong and his marketing advisers, that the GDC had agreed not to censure any of its members for taking part in the logo-design contest.

RESOURCES
========

The IOC's version of reality is here:
http://www.olympic.org/uk/news/olympic_news/full_story_uk.asp?id=870
GDC's letters of international support:
http://www.gdc.net/community/news.php?id=20&press=1&draw_column=3:1:2

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 28, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Paralympic| #337
2010 PARALYMPIC TORCH CEREMONIES EXPECTED TO BEGIN IN NOVEMBER 2009

Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic organizers are still years away from the detailed planning about the the Olympic torch ceremonies that precede each of the games, but if they follow the planning models and playbook currently in place, as they've so far indicated they are, the series of ceremonies involving the 2010 Paralympic Torch is likely to begin on or about Friday, Nov 20, 2009.

If you're interested in business, sports or developments and events that might occur in conjunction with the Paralympic Torch ceremony in Vancouver or Whistler, marking that date on your calendar would be part of your countdown.

That date is 112 days before the Paralympic portion of the 2010 Games begin, and today, 112 days before the Athens version of the 2004 Paralympic Games saw the Paralympic Torch ceremony begin at a special event in Athens. International Paralympic President Phil Craven and Athens 2004 Organizing Committee President, Gianna Angelopoulous-Daskalaki presented the Paralympic Torch Relay Schedule and the Torch Bearer uniform. (The main torch relay for the Athens Olympic Games begins June 3, 70 days before the start of the Olympic Games.)

Here's are some of the logistics involved if you're thinking about planning for the 2010 Paralympic version: The Athens Paralympic Torch is expected to begin its journey on September 9, eight days before the Paralympic Games begin in Athens. It is to then travel through 54 municipalities in Attica covering a distance of 410 km. The torch will pass a number of historical and cultural landmarks, which will offer photographic opportunities (note, however, that the Olympics Organizing Committees will be on the watch for ambush marketing). The flame is planned to enter the Olympic Stadium on September 17, to officially open the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games.

The duty of carrying the Athens torch is to be shared by 680 torchbearers including famous Paralympic and Olympic athletes, along with a batch of well-known personalities, plus members of the International and the Greek Paralympic Committees and representatives of Paralympic Games sponsors.

RESOURCES

Details of the Athens Paralympic torch relay and route:
http://www.athens2004.com/athens2004/page/legacy?lang=en&cid=21a8ec08864acf00VgnVCMServer28130b0aRCRD (If that long link breaks in your e-mail, simply copy and paste it manually into your browser, or try the one below. Note, however, that this short link is only good for three months):
http://tinyurl.com/ytffn

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 28, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #336
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS WIN CONCESSIONS BUT NOT CHANGES DURING ETHICS NEGOTIATIOINS OVER LOGO DESIGN

The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee has refused to adjust its logo-design competition to deal with the ethical issues identified during meetings with the Graphic Designers of Canada, and the GDC says that despite the issue it will "not censure" its members if they decide to compete.

The GDC's decision followed an hour-long meeting last Friday between GDC president Peggy Cady of Victoria and immediate past-president Matthew Warburton of Vancouver with VANOC CEO John Furlong, VANOC's Executive Director of Government Relations and Communications, Jane Burnes, and VANOC Communications director Ali Gardiner. In addition, there were a number of follow-up e-mail exchanges between the two sides on during this week.

The meeting was called after Warburton interrupted Furlong's news conference the previous day to protest the competition because it required firms to speculate on whether they would get work, instead of going through a standard request-for-proposal process, as had been done for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt lake City.

The GDC, however, was able to achieve a promise from Furlong that in his reports to the International Olympic Committee that recommendations would be made about how to conduct such competitions in the future so that they would not raise the ire of national or international graphic-design organizations.

However, it does not appear -- at this stage -- that the GDC will have any structured input into those recommendations.

At issue was whether VANOC was a commercial or non-profit organization. The GDC's code of ethics for its 2,000 member firms across Canada prevents them from entering speculative competitions, such as VANOC's emblem-design contest, unless it is for a non-profit. Despite the fact that VANOC will be spending nearly $2 billion in the next eight years, the organization is legally a non-profit.

"Our members support our Code of Ethics regarding speculative work," said Cady. "We also understand the not-for-profit nature of VANOC and the general public interest of this event and will not censure member participation in the competition. We are encouraged that the GDC will play a role in the development of Olympic design competition guidelines and that Canadian designers will have a voice in international best practices for future Games."

Others close to the negotiations, however, said the GDC was simply unable to convince VANOC to changes is mind, and that each side received considerable support for their respective positions as VANOC prepared for a day-long conference on June 9 for designers interested in competing.

According a GDC insider, "What we've done is agree to disagree. VANOC basically identified a loophole in our policy, and our Ethics Committee will be directed to decide what to do about it. On the one hand, we're saying that it's not okay to be involved in competitions, but it is okay if it's a non-profit. That'll probably have to change in some way because we're sending mixed messages."

"We are encouraged by the enthusiastic response to this design initiative," said Furlong. "We've had hundreds of calls and e-mails and more than 200 people have already registered for the conference."

The GDC has also had similar support from its members and from other international designer organizations for its position.

The Vancouver conference, featuring design experts from previous and future Olympic Games, will thoroughly detail the unique history and significance of Olympic design and the values behind it, and outline the vision and emblem design expectations for the 2010 Winter Games.

"This is just the beginning of six years of tremendous design projects that will showcase the talent and spirit of Canada's design community to the world," added Furlong. "The new 2010 Games emblem will be one of the most recognized logos in the world in the coming years and will form the cornerstone of the entire look of the Games."

The winning logo design - to be determined with the help of a panel of international judges - will earn a prize of $25,000 and two tickets to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, but it is only open to professional Canadian designers. VANOC plans to unveil the new logo on February 12, 2005, which is five years out from the opening ceremony.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 27, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #335
CROOKS TO BE ONE OF MAIN SPEAKERS TO B.C. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AGM

Charmaine Crooks, one of members of the Board of Directors for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Organizing Committee, will be a keynote speaker as the B.C. Chamber of Commerce holds its 52nd annual general meeting and conference in Salmon Arm this weekend.

Crooks is scheduled to speak on Saturday at 12:30 pm. Premier Gordon Campbell is due to speak to the conference at 11:30 tomorrow morning,

Salmon Arm is a town in British Columbia's Okanagan region about 470 kilometres east of Vancouver.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 27, 2004

Thursday, June 24, 2004

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 upgrade to our Gold or Silver service at Morgan:News:2010. Bronze is free for the use of news services and for non-commerical public use under conditions described at: Morgan:News:2010:Bronze .

Morgan:News:2010 |Business| #334
GERMAN PAY-TV OFFERS C$250 MILLION FOR 2010 AND 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES

2010:NewsWatch

The International Olympic Committee is still studying the bids it received last month for the European broadcast rights for the package of Olympic Games that includes the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, and it has yet to announce its decision or make any mention of the size or extent of the bids.

But the first indication of what the bidding range might be has come from Berlin. German digital pay-TV platform Premiere is reportedly offering e150 million (C$250 million) for the German and Austrian rights to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the 2012 Summer Games. The deal would also include Internet and mobile rights. Were it to receive the nod, Vancouver could expect to receive about C$70 million.

In an interview with the German daily newspaper "Sueddeutsche Zeitung," Premiere's CEO, Georg Kofler, said the games, if awarded to the company, would be broadcast on up to 20 channels, with the main events broadcast free-to-air.

But Premiere, which generated C$1.65 billion in revenue for a net loss of C$353 million last year, would have to find cash for the deal. Kofler told the publication he would offer Premiere on the local stock market in 2005.

The IOC has already sold the US TV rights to the 2010 and 2012 Olympics to NBC for about C$3 billion; the 2010 Games are to receive about C$1.1 billion from that.

VANOC would not get all of the broadcast rights funding to spend up front, however. Under VANOC's operating agreement with the International Olympic Committee, the IOC withholds 5% of all broadcast money destined for VANOC, keeping it in a "retention fund." This fund, plus the interest it generates, is provided to VANOC once the Games have been held and it has grown to about C$20 million. Five percent of C$70 million is C$3.5 million.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 25, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #333
CHILLIWACK APPROVES C$4,500 FOR OLYMPIC LEGACIES COMMITTEE WORK

The city council of Chilliwack, about 80 kilometres east of Vancouver, has approved a C$4,500 initial operating budget for the city's 2010 Olympic Committee as it begins exploratory work on how it can take part in aiding the Winter Games.

The committee is co-chaired by Terry Bodman, who was the 2003 president of Chilliwack's B.C. Senior Games Society, and former Supreme Court Justice William Davies. Subcommittees are being formed to explore the possibility of potential national hockey teams using the City's new arena to practice in advance of the games, and perhaps explore the possibility of using a cultural exchange with a 'twinning' of cities approach. The committee will consider concepts that have a payoff that could be short-term and long-term as they start to make decisions on what to follow.

Mayor Clint Hames says the funding will help the committee offset some expenses that may be incurred in its pursuit of economic opportunities for the city, and the council's endorsement will help ensure that City staff will be involved if those opportunities include city facilities.

RESOURCES
========

City of Chilliwack website:
http://www.chilliwack.com

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 25, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |General| #332
CLEARWATER A LITTLE CAUTIOUS ABOUT 2010 LEGACY COMMITTEE

It turns out that not every community in British Columbia is sold on the idea of setting up an Olympic Legacy Committee to see if it can entice provincial government funding for sports in their area.

There are about 85 such committees in communities across the province, stirred by the provincial government's promise to provide funding to worthwhile projects that support an Olympic theme.

But the village of Clearwater, about 80 kilometres north of Kamloops in B.C.'s central interior, held a formation meeting for just such a committee and hardly anybody showed up. The Clearwater Improvement District and the local Chamber of Commerce are both in favour of getting a committee going, but so far, that's about the extent of it, since neither organization has a mandate to support it otherwise.

They've decided to do a bit of marketing to see if anybody can be enticed to the next meeting, scheduled for June 8.

Other cities and towns in the immediate area -- Chase, Merritt, Ashcroft and Kamloops -- all have their own Legacy committees.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 25, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Business| #331
CONSTRUCTION'S SASHAW ON 2010 LABOUR DEAL: 'MORE THAN ENOUGH WORK TO GO AROUND'

The president of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association says the debate over whether the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee needs to reach a construction agreement with unions is misplaced.

Keith Sashaw, in an essay, says that "With or without a 2010 labour deal, the Lower Mainland faces a larger building challenge: Finding the resources to build the $13 billion in capital projects currently on the books."

The VRCA has a mixture of about 600 union and non-union firms as members.

Sashaw says, "Deal or no deal, there is more than enough work to go around, and the real pressure issue will be finding enough qualified workers to get it all done."

Sashaw notes that 2010-related construction "will only account for C$600 million, or just over 20% of major projects currently slated for the Lower Mainland [Greater Vancouver]." Other projects, he says, are either on the same order of size as the Games venue construction or are bigger.

"Let's not forget that in B.C., union and non-union workers have cooperated for years," he says, "and there is no reason to expect anything different for the rest of the decade, particularly in light of volume of work available. Both union and non-union sides came together to help support the 'Yes' vote in last year's crucial plebiscite [on whether the Games would be held.]"

Sashaw says "We have to set the bar higher, and we need to deliver on [sustainability] promises... Our job as British Columbians is to find the best way to build our Olympics, safely, on time and on budget."

RESOURCES:

VCRA's home page:
http://www.vrca.bc.ca/main.php

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 25, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #330
ABBOTSFORD SCHOOL TRUSTEES TO ASK FOR HOLIDAY SHIFT IN 2010

School District trustees in the city of Abbotsford, east of Vancouver, will be sending a request to British Columbia's education minister asking that spring break in 2010 be changed to one of the two weeks in February when Vancouver hosts the winter Olympics.

Trustees say that such a move, to be requested of Minister Tom Christensen,is behind a belief that educators want to allow students to experience the Olympics, as well as take advantage of the "educational opportunities" the event presents. And it might be quite a bit less disruptive to the school system at the same time, since students and teachers alike will be paying attention to the Games.

Such a move, however, would have an effect on retailers and their suppliers and marketers, all of whom predicate a portion of their seasonal business on the timing of spring break for students, which normally takes place around Easter. It would also have ripple effects on a wide range of other businesses as well, as parents would need to adjust their schedules to deal with children who would not be in school during the period.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 25, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #329
NEGOTIATIONS WITH GRAPHIC DESIGNERS OVER LOGO COMPETITION TO CONTINUE

The president of the Graphic Designers of Canada, Peggy Cady, says her negotiations with the Vancouver Olympic Committee over the Society's ethics issue with the 2010 Logo competition are making progress.

Following discussions this afternoon between Cady and VANOC CEO John Furlong, Cady said,"GDC and VANOC had a very successful meeting. We are talking again on Tuesday." She would not go into further details while the negotiations were underway, however.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 21, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #328
COMMITTEE'S OFFICE MOVE NOW EXPECTED "IN LATE JUNE"

Officials at the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee expect that its move to its new offices at 1095 West Pender Street will now occur in late June.

The fourth floor - which will house 19 new executive suites, a supporting farm of 25 cubicles and two boardrooms - was to have been ready for occupancy by June 1 with the fifth floor, to house 50 cubicles and two boardrooms, ready by August 1. Each floor is about 10,300 square ft.

But, they say, the actual date of the move has not yet been chosen, although the move itself is expected to take three days to complete. The current space at The Landing in Vancouver's Gastown area, has facilities for about 40 people, and VANOC expects to be employing more than 1,000 by the time the Games begin. The current projection is that the new space will be filled within 18 months.

Details of the move are still being finalized. VANOC has asked a number of local moving companies to quote but has not yet selected one.

In the new space, VANOC says it will use as much of its existing furniture and supplies as possible --VANOC currently owns a limited amount of office furniture and has been seeking proposals for upgrading it -- along with its existing IT network with some upgrading. Cleaning service is to be provided by the management of the new building.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 21, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #326
GRAPHIC DESIGNER'S SOCIETY PRESIDENT TO MEET VANOC OVER LOGO-DESIGN ISSUE

The 2004 president of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada will be meeting with the CEO of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee this afternoon to discuss her organization's ethical issues with the 2010 logo competition.

Peggy Cady says she has given VANOC the GDC's recommendations for the competition, along with a set of both national and international guidelines for competitions. "GDC," she says, "can not endorse the Olympic Emblem Competition as it is currently proposed." She added that she hopes John Furlong is "...open to making adjustments to the competition or the process. We feel that logo design competition is not an appropriate vehicle to use to build community spirit. Naming and choosing the 2010 mascot might be a better method to accomplish this goal. A design education project and scholarship legacy would be another viable option."

The meeting between Cady and Furlong was set up late yesterday after last year's GDC president, Matthew Warburton of Vancouver, protested Furlong's decision to hold a competition for designing the 2010 logo, with a cash prize of C$25,000 and two tickets to the 2010 Opening Ceremonies. Furlong was following International Olympic practices by holding a competition, but organizations representing graphic designers have increasingly called the concept into question, as they did in Salt Lake City. Warburton also said that 2010 Olympic representatives were in the audience last January when the GDC's annual general meeting heard a panel discussion by Salt Lake City graphic designers voice their concerns about the clash of the idea with professional ethics.

Cady says that there's a lot of work done by professional designers when they take on a logo-design project. "We feel the key to understanding the GDC's interest in this issue is that, in logo design, the initial research a designer does, the market evaluation, analysis, the interviews and discussions with the client, and, the 'creative ideas' - are the most important and the most valuable part of a logo-building process. It takes large amounts of time, effort and resources to do this part of the logo process well. After that, much of the work is mechanical. Clients pay us for our valuable knowledge, experience, education and talent. They get a key component to their business success from this transaction. A fair process is needed to ensure that designers are respected business partners."

Cady says she realizes that most designers across the country would be honoured to be involved in a project of the scale and significance of designing the 2010 Winter Olympics logo. "But, we also know that GDC members feel very strongly about our Code of Ethics. One of the key points of the Code of Ethics and of international competition guidelines is avoiding requests for speculative work."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 21, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #321
MISSION TO REVAMP TOURISM MARKETING STRATEGY WITH 2010 SEGMENT

The District of Mission is about to begin a significant revamp of its tourism marketing strategy, and a key component of it has to do with identifying business and tourism opportunities for Mission as a result of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Mission is a town of 33,000 people on the north bank of the Fraser River, about 60 kilometers south-east of Vancouver. Michael Giesbrecht, Manager, Purchasing and Stores for the District, says the search is on now for a professional marketing firm to put the promotions plan together for the EDC.

The concept is to develop a three-year promotions plan for Mission's Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDC). The marketing strategy will be used for all future advertising and promotional efforts for the EDC. The project, according to Mission documents, "entail significant consultation with business owners, tourism operators, District of Mission Council and the public at large."

RESOURCES

Mission Contact info:

Michael Giesbrecht,
District of Mission
33835 Dewdney Trunk Road
Box 20
Mission, British Columbia
V2V 4L9
Phone: 1 (604) 820-3756
Fax: 1 (604) 826-8633
Email: mgiesbrecht@mission.ca

Giesbrecht says that companies interested in doing the work on the strategy can receive a PDF application and background material via e-mail by writing an e-mail note with "Request for RFP 04-006 Marketing Strategy" in the subject line. The closing is May 27.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 21, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #325
LETTERS OF SUPPORT POUR IN OVER GRAPHIC DESIGNER'S PROTEST OF 2010 LOGO COMPETITION

The stand of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada [GDC] to withhold approval of the Vancouver Olympic Committee's decision to host a logo design competition for the 2010 Games appears to have struck a nerve among designers.

The Society, which represents about 2,000 of the 3,600 graphic designers in Canada, has received copies of e-mails sent to VANOC from designers in Canada, Washington State and even Mexico urging VANOC to reconsider its decision, announced during a news conference last week in Vancouver. GDC spokesman Matthew Warburton, who protested the competition at the news conference, said today that he was "blown away" by the support given the organization's position.

Carmen von Richthofen, Executive Director of the Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario, has written VANOC CEO John Furlong, saying that it backs the GDC's approach, adding, "We would like to make you aware that your proposed design selection process for the branding of the Olympic Winter Games is unprofessional, potentially economically harmful, not in the best interests of designers, and tantamount to requesting speculative work, that is, work for free."

Tan Le, Senior Design Director for Landor Associates of Seattle said in response to e-mail from Ali Gardiner, of VANOC's communications department, justifying the decision, "I would predict that the [Graphic Designers of Canada's] exclusionary Section 38 for nonprofit organizations was not originally intended for a project of this caliber or an organization such as VANOC. The spirit of that clause was written and intended more for traditional, funds-challenged nonprofits whose operating funds depend largely on pro-bono/donated services from a variety of professional services, including design. VANOC clearly does not fit within that category of nonprofits.... Your choice to selectively ignore the professional code of ethics for graphic designers – or worse, to twist a loophole intended for smaller nonprofits – is unfortunately, still inexcusable and unacceptable."

Marga Lopez, a member of the Mexican Council of Design (Quorum), wrote Furlong, backing the Canadian society's position that it's unethical for designers to do a speculative project for a commercial operation. "I believe that doing a competition of this nature is something that must not be taken lightly, and must be given the highest respect. Creating an identity for such an important event that represents not only the Olympic spirit but also the Olympic ideals of a whole country, is a project that must be tackled by the very best designers and marketing analysts in the country and not just as a competition of mere 'creativity'."

GDC president Peggy Cady, in an open letter to VANOC, says, "When engaged as design problem solvers for business and the community in general, our member designers charge a fee for their services to signify that an exchange of value has occurred. Occasionally, members are asked to provide speculative design solutions on project tenders or contests. These contests usually also state that these design solutions will play an integral role in a final selection process. As a result, designers find themselves in an untenable position, as they feel pressured to set aside time from contracted client work to provide solutions to projects and clients they have a less than clear understanding and knowledge of. Often, enormous commitments of resources are being requested, and for solutions that are never really relevant or even useful."

RESOURCES

The Graphic Designer's of Canada's official position on the controversy:
http://www.gdc.net/community/news.php?id=17&press=1&draw_column=3:1:2
Full text of letters over two web pages received by the GDC that have also been sent to VANOC:
http://www.gdc.net/community/news.php?id=18&press=1&draw_column=3:1:2 http://www.gdc.net/community/news.php?id=20&press=1&draw_column=3:1:2

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 20, 2004

Friday, June 18, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Paralympic|
OUT-OF-COMPETITION TESTING TO OCCUR UNTIL 2007 IN PARALYMPIC SPORT

The International Paralympic Committee, which is the International Federation for 13 sports, has contracted with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to do out-of-competition testing on its athletes around the world, including those heading for the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games in Vancouver.

IPC President Phil Craven said, "Out-of-competition testing is the most effective means of doping control. Signing this agreement with WADA is a further step towards the IPC's goal to make Paralympic sport free of doping."

However, the first term of the agreement expires on December 31, 2007, meaning it would have to be renewed in order to cover the 2010 Paralympic Games, which are held the month following the 2010 Olympic Games, but athletes aiming for those games and the competitions leading to it for at least the next three years will be included. The athletes of any National Paralympic Committee that has not signed the IPC Ant-Doping Code will not be allowed to participate.

As a result of the ground-breaking deal, the IPC will ensure that their member federations are subject to this type of testing. Until now, testing has only taken place at sanctioned competitions.

The agreement says that WADA, working with IPC officials, will manage both the out-of-competition testing and analysis of the samples.

National anti-doping organizations, or their sub-contractors, will carry out the testing on behalf of WADA, but it will be under the World Anti-Doping Code and the IPC Anti-Doping Code. That means that all Paralympic athletes competing at an international level, such as the 2010 Paralympic Games, World and Regional Championships and the like -- may be subject to out-of-competition testing.

A spokesman for the IPC says, "If an athlete is unavailable for testing three times during any period of 18 months, this will be considered an anti-doping rule violation resulting in two years of ineligibility, if it's the person's first violation."

The International Paralympic Committee is the international governing body of sport for athletes with a disability. It supervises and co-ordinates the Paralympic Summer and Winter Games and other multi-disability competitions, of which the most important are World and Regional Championships. The IPC's headquarters are in Bonn, Germany.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 19, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Sports|
NHL STILL HAS PARTICIPATION IN 2010 WINTER OLYMPICS ON HOLD

Bill Daly, the executive vice-president of the National Hockey League, continues to hold out hope that even if the NHL doesn't make the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics in Italy, it might still participate in the 2010 Winter Games.

The NHL doesn't much like midseason interruptions and a two-week Olympics participation by some of its major players in February, such as occurred during the 2002 Salt lake City Winter Olympics, would be fairly significant, affecting schedules, revenue and salaries.

Daly says the NHL is still not prepared to commit to the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy. The IOC spokesman for hockey, Rene Fasel, who also chairs the IOC commission monitoring the 2010 Games, said earlier that he would prefer to see the Turin games included in the current and difficult labour negotiations between the NHL and the NHL Players Association.

But a decision on NHL participation in the 2010 Games is still being left for later.

"It has to be something that gets resolved after we do [a new collective bargaining agreement]," Daly told a reporter for the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune today, where Daly was speaking to sponsors of the Minnesota Wild hockey team, "...I suppose it's possible we don't participate in Turin in 2006 and do participate in Vancouver in 2010."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 19, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government|
U.S. CONSULTATE BEGINS ENCOURAGING AMERICANS TO THINK ABOUT 2010 OPPORTUNITIES

The U.S. Consulate General's office has set up a web page on its corporate website that focuses on opportunities for American businesses interested in the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The web page urges U.S. businesses to make plans quickly for economic reasons. "Although the 2010 Games are still six years away," says the page, "many of the infrastructure and Olympic facility projects are being initiated in the short to medium-term. In addition, the overall level of economic activity in B.C. will expand in 2004 and beyond as a result of the Olympics generated stimulus. That growth will provide ample opportunities across virtually all sectors and industries."

The website adds that, "Now is the time to develop relationships with potential B.C. representatives, distributors, agents, strategic alliance partners, and end-users in order to take advantage of the multiple Olympics-related opportunities." The site tells businesses, under the 2010 Olympics heading, "The U.S. Commercial Service office in Vancouver can arrange appointments for U.S. companies with B.C. businesses to initiate or increase exports to western Canada..."

The U.S. Commercial Service in Canada also helps Canadian companies looking to work out arrangements with American companies, noting that it can help Canadians find "... qualified suppliers of U.S. goods and services."

RESOURCES

VANCOUVER CONTACT INFORMATION

Cheryl Schell, Commercial Specialist
U.S. Consulate General
1095 West Pender Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6E 2M6
Ph: (604) 642-6679
Fax: (604) 687-6095
E-mail: cheryl.schell@mail.doc.gov
Web Page listing contact info for other Canadian cities:
http://www.buyusa.gov/canada/en/3.html

Web page listing major Olympics-related projects for American businesses:
http://www.buyusa.gov/canada/en/vancouverolympics.html

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 18, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government|
PENTICTON TAKES NEXT STEP IN BUILDING C$30 MILLION HOCKEY AND CULTURAL CENTRE

Penticton City Council decided Monday to begin the formal planning process for its proposed C$30 million South Okanagan Event and Cultural Centre, scheduled to open the summer of 2008, and -- the City hopes -- to be partially paid for by 2010 Legacy funds.

Penticton is in British Columbia's Okanagan valley.

The centre, which is to be built next to the Memorial Arena and the Penticton Community Centre, is to include two hockey rinks and be capable of hosting cultural events with a 2010 tie-in, and possibly used as a 2010 training centre by other countries.

Besides government funding, a major sponsor -- the speculation is Boston Pizza -- may contribute as well.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 18, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government|
CANADA ANNOUNCES C$15 MILLION HYDROGEN FUEL RESEARCH FACILITY FOR 2010 TRANSPORT

A new C$15-million research facility and technology centre, which will be the new home of the National Research Council's Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation, is to be built on the campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

It's part of the Canadian government's investment in 2010-related projects and, in particular, the development of seven locations between Vancouver and Whistler before 2010 as part of the so-called Hydrogen-Highway concept to move people between the two cities using hydrogen-based fuel cells in public transport. And it follows the Olympic theme of environmental sustainability, according to the the federal government.

The facility, is parallel to, but not part of, the 2010 Games venue construction and, ironically, it will be part of the competition for construction firms and labour during the next few years that is causing the Vancouver Olympic Committee to rethink its budgets and venue construction plans to allay rising costs associated with the projected demand and shortages.

Federal environment minister David Anderson and the Stephen Owen, the federal Minister of Public Works and Government Services, made the announcement today, making no reference to the fact that many scientists and business people involved in the industry are split as to whether hydrogen-fuel cell technology can be mass-produced any time soon.

"This new NRC facility will be one of the first of seven nodes to be built in the Hydrogen Highway," they said, instead. "It will be the demonstration site for many innovative fuel cells systems and technologies being developed in time for the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Winter Olympics."

RESOURCES

NRC web page providing background to today's announcement:
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/highlights/0405hydrogen_e.html
Ballard Power Systems, a major Vancouver-area fuel-cell company:
http://www.ballard.com/

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 18, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |General|
A STREAM OF SMALL STORIES DEVELOPED OVER THE LAST FEW DAYS...

Tidbits we've gleaned in the last few days...

The B.C. government's campaign for the election May 17, 2005 is expected to include commentary about the need to keep the Campbell government in place for stability during construction of the 2010 Olympic venues. The Nordic and Sliding Centres are due to break ground about this time next year, depending on the outcome of a design bidding process this summer and fall.
The provincial government is expected to start making announcements this fall about how it will spend its C$40 million budgeted for Olympics-related projects this year. Premier Gordon Campbell said in Penticton that the government during the next six months will continue to develop benchmarks to assess what he says are "about C$400 million" worth of proposals for the fund, and "work towards creating partnerships with the federal government and communities" in connection with it.
VANOC CEO John Furlong says of the current search for senior vice-presidents of the organization, expected to be hired in the next month or so [Morgan:News:2010:Number:276:Published: 4/30/2004], that resumes have come in from a number of countries, not just Canada: "We're trying to make sure where we hire we are hiring people who are all driven by the same set of values. We want the people we hire to get as much as they can from the experience, but we also want them to give as much as they can to it as well." VANOC is also looking for a number of middle-management people and office help, too [Number:264:Published: 4/26/2004]. Furlong says there are two types of people applying, the type that says, 'The Games are coming and I want a piece of them.'," and the type that says, 'The Games are coming and I want to help make them successful.'." He says he's looking for the latter.
Here's some more of Furlong's Games philosophy, "I believe we can change the fortunes of a generation here [in Canada] if we do it right. I think we should settle for nothing less. If you decide these values are important enough that we can really change the way children grow up, the way families behave, the way businesses conduct themselves, we might be able to cause a whole shift in thinking of the importance of things that typically get us all bogged down."
Furlong says he still has concerns about the construction costs of the speedskating oval venue, to be built in 2006, in part because of a geotechnical report that frets about the foundation requirements on Burnaby Mountain of building a large flat surface that needs to stay that way for 30 years, and which might increase the construction cost by 20% unless changes are made either to the location or the building's use. But, he says, he doesn't have any similar concerns about any other of the venues... yet.
Furlong also told Vancouver Sun sports columnist Gary Mason that he eats and sleeps the 2010 Olympics, as well as works 16-hour days. Sometimes, he smiles, he doesn't sleep. "Do you ever have nightmares about it all?" Mason asked Furlong. "Just about every other night," was the reply.
The British Columbia Ready-Mix Concrete Association president Rod Owen-Flood says that the cost of concrete continues to rise in Vancouver as construction-demand projections, which affect 2010 venue pricing, continues to move upward. The price of ready-mix concrete is up about 4% in the past year. Forming prices have doubled to about $12 per contact foot in the last six months, Placing and finishing is up 5% over the last 12 months, rebar (the steel rods that reinforce concrete) is up an average 60% in the same time period. VANOC venue pricing is in 2002 dollars, but the provincial government has established contingency budget of about 30% of the total venue budget.
In [Morgan:News:2010:Number:232:Published:4/1/2004], we told you that Big Rock Brewery Partnership of Calgary was methodically making its way through the process of registering the trademark "Whistler 2010 Lager", and that it is still quite early in the process, even though the partnership started it last summer. The company has now decided to "voluntarily" abandon the registration process and the trademark. Big Rock, one of North America's largest specialty brewers, owns Kamloops Brewery and Whistler Brewing Company. Sales for the nine months ending December 31 were C$36.9 million. Speaking of which, lawyer Bill Stemp of Stemp & Company in Calgary has done a formal search, possibly for a client interested in sticking the number "2010" on a wide range of wares, from toys, sporting goods and clothing.
News media around the world are a-twitter over the influence Vancouver's geographical position might have on whether a North American or European city might win the 2012 Summer Olympics. Paris, London, New York, Madrid and Moscow were shortlisted by the International Olympic Committee today, with the collected wisdom thinking that it is more likely to go to a European city because North America's Vancouver got the 2010 Games. Geopolitical considerations of that sort by the IOC do not even show up on the radar, however, as the award of other games, sometimes back-to-back European cities winning.
The CEO of Austalasian Access, Andrew Gilkes, will be in Vancouver to speak to the Vancouver Board of Trade on June 2 during a luncheon about Olympic economic lessons from the Sydney Summer Games. The company's website is here: .
One of the top-level sponsors for the 2010 Winter Games is Visa, the credit card company. Derek Fry, president of Visa Canada, will be talking to the Vancouver Board of Trade on June 8 about Olympic sponsorship. He's expected to say, among other things, that Visa is setting up a partnership with Tourism Whistler to help promote the community internationally leading up to the 2010 Olympic Games. The deal will be similar to the one that Visa did with Sydney, Australia, host of the 2000 Summer Games. It would market Whistler as a destination to Visa cardholders around the world. Mid-sized companies will be given access to Visa-specific Olympic branding through a corporate-driven sponsorship aspect of the program.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 18, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |IOC|
(FEATURE) IOC APPROVES NEW POLICY ON SEX-CHANGES AFFECTING ATHLETES

The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has formally approved a new policy allowing Olympic participants who have undergone a sex change to compete, and to do so under their new gender.

Since the policy takes effect immediately, it affects athletes intending to take part in the 2010 Winter Games, as well as Olympics between now and then. It was not immediately known whether the decision affects any athletes planning on competing in the 2010 Winter Olympics, but the policy clears the way for their participation.

In the IOC's history, there have only been rare cases of athletes who have competed under one gender and later in life undergone sex reassignment. Even more rarely, such an athlete has competed under the new gender. Such cases were dealt with individually by the national sports federations, but without any clear rules or direction from the IOC. "They have, however, been extremely rare and do not seem to have created a significant problem for sport in general," said an IOC spokesman.

However, he said, methods today are much better at flagging transsexuals, and that includes better treatment for the changes required, so the number of individuals undergoing sex reassignment has increased. The increase has become particularly significant after the introduction of legislation with respect to sex reassignment in many countries.

The policy followed the consensus proposed by the IOC's Medical Commission, during a meeting in Stockholm, Sweden last fall.

The main thrust of the new policy is that any "individuals undergoing sex reassignment of male to female before puberty should be regarded as girls and women" (female). This also applies to individuals undergoing female to male reassignment, who should be regarded as boys and men (male), said an IOC spokesman.

Individuals undergoing sex reassignment after puberty will also be eligible to take part in their new female or male competitions but there are some conditions:

Surgical anatomical changes have been completed, including external genitalia changes and gonadectomy
Legal recognition of their assigned sex has been conferred by the appropriate official authorities
Hormonal therapy appropriate for the assigned sex has been administered in a verifiable manner and for a sufficient length of time to minimize gender-related advantages in sport competitions.

The IOC says "eligibility should begin no sooner than two years after gonadectomy, however a confidential case-by-case evaluation will occur." In the event that the gender of a competing athlete is questioned, the IOC says the medical delegate of the national sports group affiliated with the athlete has the final word.

BACKGROUND

The increasing number of cases of sex reassignment, says the IOC, is increasingly affecting sport. Although individuals who undergo sex reassignment usually have personal problems that make sports competition an unlikely activity for them, it says, there are some for whom participation in sport is important.

The first international sports organization to address the issue was the
IAAF — the International Association of Athletics Federations — in 1990. An expert seminar unanimously recommended that any person who has undergone sex reassignment before puberty should be accepted in sport under the assigned gender.

Individuals who have undergone sex reassignment after puberty were considered to represent a more complex problem, since they have been under the influence of hormones under their former gender during their puberty. In particular, a male puberty would mean an influence of testosterone, which could, in theory, be of importance even after a reassignment to female gender. It was, therefore, recommended that any such case be evaluated on an individual basis by experts before a decision be taken by the relevant sports authority. These recommendations have served as guiding principles for the IOC when questions have been asked.

In recent years it has become apparent, says the IOC, that the recommendation to make a case-by-case evaluation of athletes who have undergone sex reassignment after puberty isn't working well. The IOC has been asked to explain what such an evaluation should include, and what requirements should be fulfilled before the athlete is allowed to compete under the new gender.

The IOC says the new policy is the result of updating the IAAF guidelines by a panel of experts. The most debated aspects have been:

For how long will the hormonal influence of the earlier puberty be of importance?
Will the testosterone influence on the muscular strength during male puberty ever disappear?
For how long should the treatment with female hormones last in order to be considered sufficient?
How can one make sure that the required treatment with female hormone does really take place?

All those questions were addressed by the panel, which also sought advice from further outside experts, before the enclosed recommendations were made, and now confirmed by the IOC.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 17, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC|
FURLONG APPLAUDS ADDITIONAL FEDERAL FUNDING FOR HIGH-PERFORMANCE SPORT

The CEO of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, John Furlong, is among those who welcome the federal government's announcement that it will add another C$20 million in new funding to support major athletes in Canada as a springboard for Olympics in 2006, 2008 and 2010.

It is, he says, "important support for our high-performance athletes. Simply a great boost for Canadian sport. This is a substantial contribution for amateur athletes - a real commitment to building a successful future - and it will go a long way to helping Canadian athletes' pursuit of the podium in Vancouver and Whistler in 2010."

Stan Keyes, the federal government's Minister of State for Sport, and Minister of Canadian Heritage Helene Chalifour Scherrer, announced the investment at news conferences in Toronto and Quebec City.

The money is a one-year investment in the Canadian sport system. The government said it can be used to strengthen athlete development by supporting coaches, sport organizations, training centres and logistical items, like travel costs. Because of its timing and delivery, the funding can't be used directly for the Athens Summer Olympics in August, but the fact that it's on the horizon now allows sports organizations to free up funds being held in reserve. It is in addition to the C$30 million announced recently in the federal budget and brings the government's total investment to C$120 million for its 2005 fiscal year, its highest ever.

"This is a timely and welcomed investment that gets us started on the road to the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Olympic and Paralympic Games" said Tom McIlfaterick, chief executive officer of the Canadian Snowboard Federation.

Chris Rudge, CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee, was also positive:"We commend Minister Keyes for his efforts to support high-performance athletes and sport in Canada, and thank the government for their action in recognizing that support for our athletes is crucial for success."

The announcement timing was carefully organized for strategic public-relations effect. When the federal budget was presented earlier this year, sports groups had been led to believe there would be C$50 million it in it for them, but they could only express mild disappointment when they discovered only $30 million had been allocated. Now, only a few weeks later, the announcement of the top-up amount is prompting positive reaction and its attendant publicity, which moves that reaction out from under the distraction of coverage of other federal budget news just as the country is about to head into a federal election, expected for June 28.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 16, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Sports|
OLYMPICS 2010 SUPPORTER NAMED MANAGING DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL SKI AND SNOWBOARD GROUP

A man who has been a strong behind-the-scenes supporter and worker for Vancouver's 2010 Winter Games and the Olympics in general has been named managing director of the Canadian Ski and Snowboard Association (CSSA).

Dave Pym, who has been vice president of the CSSA since 2001, is now the senior staff person for the CSSA and the primary contact between it and the International Ski Federation.

Pym is part of Vancouver 2010's Alpine Working Group, he chaired Alpine Canada’s work on the Canadian selection for the Olympic Winter Games, and in other roles contributed to the International Olympic Committee's Olympic Results and Information Systems project from 1998 to 2001.

In his role with CSSA, Pym will be the person the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Organizing Committee deals with on skiing and snowboarding issues. His job is deal with his organization's staff and run fund-raising campaigns, among other things.

Pym has been a racer, coach and ski club president during the three decades he's been involved in the sports.

He's also quite capable of offering VANOC advice on other fronts as well.
Pym, in a career of insurance and risk-management, has dealt with major construction projects and the utilities industry. He was a founder, president and CEO of a national insurance and risk-management firm.

Recently, Pym has served as the managing director of the International Specialized Risk Management Division (ISRM) of Crawford Adjusters Canada, specializing in part in sports accident, liability and risk management issues.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 14, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Business|
KUNIN DOUBTS RAV LINE CANCELLATION WOULD AFFECT PREDICTIONS OF CONSTRUCTION COST INCREASES

The president of the consulting firm that put together workforce supply and demand studies for the 2010 planning says that if the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver rapid transit line fails to proceed, it will have little effect on forecast labour shortages.

That's because, says Roslyn Kunin, of Roslyn Kunin & Associates in Vancouver, the RAV line, though big, simply isn't big enough. "The RAV line is only about C$1 billion. But the estimates of capital construction between now and, say, 2015 range from C$7 billion to C$15 billion. So the withdrawal of the RAV line workforce simply wouldn't have much influence."

The amount of construction expected to happen at the same times as the venue construction and renovation for the 2010 Winter Games, coupled with higher-than-normal demand for building materials such as concrete and steel, is concerning VANOC planners that overall construction costs could escalate beyond Bid budgets, with a 20% increase currently being discussed by experts in the Lower Mainland.

Kunin notes those capital-expenditure figures are just for British Columbia. If the economy in the rest of Canada also improved during the venue-construction period, and, for that matter, if the American economy improved in the Pacific Northwest, where we also compete to an extent for supplies and labour, the shortages -- and thus the cost escalations -- could get even worse.

Kunin prepared two detailed technical reports in April, 2003 on workforce supply and demand for the 2010 Winter Games Human Resources Planning Committee. And she was also involved in the Spirit of 2010 Business Conference May 3, discussing labour supply and demand requirements with about 750 corporate participants, before the Greater Vancouver Regional District decided to not proceed with the project that would link Vancouver with its airport and the neighboring suburb of Richmond with an extension of the city's elevated rapid-transit system.

Kunin doubts that the line's cancellation -- and there are reports this week that it may yet be resurrected -- would even have a psychological effect, that could push demand and prices down simply because they were no longer being built into budgets on speculation of an effect.

"The people in construction that I've been talking to are looking at a much bigger picture. From their point of view, there wouldn't even be a feeling that demand was dampening with the disappearance of the RAV line."

However, she added, sardonically: "You could make the case that if we can't even put together the RAV line, what hope do we have for doing an Olympics."

RESOURCES

Final Report of the 2010 Human Resource Planning Committee: Maximizing 2010-Related Employment and Skills Opportunities in British Columbia: Connecting Labour Supply and Demand (December, 2003, 87 pages, 657 kb)
http://Morgan-News.com/2010/SupportFiles/2004-05/2010_HRP_Committee_Final.pdf
Kunin & Associates; Labour Demand to 2010:
http://Morgan-News.com/2010/SupportFiles/2004-05/2010_labour_demand.pdf
Kunin & Associates; Labour Supply to 2010:
http://Morgan-News.com/2010/SupportFiles/2004-05/2010_labour_supply.pdf
Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 14, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC|
COMMUNICATIONS ISSUES AT VANOC PROMPT LOGO DESIGN CONTROVERSY

It appears that a breakdown within the communications department of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee resulted in an ethical controversy that may prevent about 2,000 of Canada's top designers from working on the competition to design the 2010 Olympic logo.

The controversy erupted during a Vancouver news conference by VANOC CEO John Furlong to announce a design competition for the logo, which he said would become "one of the best known sports marks in the world." And, he said, the process to develop it was the result of considerable collaboration.

Furlong had finished outlining for reporters a process that would invite designers across Canada to participate in a two-day design conference June 9 and 10 in Vancouver. The event would mark the start of the competition for the logo, which VANOC Executive Communications Director Jane Burnes said would be limited to professional designers aged 19 and over. Furlong said the winner of the competition would receive a prize of C$25,000 and two tickets to the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Games.

However, Matthew Warburton, the president of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada's National Secretariat, who was in the audience, told Furlong that his organization's code of ethics specifically prohibits Society members from doing work on a speculative basis. That, he said, would mean that for ethical reasons, the Society's 2,000 members across Canada would not be able to take part in the competition, since all but one of them would not be paid for their work.

The Society's handbook, "Graphic Design, a guide for buyers," says "A professional designer does not engage in speculative, uncompensated commercial projects." The concept is also an easily found section of its website, which notes, "Occasionally, members are asked to provide speculative design solutions on project tenders. These tenders usually also state that these design solutions will play an integral role in a final selection process. As a result, designers find themselves in an untenable position, as they feel pressured to set aside time from contracted client work to provide solutions to projects and clients they have a less than clear understanding and knowledge of. Often, enormous commitments of resources are being requested, and for solutions that are never really relevant or even useful."

Furlong, clearly taken aback, said that VANOC was simply following standard Olympic protocols when it developed the process of the conference and competition, and added later that he would "find it hard to imagine that we could afford to pay every one of the number of entrants expected." He added, "That kind of protocol doesn't exist anywhere in the Olympics." Beijing's competition last year for the logo symbolizing its 2008 summer games garnered more than 1,600 entrants and was run on the same lines.

Burnes, quietly furious with Warburton, said later that she too was blindsided by his comments because she said a member of her staff had discussed the competition and conference with Warburton during the planning stages. "He had every opportunity to talk about this. But now he's screwed his 2,000 members who might have wanted to take part. It's parochial and narrow-minded."

Warburton agreed that he received a phone call "about a week ago" from Megan Turnbull, a communications co-ordinator working with Burnes, and that it was a substantive one, "the call lasted about 20 or 25 minutes." During that time, Warburton said that while they talked about a number of aspects of what VANOC was planning, including aspects of the conference, but he said he felt he was clear in making sure she understood the ethical issues involved. However, he admitted, "I didn't belabour the part about designers being prevented from participating. I didn't belabour that."

Turnbull, for her part, says she and Warburton talked "about the idea of designers being rewarded", but she felt it was in the context of the prize and what was a reasonable size for the prize. She said they also discussed aspects of the conference but that she recalled no discussion about the ethical issues.

Warburton said professional designers have the ethical rule in place because it takes training, education and experience to become a professional graphic designer. "You can bet they [VANOC] wouldn't be asking architects to compete for the honour of designing the speed-skating oval without offering to pay them for their services." He said designers held a conference last January in Vancouver with their counterparts from Salt Lake City, which hosted the 2002 Winter Games, and they were warned about a wide number of issues and problems that stemmed from the emblem competition concept and implementation of the eventual choice of Salt Lake's logo design for what Warburton called "the exploding snowflake."

Burnes, when briefed on the what each party to the phone call felt had been said, and that it boiled down to a he-said/she-said issued, replied, "Well, what can I say? I can't make every phone call."

RESOURCES

The portion of the website of the Graphic Designers of Canada dealing with speculative projects:
http://GDC.NET/for_business/design_resources.php?id=5&press=1&draw_column=3:1:2
The portion of the Designer's website dealing with its Code of Ethics:
http://GDC.NET/for_business/ethics.php?id=1&press=1&draw_column=3:1:2

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 13, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC|
CANADIAN-ONLY DESIGN COMPETITION FOR NEW LOGO TO START WITH TWO-DAY CONFERENCE

The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee has launched a Canadian-only national competition for a new logo "to symbolize the magic of Canada's 2010 Winter Games."

VANOC CEO John Furlong said the Committee will invited professional designers and design students from across the country to a conference at the Pan Pacific Hotel's Crystal Pavilion on June 9 and 10, to brief them on the values it wants the emblem to embody. He and B.C. premier Gordon Campbell will introduce the conference on June 9, which is mainly an evening session, while following day will involve a number of speakers and a panel discussion.

The design competition, Furlong said, "will draw our attention to the power of this project that we've been working on." He added that the logo, "will be the cornerstone of the look of the year 2010 as we go forward... it will be very important to the look and feel" of the Games.

Furlong, noting that the existing Bid Corporation logo has to die for contractual reasons, said that VANOC will not be able to do any marketing until January 1, 2005 under terms of its operating agreement with the International Olympic Committee. As a result, he said, "invitations will start going out tomorrow and for the rest of this week" to every designer in Canada to attend the conference and take part in the competition.

The conference will have an entry fee of C$150, and C$50 for students, but no entrance fee or payment is required to enter the design competition itself. Furlong said the conference fee is designed to recover costs, and that each participant would also receive a copy of "The Olympic Image: The First 100 Years," a 448-page coffee-table type book written by Canadian
by Wei Yew, who has written a number of design books, and published in 1997 by Books Nippon. It's currently out of print but for sale for US$90 on Amazon.

An international design panel will be set up to review submissions, and that "VANOC and the International Olympic Committee will choose the winning design." Furlong later said that the IOC would have to "sign off" on the design but that "I wouldn't say it's a veto."

Furlong said that the winner of the design competition would be announced, "early in the new year", which VANOC marketing consultant said would be February 12, exactly five years from the opening ceremonies. The winner would receive C$25,000 and two tickets to the opening ceremonies of the Games.

Furlong said the logo was destined "to become one of the most recognized logos in the world over the next eight years." He added, "For athletes and volunteers, the Olympic Games are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. That's exactly how a designer must feel about creating an Olympic Games emblem. After all, no other piece of work in a design portfolio will get the sort of international attention that comes from designing a logo for the world's greatest sporting event."

According to the process, which Furlong said was still being worked out, the design competition is open only to Canadian professionals. This includes, according to VANOC documents, "The competition is open to Canadian design, advertising or creative professionals, firms, agencies, organizations and individuals engaged in the development of brand identities, visual communications, marketing and imaging strategies. Canadian students enrolled in post-secondary design programs are also eligible. All entrants and individuals involved in the creation of a submitted design must be Canadian and at least 19 years of age as of the date the entry form is completed." Nineteen is the age of majority in British Columbia. People associated with VANOC, the Canadian Olympic Committee or the International Olympic Committee are barred from entering.

Communications spokesman Jane Burnes said the age restriction is necessary "because of the legal ramifications involved." VANOC would be buying all of the reproduction rights to the design that is eventually chosen, and she said, "we'd have to own the logo." Furlong said the judging criteria were still being worked out, as were the members of the judging panel.

Furlong said the competition is being restricted to Canadians because, "These are Canada's games and it's important that Canadians design it."

The logo-design conference will hear from design experts involved in previous and future Olympic Games -- Sydney Summer Games 2000, Salt Lake City Winter Games 2002, Athens Summer Games 2004, Torino Winter Games 2006 and the Beijing Summer Games in 2008.

VANOC says the logo for the Paralympic Games, which follow the Olympics by a month, will not be involved in this process and, in fact, won't even get going until after the Olympic games logo is decided. "Once the new 2010 Olympic Winter Games emblem is chosen, VANOC will determine the best design development process for the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games."

RESOURCES

VANOC's new website section dealing with the logo design contest and the design conference. Some design entry and competition details will not be available on the site until June 10:

http://www.winter2010.com/design/
The direct jump to the agenda for the design conference (it can also be reached by following the links on the address above):
https://secure.dll1.com/v2010/agenda.asp
Amazon's entry for the book "The Olympic Image":
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0969443277/104-4353632-4263109?v=glance

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 13, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC|
COMMITTEE BEGINS COPYRIGHT PROCEEDINGS ON FIVE PHRASES, 6TH BY THE COC

The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee has begun reserving several more trademarks with the Canadian Copyright Board.

VANOC, through its law firm, Borden Ladner Gervais of Vancouver, has requested the Copyright Board trademark the phrases "Winter 2010", the French equivalent "Hiver 2010", "Canada 2010" and "Vancouver 2010". These have all been published in the Board's Gazette, Volume 51, issue 2581 and the comment period will expire June 14.

In addition, VANOC spokesman Sam Corea says "Info2010" has also been reserved as it will be the trade name of the game results reporting system used by VANOC during the Games. However an informal search of the database, which was updated May 11, did not show this mark as having yet been registered.

As well, the Canadian Olympic Committee has asked the Copyright Board to reserve the phrase "Whistler 2010", though its law firm of Sim Burney in Toronto. The phrase was gazetted in Volume 50, issue 2576.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 13, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC|
NEWS CONFERENCE TODAY MARKS END OF COMMITTEE'S HONEYMOON PERIOD

Reporters at today's news conference by the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee to announce the logo design contest noticed a slight chill in the air as the honeymoon period for VANOC ground to an end.

Reporters questions to CEO John Furlong and his communications staff - primarily Jane Burnes, who says she has now moved from her role as Communications Director for the B.C. Government's Olympics Secretariat to work on contract with the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, and Sam Corea - were noticeably sharper and less forgiving.

On the other side, Furlong, though he continued to be as affable and willing to answer all questions as he has been in the past, he smiled less and worked harder at it, and less likely to offer further openings or additional information beyond the questions asked. And the staffers were bristling and edgy at times during the 45-minute session at the Wosk Centre in downtown Vancouver.

Certainly in part the VANOC crew were disappointed that their carefully orchestrated announcement about a celebratory logo-design contest and conference for designing a key marketing aspect of the Games's image was crippled by the comments of Matthew Warburton, the Vancouver-based president of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, who flagged ethical issues with the process that VANOC, following Olympic protocols, had used for the competition.

Recent stories in various media have speculated on the possibility of rising construction costs, and so reporters are now routinely asking about costs of various aspects of the Games. For instance, Furlong was asked how much the design conference would cost. He readily replied, however, that most of the cost would be recovered from the fees charged to attendees, but said there would be what he called "a small upfront" cost of arranging the conference.

But the decision of VANOC to tell the International Olympic Committee's Commission overseeing the 2010 Games that geo-technical issues may force it to move the Speed-Skating Oval from Burnaby Mountain where it would be used as a legacy building for Simon Fraser University's high-performance athlete section and not pass that information along to the public until the story broke five weeks later, also left a crispness in the news conference air. "That was an issue that only important to you," Furlong said brusquely to one reporter who questioned VANOC's transparency in the matter. "It was never a problem with the IOC. They said that what we were doing" - reviewing the location on a number of fronts for a decision that's not expected to be made until late summer - "was just fine with it."

But Furlong, when asked if he intended in the future to discuss troubles that VANOC might be having as well as the positive aspects, relaxed somewhat and replied, "Of course I will."

He also responded after the news conference to reporters questions about the B.C. Federation of Labour urging an accord between it, the construction unions, the B.C. Government and VANOC to ensure labour peace on the venues. He sidestepped the question, saying only that VANOC intended to collaborate with many groups, including labour, and that it had discussions with "construction and tourism" and that none had indicated anything other than willing to help ensure the Games were successful.

One minor note: the news conference materials provided to reporters, including a news release and fact sheet were, for the first time, also provided in French and Corea, as he welcomed reporters, briefly welcomed them in French as well, though the rest of the news conference was conducted in English and there was no other translation facilities available.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 13, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC|
COMMITTEE BOARD TO MEETING JUNE 16

The next meeting of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee's Board of Directors is sent for June 16, according to VANOC CEO John Furlong.

Furlong did not confirm this, but the agenda is expected to discuss the status of VANOC's move to its new location at 1095 West Pender Street in Vancouver, the status hiring vice-presidents to handle the main organizational aspects of the Committee, the status of the Speed-Skating Oval review and the status of the venue work at the Callaghan Valley near Whistler.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 13, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Business|
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS SOCIETY PREXY SAYS SETTLEMENT OVER ETHICS ISSUE COULD BE RESOLVED

Matthew Warburton, the president of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, says it's possible there's a negotiated settlement of the ethical issues it has with the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee.

Warburton says that his primary concern is that professional designers not enter the VANOC logo-design competition without being paid "a reasonable fee" for doing so.

But he says, he would no longer be concerned about the competition -- and the 2,000 members of his organization, including some of the top graphic designers in Canada -- if a fee could be negotiated.

Warburton said he didn't want to put a number on that fee ought to be, but said that he was pleased that VANOC CEO John Furlong indicated he'd be willing to listen further to Warburton's concerns about the process.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 13, 2004

Friday, June 11, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC|
FURLONG BUMPS UP LAUNCH DATE FOR LOGO CONTEST

The CEO of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, John Furlong, has apparently decided to bump up the time for the launch date of a public contest to create and choose a logo for the 2010 Winter Games.

VANOC marketing consultant Linda Harmon said May 3 that the contest would likely be launched in mid-June [see Morgan:News:2010:#285, May 3, 2004], but Furlong to make the launch announcement tomorrow morning and explain the details of the contest. The current logo, which the Bid Corporation designed early in its mandate and which is still being used by Bid sponsors, must be retired this year, according to the terms of the Corporation's agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The winning logo will become one of the most recognized brands in Canada almost overnight, and will be used on all manner of Olympic marketing materials at least until 2012, when VANOC's rights to use Olympic slogans and marks will revert to the International Olympic Committee.

The general idea of the contest, which has been used successfully in other Winter and Summer Games, is expected to follow the plan in the next paragraph, but this will not be confirmed until Furlong makes the announcement tomorrow and describes Vancouver's process in detail:

VANOC will likely host a conference for would-be designers to provide the concepts the logo should embody and that it should speak to the world about the Games, that the logo will be part of how the world, through international marketing and branding of souvenirs, will perceive and remember the Games. A prize for the winning design is likely to be offered. The designers of previous successful logos may do presentations for the conference. Logo designs would be submitted to a judging committee, which would then select a shortlist. Some thought will be required to create a winning entry since several of the symbols most associated with the Olympic Games are copyright protected and can't be used. These include the interlocking rings, the torch and the words "Olympic", "Olympic Games" and Olympiad." The designers of the shortlisted logos would then be invited it make any last-minute adjustments to clean up their designs. The VANOC board would rank the final designs. The ranked list would then be presented first to the International Olympic Committee for approval and then announced on February 12, 2005, at the five-year mark before the Games' opening ceremony. After the competition is completed, VANOC would host an exhibition of the entries that may travel across Canada.

When Beijing, which is hosting the 2008 Summer Games, launched its contest last year, it received about 2,000 entries.

Besides being used ubiquitously, the logo may even end up on B.C. vehicle license plates. On the two previous occasions that the Olympics have been held in Canada, the host provinces have both issued special license plates. In 1976, Quebec commemorated the Summer Olympics in Montreal by stamping the Games’ logo onto the plates issued to every motorist. In 1988, Alberta issued special license plates featuring the logo of the Winter Games being held in Calgary that year with the slogan “XV Olympic Winter Games.”

RESOURCES

Beijing's logo exhibit:
http://en.olympic.cn/08beijing/qingdao/2003-11-18/127438.html
http://en.beijing-2008.org/74/68/article211616874.shtml

London, England's 2012 logo samples:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/photo_galleries/3242020.stm

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 12, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government|
BC GOVERNMENT REFUTES "20% OVER-BUDGET" RUMOR ABOUT VENUE COSTS

The top spokesman for the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee refutes suggestions VANOC thinks the 2010 Game venues will be 20% over-budget, pointing out that preliminary designs haven't yet been done, let alone costed.

Jane Burnes, now the executive director of communications and government relations for the B.C. government's secretariat overseeing the Games, says, "Meeting the timelines and budget set for the Vancouver 2010 Games are top priorities for the Organizing Committee. That's why we are using 2004 as a planning year, reviewing and refining our entire Games delivery system, to make sure we are on track and have realistic budgets in place."

The 20% figure was contained in some media reports discussing VANOC's review of the high-performance skating oval venue slated for construction on Burnaby Mountain adjacent to Simon Fraser University. The Vancouver Sun newspaper, for instance, attributed the statement to VANOC CEO John Furlong, but Burnes says, "At no time did Mr. Furlong make that statement."

VANOC is considering a number of options, one of which is moving the oval to other locations, following a geotechnical report of the land on which the oval is to be built. VANOC has consultants reviewing all of the venues on a timetable so that firms interested in designing the projects are working from similar data.

There is speculation, since VANOC has so far declined to release the geotechnical report, that it felt the oval could be built there provided extra foundation work be done to stabilize the structure.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 11, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Business
Government|
TELUS, B.C., SPONSOR ECONOMIC-DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP SERIES FOCUSING ON 2010 AND B.C.'S INTERIOR

Telus Communications, the B.C. government and the Economic Development Association of B.C. (EDA) today begin a series of economic workshops in the province's interior to talk about ways in which the 2010 Games and development can influence each other over the next few years.

The workshops are part of a program called Ramp Up!, which Telus spokesman Karen Dosanjh says, "is designed to build upon existing economic development initiatives and help deliver a sustainable long-term economic road map for British Columbia."

The program was co-designed by Telus, the Ministry of Small Business and Economic Development and EDA. Frank Knott, an internationally recognized authority on "regional economic development, and cluster strategy development and implementation," is taking part in the sessions.

Dosanjh says that "Extensive research is also being conducted into lessons learned from previous Olympic-host jurisdictions about leveraging opportunities associated with the Games for long-term economic development," and that this will complement the community's input at the sessions.

The results of the sessions, which she calls "a road map", will be developed "by combining national and international research on economic, political and market trends with British Columbia's strengths and economic development initiatives. The goal is to identify the most profitable and sustainable areas for focus in today's global economy."

Dosanjh says that "In the early fall, the road map, and recommendations for next steps, will be presented at public events throughout the province."

BACKGROUND

Telus says the workshops will take place as follows:

May 11 - Workshop for the West Kootenay region in Nelson
May 13 - Workshop for East Kootenay region in Cranbrook
May 25 - Workshop for the Vancouver Island/Coast region in Campbell River
June 14 - Workshop for the Northeast region in Fort St. John
June 16 - Workshop for the Cariboo region in Prince George
June 18 - Workshop for the Thompson/Okanagan region in Chase

They're still working on the date and location of the seventh workshop, for the Northwest region. The Lower Mainland of B.C, which includes Vancouver and Whistler, and the southern part of Vancouver Island, which includes the provincial capital of Victoria, are not included, says Dosanjh, because the focus is on the province's smaller communities.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 11, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government|
CANADIAN MILITARY CHIEF MEETS WITH GREEK COUNTERPARTS FOR 2010 SECURITY PLANS

The head of Canada's armed forces has met with Greek defence officials Monday to discuss security for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The Greek Defence Ministry said Gen. Raymond Henault held talks with deputy defence Minister Vassilis Michaliolakos, who briefed him on the security planning for the Athens Summer Olympics, which will be held three months from now, from August 13 to the 29. The Athens games are designed to be about three times as large as the 2010 Games.

They also discussed NATO's deployment in Afghanistan, where both countries have forces.

According to a Defence Ministry statement, Henault requested Greek information that would help him with security planning for the 2010 Olympics.

Greece is spending about C$1.65 billion on Olympic protection that will involve more than 50,000 police and soldiers, and includes assistance from NATO and the European Union.

The Vancouver Bid Corporation, which budgeted C$1.4 million on security of its own, which doesn't include military costs that are paid for by Ottawa, has already discussed preliminary security concepts with the Canadian military and factored it into its own planning.

The RCMP, it says, "will lead an Integrated Public Safety Command Security Planning Group with other agencies. This single body will have overall responsibility for coordination of security during the Vancouver 2010 Games. A Central Command Centre, headed by the RCMP, will coordinate all security during the operational phase of the Games. Agencies operating under the unified command system will include the RCMP, the Vancouver Police Department, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the Canadian Forces and other local public safety agencies."

VANOC planning documents suggest that 8,500 security personnel will be deployed on a typical Games day in 2010.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 11, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Labour|
BC FED, CONSTRUCTION UNIONS TURN UP PRESSURE ON VANOC, BC GOVERNMENT

The B.C. Federation of Labour and the heads of B.C.'s construction unions, already rebuffed earlier in their calls for a contract to build the 2010 Winter Games venues, turned up the pressure on the B.C. Government and the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee another notch today.

BC Fed president Jim Sinclair told a news conference in Vancouver that B.C.'s choice is to negotiate a labour accord to ensure labour peace between now and 2010, or face construction delays and cost overruns.

As he put it, "We can actually do an excellent job here and all feel good about what we're doing here, We're obviously encouraging the other partners in this and the Olympic Committee to sit down and have a conversation with us. We can decide if we're going to build a games that runs smoothly, on time and on budget, like the successful Sydney Olympics, or we can see the construction delays, poor management and cost overruns that plagued the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and are harming the Athens Olympics today."

Sinclair didn't mention that the Athens games were delayed due to governmental disorganization and infighting during the first three years after Athens was awarded the games. Nor did he mention that Games venues at Calgary, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, one of the most successful recent Olympics, were completed without project agreements."

Philip Hochstein, chairman of the 2010 Construction Leaders Taskforce, says "While project agreements can be dressed up to sound appealing, taxpayers should beware. At their core, these agreements can be nothing more than force monopolies, whereby suppliers - unions -are granted exclusive agreements to provide services - labour - to customers: governments or taxpayers Other forms of project agreements attempt to impose work rules or social engineering conditions that ultimately drive up costs and reduce productivity." The Construction Leaders Task Force involves senior executives from 19 of B.C.’s largest construction companies.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 11, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Business|
SURVEY SHOWS VALLEY RESIDENTS MORE HOPEFUL AND OPTIMSITIC ABOUT 2010 GAMES EFFECTS

A marketing research study of 1,823 residents done in January in the Fraser Valley and Fraser Canyon regions of British Columbia, from Surrey to Boston Bar, shows that there is a rising sense of optimism about the 2010 Winter Games, and that more people are hopeful about how it will help them.

Peter Reek, general manager of CV Market Research, which did the study with Twentyten Communications, a division of the strategic-marketing firm Irving and Company, said the firms used the sense of optimism immediately after the Games were awarded last summer to Vancouver as their benchmark. The survey was done in January, but the results have only recently been released.

"We've found that one in five views the 2010 Winter Olympics more positively than they did immediately after the announcement last July," he said. He noted that 71% said their opinion had remained the same. The respondents were also asked if their opinion had become more negative. Nine percent overall said that was the case. The companies say they intend to do the research on a regular basis.

Here is how the measure of enthusiasm for the Games breaks down by community. The question "My optimism of the 2010 Olympics has become more positive since the announcement":

Port Coquitlam: 22%
Pitt Meadows: 19%
Delta: 19%
White Rock: 22%
Maple Ridge: 21%
Langley City: 22%
Langley Township: 16%
Mission: 24%
Abbotsford: 23%
Chilliwack: 18%
Kent - Harrison: 18%
Hope - Yale - Boston Bar: 25%

The survey also measured whether people thought the 2010 Games would have a positive or negative effect on their jobs. About half - 53% - said they doubted the Games would have any effect on their jobs. But of those who figured there would be an impact, most said it would be positive, while only 3% said they felt it would be negative. As you might expect, those communities that were closer to the Vancouver-area venues of the Games were more optimistic on this front that those farther away.

Here's how they answered the question, "I believe the 2010 Olympics will have a beneficial impact on job opportunities in my community."

Port Coquitlam: 52%
Pitt Meadows: 46%
Delta: 50%
White Rock: 50%
Maple Ridge: 43%
Langley City: 43%
Langley Township: 45%
Mission: 43%
Abbotsford: 49%
Chilliwack: 35%
Kent - Harrison: 29%
Hope - Yale - Boston Bar: 27%

The research also shows that nearly half the residents in the Fraser Valley feel that their quality of life will improve as a result of the games coming to Vancouver. "There is clearly a momentum gaining among B.C. residents," said Twentyten Communications director, Eric Petersen. "This survey is an indication that enthusiasm about various factors – real estate, employment, and quality of life - should continue to build as the Games approach."

The survey found that 40% of residents outside the Greater Vancouver area expect the games to have a positive impact on property values. The municipality of Port Coquitlam in particular was especially optimistic about the impact on property values, with 50% of its residents believing there will be a positive affect. Here are the results to the question "I expect the 2010 Olympics to have a positive effect on the quality of my life."

Port Coquitlam: 51%
Pitt Meadows: 39%
Delta: 49%
White Rock: 50%
Maple Ridge: 48%
Langley City: 50%
Langley Township: 44%
Mission: 36%
Abbotsford: 61%
Chilliwack: 50%
Kent - Harrison: 47%
Hope - Yale - Boston Bar: 42%

The margin of error in the survey's results is plus or minus 2.2% overall. That is, if every household in the area were surveyed, the results would be within 2.2 percentage points of the survey's results, 19 times out of 20. However, the margin of error is greater within specific communities, because of the smaller sample size taken within those communities. For most communities the margin of error is about 10%. However, for Maple Ridge and Langley District, the error was about 6%, and it was 7% in Chilliwack.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 10, 2004

Tuesday, June 08, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |IOC|
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE TO RECIEVE 2010 VIDEO-CONFERENCE REPORT THIS MONTH

The International Olympic Committee will hear a report from Vancouver's Olympic Committee by video conference this month about the current status of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games preparation. Also included in the presentation will be the chair of the IOC's commission which is overseeing the games, Rene Faisel.

The Executive Committee will get the report at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. The briefing is scheduled for 45 minutes late in the afternoon on Tuesday, May 18. The executive committee will be getting updates from all the games currently in preparation around the world as part of a three-day meeting, and Vancouver's will be the last in the series.

The meeting is expected to be told by VANOC CEO John Furlong about issues with the skating oval's location and may hear about construction-cost escalation problems, but also it is expected to be told about progress on preparations for the Nordic and Sliding Centres near Whistler, and the status of other venues.

The briefing will come about three hours after the IOC announces its short list for the cities bidding for the 2012 Summer Games, and is expected to follow a VANOC board meeting, scheduled for the middle of May.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 7, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government|
WHISTLER CONSIDERS TWO INDUSTRIAL AREAS OVER CALLAGHAN VALLEY AS ATHLETIC VILLAGE SITE

Whistler is no longer considering Callaghan Valley as the site of the proposed 2010 Athlete's Village, and is now focused on the pros and cons of two industrial-grade locations on either side of Whistler.

One, which appears to be favoured at the moment, is near a landfill area, across from the Whistler's industrial park, about 5.5 kilometres south of the village. The other is on undeveloped land between the subdivisions of Alpine and Emerald, about 5 kilometres north of the Whistler.

The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee has been waiting for Whistler to make up its mind about where the proposed Village, one of two to be built by VANOC for the Games, is to be built.

Mayor Hugh O’Reilly, who notes that the Commission overseeing construction of the Games had comments on the locations when they toured them at the beginning of April, says Whistler staff is preparing reports for council so it can make a decision in late June or early July about the final location.

The rejection of Callaghan Valley for the village, which is where the Nordic and Sliding Centres are to be built for the 2010 Games, came following a series of community meetings about the matter and was due in part to concerns about the Athletes Village being used at the basis for resident-restricted permanent housing for up to 8,000 people in the area following the Games. The B.C. Government also promised to provide Whistler with 120 hectares (300 acres) of Crown land prior to the Games, to be used for resident-restricted housing. Because of land and housing development pressures on the Whistler area, the consensus was that housing should be near Whistler and added to it, rather than start a separate community.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 7, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC|
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR NORDIC, SLIDING CENTRES TO BE PUBLISHED THIS MONTH

The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee is expected to publish later this month formal Requests for Proposals for designing the new C$60 million Nordic and C$31 million Sliding Centres near Whistler.

Forty-three companies expressed interest to VANOC that they'd like to work on the Centres, the first major venue construction project undertaken. [Morgan:News:2010:#248, April 30, 2004]

Design and construction of both venues will need at least one consulting team with expertise in general site engineering and the specialized expertise required to undertake a detailed design of the facilities for the various events. VANOC says it expects the projects will follow the stipulated-sum design-bid-build construction process.

Construction of the Nordic Centre is expected to begin either late this year or early next, and be completed by October, 2007. Temporary Olympic facilities on the locations are expected, according to VANOC, to be set up in June 2009, and completed in January 2010. The Sliding Centre will be located at Blackcomb Mountain on a bench near the Lower Gear Jammer ski run, above the Excalibur Base II station.

The Nordic Centre design is expected to be adjusted slightly to accommodate the fact that cross-country races now begin with mass starts, as opposed to having skiers to do the course one at a time. Mass starts require larger starting areas. As well, VANOC is working on various options to deal with the concept that that the slalom and GS courses, as proposed, may need to be made steeper. The bobsled and luge track, however, is expected to be the steepest in the world once its built.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 7, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government|
WHISTLER MULLS OVER CHANGES TO PARALYMPIC SLEDGE-HOCKEY LOCATION

The Whistler municipal government is mulling over the possibility of putting an addition on the existing sports and recreation centre in its Meadow Park location for the Paralympic sledge hockey arena, instead of building a C$40 million multi-plex centre in Whistler.

VANOC has budgeted C20 million for sledge hockey, which must seat at least 3,500. Besides the difference in funding, a facility built at Meadow Park would be community-oriented, while a facility in the village could have additional uses and might present more opportunities for corporate partnerships.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 7, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC|
COREA SAYS CURRENT SPEED-SKATING REVIEW PROCESS "NOT ABOUT MOVING VENUES"

The communications director for the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, Sam Corea, says the current process of figuring out what to about the location of the C$44 million speed-skating oval's location is "not about moving venues."

As Corea puts it, "The venue discussions currently being undertaken by VANOC in 2004 are part of the evolution from bid committee to Games Organizing Committee. It is VANOC's duty to continue to review and refine our entire games-delivery system to make sure we are on time, on budget, meet international standards and provide post Games legacies. This process is not about moving venues. It is our duty and obligation to continue to review all plans before we reach the design phase of the new venues and before construction begins."

Corea points out that even the Bid Book said it's common for plans to change from the Bid Book to the implementation. "Could we move the Oval? It's possible, but it's not a certainty. What we have to do is be responsible in how we approach this work. People are counting on us to be responsible. Our government partners - who are making the venue investments - have told us quite clearly what our budget is." In addition to providing the land, SFU is to contribute C$3.2 million to the capital costs .

Any change in a competition venue from the Bid Book would have to be approved by the International Olympic Committee, the international sport federation that's involved, and the owner of the location or the site it's on. Corea says, "The goal of all competition venues for 2010 is to ensure that the venues meet the needs of the athletes, the International Olympic Committee and international sport federations. We also want to make sure the venues have sport and community legacies beyond the Games."

Corea says finding the location for a building necessary to house a speed skating oval was a challenge.

The SFU Oval is to be a new 400 metre track housed in a 23,450 m 2 facility. The multi-purpose building is to be designed to be the home of both summer and winter sports and will include a four-lane running track around the perimeter of the speed-skating oval.

Ancillary facilities will include a sprint chute, lockers, timing and other athlete-monitoring equipment, fitness-and-strength training studios and classrooms.

Some of the main design concepts will be aimed at ensuring good television coverage of the Olympics events and include a level floor, state-of-the-art ice plant and "exceptional" air conditioning and air flow controls. Extensive viewing areas will also help to increase public interest in speed skating.

In addition, says VANOC, "The new oval will host athletes and coaches from around the world, and include the latest in sport medicine, sport science, testing, equipment and training tools."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 7, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |General|
MAJOR CALIFORNIA PAPER PUBLISHES TRAVEL ARTICLE ABOUT 2010 OLYMPICS

The Sacramento Bee newspaper, of Sacramento, California, has published a 1,023-word travel article with the Vancouver/Whistler 2010 Olympics as its main theme.

The newspaper has a circulation of 283,000 during the week, and it's in what eventually will be one of the prime marketing areas for the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee.

Under the title of "Vancouver's Olympic planning: It's all downhill", travel editor Janet Fullwood offers potential tourists a breezy and positive look at the Vancouver/Whistler area, along with a general overview of the games and its geographical setting.

The 2010 Games, she notes, "...will be the first to be held in a seaside locale since Oslo, Norway, in 1952. Opening and closing ceremonies, to be staged in a renovated, 60,000-seat BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, will be the first ever, summer or winter, to be held under a roof."

The full article is here:
http://www.sacbee.com/content/travel/story/9118327p-10043958c.html

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 6, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC, Business|
(FEATURE) VANOC'S $1.5 BILLION PROCUREMENT PROCESS - AN OVERVIEW

The chief financial officer for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee has released preliminary figures to show how VANOC will be spending its estimated operations budget of C$1.5 billion during its existence between now and 2011.

This offers the first major glimpse for firms planning on taking advantage of VANOC's procurement process about the general timing of VANOC's major spending components, and its overarching criteria. It also offers a general look at some of VANOC's major purchasing philosophies. These will, however, become increasingly refined as senior executives are hired and make additional decisions, and these are translated into specific procurement policies and spending by additional staff.

SPENDING OVERVIEW

CFO John McLaughlin says the largest proportion of spending, C$375 million or 25%, will be on marketing and administration. Sport and sporting operations will account for 19% (C$285 million), as will technology expenditures. Salaries for staff will account for 18% (C$270 million), while broadcasting will account for 9% (C$135 million) and transportation for 8% (C$120 million). The costs of staging the opening and closing ceremonies, and various ceremonial events during the run-up to the games, during them and afterwards, will account for 6% or C$90 million.

According to current planning, most of the expenditures will occur in 2008 to 2010, with a slow ramp up between now and then. For instance, McLaughlin projects that spending will be about C$50 million in 2006, C$75 million in 2007, about C$175 million in 2008, more than C$400 million in 2009 and more than C$500 million in 2010.

PROCUREMENT OVERVIEW

McLaughlin says that, in general terms, VANOC will be like any other organization when buying goods or services; it will want quality products and a fair price, which he defines as a market price. It's a given, he says, that all the goods and services will have to adhere to the going regulatory processes and be in compliance with them.

Although there has been a fair amount of political posturing about the 2010 Games favouring Canadian suppliers, free trade and other international purchasing concepts means that, for the most part, Canadian companies will be in competition with firms from other countries. For instance, a recent Request For Proposal for furnishing VANOC's new offices gives no special consideration to Canadian firms or products.[Morgan:News:2010:#243, April 12, 2004]

McLaughlin says VANOC will also be applying International Olympic Committee values so that "ethical sourcing" will be one of the criteria. This, he defines judiciously, as requiring goods, in particular, to be made "in places where working conditions are appropriate."

The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee is keeping an eye on the development of a national awareness campaign by Oxfam recently about some apparel companies using so-called "sweatshop" factories to produce Olympic-branded clothing [Morgan:News:2010:#196, March 10, 2004]. As a result, VANOC will be, in particular, watching for ethical sourcing when it comes to items like clothing, collectibles, novelties and stuffed toys that will be carrying the 2010 logos or slogans.

The procurement process, he says, will be quite transparent and generally through an open bidding method, tempered only by sponsorship agreements for specific goods and services, which in turn will be via a bidding process.

McLaughlin says, however, that VANOC will have a couple of specific requirements based on what it needs to accomplish. The Games, he notes, will begin on February 12, 2010, and not a day later. "Game dates are immovable, and the organization is a jigsaw that requires careful co-ordination of activities. There's no room for delays, because there will be too many knock-on impacts. So risk minimization is one of [our key requirements]. We're not adverse to innovation or innovative products. We just want to make sure they'll work."

Products or services will have to be delivered when they're promised, he says, and cost what was contracted. "There's no room for failure. We're not going to have a chance to do it again and get it right the second time," he says. Products and services "should be delivered by a combination of the best staff, contractors, sponsors and suppliers that can be found." And that means, he says, companies who want VANOC business should put their best people on delivering the contracted items, and have a track record they can show for quality and deliverability.

"Mediocrity," he says, "is not an option."

VANOC, he says, will be quite open about how companies can win its business. "They'll have to deliver a proposal that has unassailable quality, provides outstanding value for money and has minimal risk in either delivery or performance."

PROCUREMENT COMPONENT OVERVIEW

Here are, for the first time, the overview and some preliminary planning details that have gone into the makeup of VANOC's operations budget:

* The Sport and Operations component, 19% (C$285 million), which will largely be spent in 2009 and 2010, involves VANOC's "number one priority", according to McLaughlin, the field of play. This is the area in every venue where the athletes actually compete. "We'll be paying a lot of attention to that".

This includes, he says, requirements for sports officials and judges as well. It also includes, he says, the operational expenses for the two Olympic villages, one for the sliding-sport athletes in Whistler and one for the rest of the winter athletes in Vancouver. "We'll be needing everything for what's essentially two temporary hotels -- linen, towels, beds -- for 5,000 people in two locations."

It will also be the primary focus of what VANOC calls the "Olympics overlay", which is the temporary components of a facility or venue that are used to accommodate the Olympic Games themselves. "It's what goes in and comes back out again." For instance, he says, there will be the need for tents and other temporary spaces, a need to heat those spaces, provide them power and other services, over and above the facilities themselves. The component also includes catering services.

* The Broadcast and Media component, 9% or C$135 million, includes the operations of the two media centres, one in Richmond and one in Whistler. VANOC is responsible for providing the host broadcast feed, but a large part of the work will be done by the International Olympic Committee's Olympic Broadcast Organization. The OBO, which will get its first full workout in covering the Beijing summer games in 2008, will largely be technical staff with the on-going job of ensuring the broadcast signals and feeds are of good quality and continuous for the wide range of broadcasters that are going to be covering the games for a large number of nations, and they'll be working in conjunction with crews from one of the main broadcast sponsors, the American NBC TV network.

He noted that broadcast technical experts -- such as producers, switchers, camera operators, sound engineers and the like -- will also be hired from various nations, depending on the sport, to ensure professional coverage for that sport. At Salt Lake City's 2002 Winter Games, for instance, he said the technical people involved in the hockey and curling coverage came from Canada, while European technicians were involved in covering luge. VANOC is predicting that about 5,000 media will be on hand to cover the 2010 Games.

* Technology (C$285 million, 19%): The broadcast component dovetails with the kinds of things required under VANOC's technology budget. This includes telecommunications, timing and scoring, games management systems, office technology for VANOC itself, various types of reprographics as well as the production of accreditation that will work with security systems. McLaughlin says this budget will also rise slowly for the first few years -- about C$5 million will be spent next year, about C$10 million in 2006, C$20 million in 2007. But spending in this area will jump dramatically in 2008 to C$70 million and to about C$93 million in 2009 as the infrastructure expenses go into various facilities. "There's going to be lots of support for wireless, we'll be having scoreboards around town" -- the Greater Vancouver area and Whistler -- "there's going to be intranets and various types of reprographic printing."

* Transportation (C$120 million, 8%): Although it's not the largest part of the budget, McLaughlin says transportation services are going to be "the biggest challenge for VANOC." The component includes the movement of spectators, athletes, officials and the media, between the locations, along with arrivals and departures. It will also a component that he calls "planes, trains and buses." He gave hints that automobile traffic between Vancouver and Whistler connected with the Olympics, at least, may well be "curtailed at various times" as official push people to using non-automotive types of transportation to get to the Games. There will be temporary parking and supporting infrastructure costs for it, he said, but it will not be focused on spectator parking, since the idea is to generally dissuade movement of individual spectator vehicles.

* The Ceremonies and Culture component of the VANOC budget, 6% or C$90 million, will start in about 20 months, when the closing ceremonies for the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Italy, occur. That's when the hand-off of the Olympic Torch occurs from the Italian games to Vancouver officials. The spending also includes the 2010 Opening and Closing ceremonies for both the Olympics and the Paralympics, the cost of the various medal recognition events, the Cultural Olympics Festival, the torch relay and various youth and educational programs dealing with the Winter Olympics. Most of the expenditure will occur by the end of 2009, because of the way the planning and timing of various aspects of these programs will work.

* Personnel: McLaughlin says when VANOC published a series of relatively small, typo-laden career ads for mid-level personnel, "we received about 500 responses -- so far." (Morgan:News:2010:#264, April 26, 2004) He was using that as an example to show the significant interest there is already about people wanting to work for the 2010 Olympics. He says than Olympic organizing committees hire quite a few specialty trades, along with more general administration staff: "... 300 to 400 programmers, 300 to 400 telecommunications people...". At the moment, VANOC has about 40 people working for it, including full time, part-time and consultants. By the time 2010 is closing in, the organization, he says, will have about 1,200 staff, plus about 3,500 on short-term situations, and that doesn't include the thousands of volunteers.

As VANOC ramps up its hiring, its payroll costs will begin moving upward as well. He projects that payroll and benefits expenses will pass the C$10 million mark in 2006, be about C$20 million in 2007, about C$40 million in 2008 and peak at C$90 million during 2009. It will start to slump in 2010, as contracts finish and layoffs begin, but will still hit nearly C$60 million that year.

* Marketing and Administration (C$375 million, 25%): VANOC expects to spend only about 3% of its overall operations budget on actual marketing and promotion of the Games -- C$46 million. In part, that's because there's going to be a lot of news and sponsorship promotion going on. Hence, it's lumped in with a hodge-podge of other corporate expenses: office rent, furnishings, audit and legal, insurance, warehouse and logistics, human resource services and such. "In Salt Lake City, the Organizing committee had contracted for 300,000 square feet [about 28,000 square metres] of warehouse space and were using about 60 trucks," he says.

Expenditure for this line item will follow the rise in personnel costs quite closely: This year, for instance, these expenses will be about C$5 million, by 2005, they'll be about C$7 million. At this point they'll take a jump to about C$20 million in 2006 and only creep upward a bit to about C$22 million in 2007 as the construction of venues occupies the organization. But in 2008, it will jump to about C$35 million, then skyrocket the following year to C$100 million in 2009, bouncing a bit higher in 2010 to about C$120 million. As operations wind down after the games, and disposals of all kinds of operational materials occurs, McLaughlin expects the spending here to drop to about C$20 million in 2011.

Companies that want to do business with VANOC, says McLaughlin, "will have to understand the relationship between our core and our complimentary objectives, and to be creative."

They'll also have to consider the procurement decision from VANOC's point of view. This, he says, is a short "extras" checklist that involves adding to the proposal what the company does to stand out from its competitors, what it does to inspire its own staff as well as VANOC's people, what it does to benefit its community, to benefit the Olympic movement and, he adds, "to excite VANOC about working with you."

RESOURCES
=========

The location where you can review VANOC's current requirements (this is expected to be replaced in the fall of 2004 by a new website):
http://www.vancouver2010.com/GettingInvolved/Expressions/

VANOC's current job postings:
http://www.vancouver2010.com/GettingInvolved/JobsContractOpportunities/CurrentJobs/

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 6, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC|
GEOLOGY MAY FORCE VANOC TO RELOCATE SPEED-SKATING OVAL

A detailed geophysical examination by consultants to the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee of the land on which its C$60-million speed-skating oval is to be built has raised some of the complex issues that has VANOC looking at the possibility the venue may have to be built elsewhere.

A move is one of the contingencies VANOC CEO John Furlong and his skeleton staff are considering, as is the concept of incorporating speed-skating with UBC's proposed ice-hockey facilities or building the structure in a location in the Lower Mainland yet to be determined, but such a move is a relatively drastic step that will take additional work and reports to sort out.

The geophysical report indicates that additional costs would have to be incurred to stabilize the portion of the small mountain on which Simon Fraser is located where the speed-skating oval is to be built. The extra costs would be added to the premiums being charged on other types of construction costs, such as steel and construction labour, due to other more general economic factors. Those rapidly changing costs are forcing VANOC to look at tightening the specifications for all of the venues that it needs to construct. The overall construction budget is $620 million, a relatively small amount compared to other Olympics, including the 2006 Winter Olympics in Italy.

The story about the possibility of the venue change, however, has brought into question the level of transparency the IOC and the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee intends to maintain as it develops the Games.

Vancouver Sun newspaper reporter Jeff Lee said he was told that the International Olympic Committee received reports while they were touring the venues at the end of March about the issue.

On April 1, during a news conference about their tour, the 11-member IOC Commission, led by Rene Fasel of Switzerland, used the word "fantastic" several times to describe the venues and the status of the games,

However, Lee interviewed Octavio Cinquanta, a member of the Commission and the leader of the International Skating Union, and reported Cinquanta saying, "We learned there are too many problems with the site due to technical reasons, We were told they had been planning to move the venue."

A decision on what to do with venue is unlikely to be made without clearance from at least the VANOC board and discussions with the IOC.

The Commission won't return to Vancouver until next April 6-8, and the decision will need to be made well before then. But Fasel and Gilbert Felli of France, who is the Commission's executive director as well as the executive director of the Olympic Games, will return in July and December for what was described as "mini-visits."

The next meeting of VANOC's board of directors is set for mid-June and its expected to receive a briefing from Furlong on the issue. Morgan:News:2010 had asked VANOC Board Chairman Jack Poole at the 2010 Business Summit in Vancouver what the agenda for that meeting would involve, but he indicated that the agenda "hasn't been set yet."

Simon Fraser University was heavily involved during the Bid phase in planning for the speed-skating oval, which included using the facility for high-performance athletic training, one of SFU's specialties.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 5, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Business|
LIST OF ATTENDEES TO SPIRIT OF 2010 BUSINESS SUMMIT CONFERENCE AVAILABLE

Morgan:News:2010 has made available a complete list of more than 400 people who registered to attend the "Spirit of 2010 Business Summit Conference" held May 3 in Vancouver.

The conference, co-sponsored by the B.C. government and RBC Canada, a financial institution, provided a major look at the way organizations might benefit from the 2010 Games and the period leading up to them.

The list, billed as a "networking directory", provides the corporate and contact information, and in some cases, a description of the organization represented, of all those who had registered by the cut-off date of April 16, 2004.

The list is in a 24-page PDF file. The downloading link is here:
http://Morgan-News.com/2010/SupportFiles/2004-05/2010BizSummitDirectory.pdf

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 5, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC|
2010 CURLING VENUE CONSTRUCTION TIMING TO BE DIFFERENT

The chief financial officer for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee says that of all the venues to be constructed for the Games, the $18 million curling venue is the one that's different.

"It has a different legacy," says John McLaughlin, "and it's going to be built to be finished in 2009, just in time for the Games." He's referring to the 13-hectare Hillcrest Park area next to Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver.

The facility, which will have a $3.1 million "overlay" to specifically tailor the building for temporary Olympics use, will be owned by the City of Vancouver after the Games, and is one of the venues that will be constructed using Canada and B.C. government grants covering the capital aspects. VANOC will only be responsible for the overlay portion of the funding.

The difference in timing is in part because of its legacy use, and the timing will have an effect on its construction costs, since the bulk of the venues to be constructed will have been built at least a year before the curling rink so they can be tested and used for training. "But we don't need to do testing or training for curling in Canada," McLaughlin says, "we know how to do curling in Canada."

Training is actually going to take place on ice sheets in Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver, but, depending on how construction actually goes, their may be some opportunity for training actually on the new venue for a brief time before the games.

Constructing the curling rink deliberately behind the schedule of the other venues will affect supplier, consultant and procurement timing, he noted. After the Games, VANOC documents say that the centre will be a sports training and recreation facility for competitive and recreational curling, local ice hockey, figure skating, fitness and "other indoor sport and recreation pursuits."

According to current scheduling, VANOC is to begin construction of the curling centre in April, 2007 and finish it in August, 2009. The overlay work is to begin in December 2009 and be completed just before the Games occur in February, 2010.

Canada's strong interest in curling has caused planners to think carefully about what needs to happen for the overlay portion. The proposed facility will provide the largest spectator capacities for curling in the history of the Olympic Winter Games. The work will accommodate Olympic seating for 6,000, including 1,200 news media and sponsors, as well as areas for the national curling teams, and related security equipment.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 5, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |IOC|
A FIRST LOOK AT THE SUPPORT FUNCTIONS OF THE CANADIAN OLYMPIC SUPPORT STAFF

The Canadian Olympic Committee has released the list of 85 people who will be in the key support roles for the Canadian teams at the Athens Olympics, and for those interested in the 2010 Winter Games, it provides a first look at the end of the preparation process, and at the type of support teams receive from their nations while attending Olympic games.

An analysis of the various positions can indicate to Morgan:News:2010 subscribers the kinds of support and supply aspects that may be needed or required as the 2010 Games approach, particularly for those involved in enticing nations to train in their community. It will be two years before a similar list is generated by the COC for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Italy.

Each nation, of course, will field a different number of mission staff, depending on their own requirements and budgetary support, but the Canadian Mission list provides a good indication of the kinds of support and numbers of people provided by first-world countries.

The entire Canadian contingent going to Athens: 317 athletes and 200 support staff, such as coaches, team leaders and mission staff. Winter Games are roughly one-third the size of Summer Games.

In the list below, "Appointed" means the person in the position was chosen by an organization to the role, "Selected" means the person was chosen through an application/selection process. The Olympic Attache to the mission is Greek, the rest of the people in the positions are from, for the most part, Quebec or Ontario. For the full list, with names and locations, see the RESOURCES link, below:

Those from B.C. are identified by name and British Columbian community, as subscribers find their expertise useful for 2010 purposes.

CANADIAN MISSION MANAGEMENT

Chef de Mission - Selected
Assistant Chef de Mission - Appointed
Director of High Performance and Games - Appointed
Games Manager - Appointed
Olympic Attache - Selected

CANADA OLYMPIC HOUSE
Canada Olympic House is the central administrative and hospitality centre for the Canadian Olympic Committee at Games. It is located outside of the Olympic Village, and provides information and services to the Canadian team members, and the rest of the Canadian contingent, to the extended Canadian Olympic Family, including athlete family members, Canadian competition officials, national sport federations and, to a certain extent, to any Canadians attending the Games.

Manager - Appointed
Events Officer - Selected
Assistant Manager - Appointed
Administration Services Officer - Selected
COC Representative - Appointed
Finance/Ticketing Officer - Appointed
Village Liaison Officer - Selected
Transportation Services Officer - Selected
Administration Services Officer - Appointed
COC Representative - Appointed
Transportation Services Officer - Selected
COC Executive Assistant - Appointed

OVERALL SUPPORT
Security/RCMP - Appointed
Database Manager - Appointed
IT Hardware/Software Manager - Appointed
Outside Accommodations Officer - Selected

COMMUNICATIONS
The Communications team manages media relations and similar communication needs for the Canadian athletes. The Communications team is the liaison between the Team and the media at the Games, setting up interviews and photos and providing background information on those involved, and providing support photography and articles.

Communications Director - Appointed
Press Chief - Appointed
Office Manager/Media Attache - Selected
Two Photographers - Selected
Senior Media Attache - Selected
Nine Media Attaches - Selected including Stéphane Delisle of Burnaby)
Translator - Selected
Games Publication Officer - Selected

HEALTH CARE
The Health Care team involves physicians, therapists and health-care support. It's responsible for medical care and therapeutic services to all Canadian team members.

Chief Medical Officer - Selected
Chief Therapist - Selected
Assistant Chief Medical Officer - Selected (Rob McCormack, New Westminster)
Assistant Chief Therapist - Selected
Physician - Selected
Clinic Manager - Appointed
Chiropractor - Selected (Wilbour Kelsick of Port Moody)
Six Massage Therapists - Selected
Four Physicians - Selected, including Ross Outerbridge of Kamloops
Six Physiotherapists - Selected, including Robert Powls of Vernon
Six Therapists - Selected
Chiropractor - Selected
Athletic Therapist - Selected
Physician - Selected (Michael Wilkinson of Vancouver)

TEAM OUTFITTING
Also known as the Staging Team, the Outfitting team provides Canadian athletes with their team clothing and other accessories. This process includes pre-packing and distributing all the clothing and accessories, and dealing with exchanges, repairs and alterations. The clothing distribution site is in Athens.

Outfitting Services Officer - Selected (Christina Ashcroft of Courtenay)
Warehouse Officer - Selected
Administration Services Officer - Selected
Outfitting/Data Entry Officer - Selected

VILLAGE OPERATIONS
The Village Operations team provides support to the Canadian teams while they are in the Olympic Villages. Village operations include Athlete Services, Team Leader Services, Administration, Transportation, Operations, Sport Services and the office of the Chef and Assistant Chef de Mission.

Team Leaders / Coach Services Officer - Selected
Transportation Services Officer - Selected
Sport Services Officer - Appointed
Transportation Services Officer - Selected
Team Leader/Coach Services Officer - Selected (Penny Gardner of Victoria)
Sport Services Officer - Appointed
Team Welcome/Processing Officer - Selected
Two Administration Services Officers - Selected
Athlete Services Officer - Selected
Athlete Services/Advocate - Selected

--

RESOURCES:

The full list and names of the Canadian Mission Staff:
http://www.olympic.ca/EN/games/olympic/summer/athens/mission_staff.shtml

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 5, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Business|
(FEATURE) MARKETING EXEC SAYS QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED BEFORE GOING FOR OLYMPIC SPONSORSHIP

Linda Oglov, the president of Altius Sport Marketing of Vancouver, says that organizations thinking about being involved with Olympic sponsorships or becoming official suppliers to the 2010 Games should ask themselves a series of questions.

Altius is a division of Vancouver's Cossette Communication Group, a public relations firm. Altius was formed to deal with sports marketing. Oglov, before she took the position, was the vice-president of marketing for the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation, and was involved in arranging sponsorships to help pay for the bid.

Oglov says an Olympic sponsorship provides a company with the ability to use Olympic marketing slogans and logos, but it also means, "an Olympic-sized investment." The questions, Oglov says, will help determine if sponsorship is really something that is worth pursuing, but, she adds, there are no right or wrong answers.

Here are the questions she recommends be answered:

* Is there a return on investment and, beyond ROI, are there other factors that would make sponsorship worthwhile? What, exactly, is the basis for a return for your firm?

* Are there alternatives? That is, instead of being a direct sponsor, does it make sense to be a partner with a sponsor, or joint venture a sponsorship? Or be a supplier to a sponsor?

* How much investment is justified?

* Will this lead to new business? More business?

* Does sponsorship support your current business model?

* What is the amortization time of the costs of sponsorship? Sponsorship decisions have not yet been finalized by the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, but potentially they could be from 2005 to 2012. Should the costs be amortized over that period? Shorter? Longer?

* What is the big idea that might justify sponsorship spending? Maybe it's building awareness for your firm, its services or its products. Maybe it's hospitality-oriented, maybe its being seen as a good corporate citizen. That big idea might be related to what you think you can offer VANOC, or it might be what you can offer an athlete through sponsorship of their expenses.

* How will you leverage the sponsorship? That is, what will you actually do to use the sponsorship - there's more to it than just adding a logo or a slogan to an ad. What will sustain interest over the time the sponsorship runs?

* What other costs might there be? An example: if you're providing value-in-kind as part of your sponsorship pledge, what are the fulfilment costs?

* How will your customers, stakeholders — even government - view this investment and your role?

* Will it be good for your employees? If so, how will they be involved?

Once you've answered these questions, says Oglov, you're ready to start putting a sponsorship plan together that's based on sound business concepts and realistic expectations. But don't, she cautions, form your business plan around the Olympics. Instead, make the Olympics part of your business plan.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 4, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Business|
ROOTS VP SAYS OLYMPIC SUPPLIERS CAN ALSO BE IMPROMPTU NATIONAL HOSTS

Rich Patterson, the vice-president of marketing for Roots Canada, which has become synonymous with being a successful Canadian supplier to Olympic Games, says an unexpected byproduct is "the opportunity to be an Olympics host no matter what you do."

Roots outfits have been warn by Canadian, U.S. and British teams in the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City and in the 2000 Summer Games in Nagano, Japan, to considerable acclaim by fans of the teams of those countries, who snapped up retail versions of the apparel.

Patterson says that one of his jobs during the Salt Lake City games was to act as "bouncer" at Roots's Park City store, where shoppers lined up for hours sometimes to shop at the store for team clothing. "We decided that if people were going to be patient enough to wait in line to shop with us, then we were going to make it enjoyable for them."

Patterson said he personally grabbed a bullhorn and led sing-a-longs and, since most of the people waiting in line were Americans or British tourists, "taught people how to speak Canadian." He said that for retailers in particular, but other firms who are connected with the Games can use Olympic values as impromptu national hosts to ensure customers are treated well.

Patterson said that because of high-profile news coverage of who was wearing Roots clothing, including a chance photo of Prince Charles and his sons trying on jackets that was carried in all British newspapers and most Canadian ones during the Salt Lake City games, the company had to go to triple shifts to deal with the sudden demand. He stressed that being flexible is just part of the Olympic supplier experience.

He also noted that for security reasons, Salt Lake City became a no-fly zone during the Games, and that posed some "unique challenges" in trying to get truckloads of clothing to the Roots stores. He had to decide, on the spur of the moment, where shipments would land and how to get them trucked from there to the store.

Patterson advises companies thinking about being Olympic suppliers should spend the next 12 months, since VANOC will not be ready for some time yet for accepting supplier applications, to consider their corporate relationships. "Business-to-business learning is best to do this year," he says.

There is one thing that veteran suppliers have in common with new ones, who have to come up with a good idea for procurement applications. "The challenge for us with each Games," says Patterson, "is how do we pull it off again."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 4, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |General|
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE MEETING ON 2010 MATTERS RESCHEDULED TO MID-MAY

A closed-door meeting that was due to be held in late April of representatives of chambers of commerce representing areas where 2010 Game venues are located, as well as others, has been re-set to May 21. The general concept of the meeting remains somewhat vague, but appears to be along the lines of how the chambers, or their members, can profit from the Games.

Alexander Kostjuk, a marketing consultant for the Richmond Chamber of Commerce who claims to be the main force behind the meeting, says that 18 chambers have been invited and that, so far, about half have agreed to attend. The meeting is to be held, he says, at the West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce board room.

The 2010 Games, Kostjuk said earlier, "is a business opportunity that's still developing, and the chambers can take an aggressive, leadership role" in the matter, adding, "It's not always the B.C. Chamber [of Commerce] that takes the lead role." Kostjuk says that "Chambers2010.ca is where we're heading." That's a website that's still under construction, but is owned by a business associate of Kostjuk. [See also Morgan:News:2010:Number:230:Published:3/30/2004]

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 4, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government|
2010 LEGACIESNOW SAYS CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP OF WINTER SPORTS OFFERS SOCIAL BENEFITS

The president of 2010 LegaciesNow, Marion Lay, says the social benefits to developing athletes under the Olympics value of sustainability “are large” and companies that decide to sponsor athletic teams for corporate reasons should take that into account.

“Kids stay in school longer if they’re in sports teams, because they need to keep up their academics if they want to participate in sports,” she says. But, she adds, there is also an increase in the quality of the environment for economic activity that results. “There’s a decrease in criminal activity if there is something for the kids to do, and there is a decrease in health costs if companies sponsor staff fitness programs or fund similar sporting events.

Developed by the Province of British Columbia, the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation and its supporters, 2010 LegaciesNow was designed to develop a sport legacy in the years prior to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The first such approach, Bid officials said Its concepts were integral to Vancouver being chosen in 1998 as Canada's nominee for the 2010 Winter Games. The Society is focused on three areas: sport development, community capacity building and a province-wide community outreach program.

Lay, who has toured the province on several occasions to assess sports and sporting facilities in a wide number of communities, says there is an increased profile for companies involved in sports sponsorship because of the increased awareness of the 2010 Winter Games, and that interest is growing. She notes that this past winter was the first one since Vancouver and Whistler were awarded the Winter Games. “A couple of years ago,” she says, “Legacies Now began setting up Hockey 2010 events for kids around the province, but it didn’t get much notice. This past winter, though, it seems like every Hockey 2010 tournament in the province got news coverage.”

Lay says that there is optimism that as many as 100 countries may participate in the 2010 Winter Games, and that a number of those countries will need to have training camp facilities. She noted that before the Sydney Olympics, small communities “out of the Olympic limelight” and several hours drive away from Sydney, hosted training camps, and that these could be sponsored by companies.

She also noted that the Vancouver and Whistler areas will be looked at nationally by a lot of companies in the lead-up and during the Winter Games. “Thirty five companies located to Salt Lake City after their winter games, and about 100 moved to Sydney after those Olympic Games, because they saw what they liked during the coverage.”

Lay also said the impact of sports medicine on training and equipment, and the technological advances on sports equipment between now and 2010 “will be huge. The kinds of skis or bobsleds we see today will not be the ones we’ll see in 2010.”

LegaciesNow partnerships include the TELUS Whistler Sport Centre, the Canadian Sport Centre Vancouver and the Calgary Olympic Development Association.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 4, 2004

Wednesday, June 02, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government, Business|
BC GOVERNMENT TO ESTABLISH BUSINESS CENTRE WEBSITE AS PART OF 2010 PROCUREMENT STRATEGY

The British Columbia government department overseeing the 2010 Games says it will launch a web site later this year, called the 2010 Commerce Centre, to help businesses work with the operations of the games.

John Les, Minister of Small Business and Economic Development, whose duties include the government's Olympics Secretariat, says the 2010 Commerce Centre "will give companies one-stop access to accurate and timely information about the business opportunities resulting from the Games. It will also be a portal for information to assist B.C. companies in developing Olympic-related strategies and pursuing new partnerships leading up to, during and after the 2010 Games."

Les said the portal is part of a procurement strategy backed by the province to help businesses take advantage of the estimated C$2 billion the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC) will be spending on goods and services during the planning stage of the games, and another C$2 billion of spending is expected by Games suppliers, sponsors and licensees, tourists, athletic teams and official delegations. He said the Business Centre site will begin operation "sometime in the fall."

Les said the website will provide information on "procurement opportunities, procedures and evaluation" for goods and services connected with the Games or required by VANOC, "vendor qualification criteria" and information about "sponsorship, merchandising and use of logos."

Ministry communications director Paul Woolley said the site will also promote the use of B.C. products and services in venue construction, showcase B.C. wood, technology and "other innovative products and services."

It will also feature a "business registry of B.C. companies and suppliers." Businesses, he said, "will be able to register and receive directed information on new opportunities."

However, Les pointed out that free trade - such as that between Canada, the United States and Mexico - is a two-way street, and that, for instance, American and Mexican companies will be competing with Canadian and B.C. businesses for work on the Games.

In 2006, Les said, a "permanent store-front centre" will open, and regional business-development workshops will be held across the province. Additional programs will be launched by the Secretariat as 2010 nears, including, he said, a business club and a corporate-hosting program.

When the Torino, Italy, Winter Games close in 2006, the Olympics Torch will be passed from it to Vancouver. Woolley said that's when the Business Centre will begin working with agencies to help make business connections between companies internationally on Olympic opportunities, directing media attention "to all parts of British Columbia", hosting trade shows to promote B.C. products and services to the Games as well as to international events related to the Games testing, "facilitate the use" of B.C. goods and services in the 2010 Games "and other Olympics," and working with VANOC "to develop approaches to assist businesses planning around the Olympic schedule, security and transportation" to ensure business continuity.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 3, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |General|
2010 BUSINESS SUMMIT BROADCAST TIMES

Morgan:News:2010 will be covering the 2010 Business Summit Conference, attended by about 700 companies from across the province, for most of the day.

For Greater Vancouver subscribers who are unable to attend the Conference, Shaw Television, cable channel 4 in the Lower Mainland, will be broadcasting the morning and lunchtime sessions on Sunday, May 9 from 8 am to 1 pm.

The sessions include speeches by Graham MacLachlan, senior vice-president of the RBC Financial Group and the keynote address by John Les who is the Minister in charge of the Olympics Secretariat.

Also during the morning are plenary sessions about what the provincial government is calling its four key strategies for expanding the opportunities of the 2010 games:

Trade and Investment, with Andrew Wilkinson, the deputy minister for Small Business and Economic Development and Dr. Daniel Muzyka, dean of the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia.
Tourism: with Doug Caul, the assistant deputy minister for economic development in the Small Business and Economic Development Ministry, and Stuart McLaughlin, the president and owner of Grouse Mountain Resorts, one of the venue hosts for the 2010 Games.
B.C.'s labour supply situation, with Dr. Roslyn Kunin, the president of her own consulting firm, who prepared detailed reports on aspects of labour shortages and challenges leading up to the 2010 Games. An aside: Morgan:News:2010 has her two key reports available in PDF format for download:

Labour Demand to 2010:
http://Morgan-News.com/2010/SupportFiles/2004-05/2010_labour_demand.pdf

Labour Supply to 2010:
http://Morgan-News.com/2010/SupportFiles/2004-05/2010_labour_supply.pdf

Also at that same session is Philip Steenkamp, deputy minister for the B.C. Government's ministry of advanced education.
2010 Procurement: This includes Russ Anthony, the president and project director of the Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project, John McLaughlin, the Chief Financial Officer of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, and Gordon Goodman, the director of Business Development for the B.C. Olympic Games Secretariat.

Also to be included in Shaw's broadcast in May will be the luncheon speech by Dick Ebersol, chair of NBC's Sports and Olympic section, which has already won the bid to broadcast the 2010 Winter Games in the United States.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 3, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government|
BC GOVERNMENT'S FOCUS ON TOURISM, JOB TRAINING IS LARGER SCOPE THAN 2010

An analysis of remarks and comments made by the provincial government representatives in charge of tourism and job training indicates that neither have developed programs or initiatives specifically to do with the 2010 Games.

The comments by both were made to about 700 business people at a 2010 Business Summit Conference in Vancouver today, who gave them polite applause at the end of their presentations.

In both cases, Doug Caul, the assistant deputy minister for economic development in the Small Business and Economic Development Ministry, who discussed tourism, and Philip Steenkamp, deputy minister for the B.C. Government's ministry of advanced education, who discussed training, indicated the government will simply incorporate games-related problems, challenges and benefits into their overall planning for tourism marketing and dealing with job shortages.

Steenkamp, bolstered by a previously released and well-reported overview of job supply and job-entry shortages of up to a million jobs between now and 2010 that was summarized for the Conference by research analyst Rosyln Kunin, talked about existing government programs aimed at bolstering apprenticeship training and post-secondary education. But there was nothing specific in his remarks about how the province was going to deal with the shortage in construction and engineering workers in particular and how it might affect the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee or venue construction.

He did, however, note that Vancouver-area companies are already running advertisements for, in one example, steelworkers as the list of multi-million dollar construction and infrastructure projects to be built in the next five years mounts, and estimates of construction inflation running at 10% per year are being offered.

Steenkamp also said that while each organization overseeing each project - the 2010 Games, the so-called RAV Skytrain line between Vancouver and its airport, the upgrading of the highway between Vancouver and Whistler, the expansion of the Vancouver convention centre, and other projects - has its own timelines and deadlines, there’s not been any attempt to link those schedules with other projects that will be competing for the same type of workers, supplies and suppliers.

Doug Caul, in discussing tourism, says that tourism marketing includes promotion of the 2010 Games under the slogans “Spirit of 2010” and “Be There”, meaning be in British Columbia in 2010 for the Games, and that this marketing is already underway in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco along with ads in national and international publications. But the Games themselves are only given a couple of seconds in the 30-second spots he showed the Conference attendees.

In both cases — tourism and job training — the province is focused on using interest in the Games as springboards for long-term projects and programs that go well beyond 2010.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 3, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC|
CHAIRMAN POOLE SAYS BOARD MAY GET FIRST LOOK AT NEW EXECUTIVES IN MID-JUNE

The chairman of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, Jack Poole, says in Vancouver it's possible that the next meeting of the VANOC Board may have some of CEO John Furlong's choices for executive management to consider approving.

Poole says the date of the next meeting has not yet been set - Board members are now being canvassed about a time and date, he says - but he expects it to occur sometime between June 15 and 18. Poole is attending the 2010 Business Summit Conference in Vancouver.

VANOC is now running ads for five senior executives to help Furlong deal with marketing, construction, human resources, sports and venue development [Morgan:News:2010:Number:276:Published:4/30/2004].

Poole also says he's not yet sure how the new Business Centre web site, expected to go live this fall with information about procurement activities connected with the 2010 Games, will dovetail with established systems that VANOC has been using, such as BC Bid. "Those policies are still being worked out," said Poole. "The Board hasn't yet considered them."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 3, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Business|
NBC CHAIR OF SPORTS TO CUT 2010 PRODUCTION TEAM BY 25%

The chairman of NBC's sports and Olympic broadcasting says that because the International Olympic Committee has been talking about making the Games smaller, he has committed the American television network to cutting its production staff by 25% for 2010 coverage.

Dick Ebersol, whose network will be contributing US$820 million to the 2010 Winter Games for American broadcast rights, says the network is responsible for the largest 'team' by far to attend Olympic games, and that about 3,000 production staff will be in Athens to cover this year's summer games, and about 2,500 for the smaller Winter Olympics in Torino Italy.

But he says that will be reduced by a quarter when its time to cover the 2010 Games, although the network will still be bringing, in three waves, about 2,000 advertisers and their staff to Vancouver and Whistler for events leading up to and during the games, for a total of 4,000 people hosted by NBC for various reasons connected with 2010. And he estimates, NBC's production budget for the 2010 Games will be in the neighbourhood of US$100 million.

Ebersol, who notes that a 30-second TV spot during the Athens Games is selling for US$700,000, says that most advertisers who buy commercial time for Olympics coverage are the same companies that are national and top-level sponsors of the Games. And he says, about half of the 2010 advertising time will be bought up shortly after the 2006 Winter Games closes in Italy.

Ebersol says that he expects three 2010 events will be held for prime-time viewing in the United States: Alpine skiing, speedskating and figure skating, and they will be taped if necessary to do it. "You have to face the reality of the popularity of those and that people want to see them when they want to see them, and advertisers, who want to ensure their ads reach those people, so they can see the Olympics for free." Other events, he says, will probably be carried live.

Ebersol says his production staff will begin moving in and out of the Vancouver/Whistler area in 2007, but won't establish a permanent presence here until early 2008.

He says the Games video will be broadcast in colour on cellphones by 2010, on the Internet, on interactive television and probably in high-definition TV. He notes that most, but not all, of the Athens and Italian Olympics will be in high-definition, and Beijing has committed to broadcasting all of their Games in 2008 in high definition.

Ebersol says he his "blown away by the plan, by the people and by the organization" of those involved with the Vancouver Games, and that he's never seen, in his years of covering Olympic venues, a location that is doing so much so early "and so much meaningful activity" this early into the planning.

Ebersol says that, having toured Vancouver and Whistler by helicopter, there will be no shortage of "beauty shots" of the area, for vignettes and introductory material that is used by the network leading up to and between the Games. He says that wasn't the case with Barcelona, where footage of coastline 60 miles from their Games was used.

Ebersol says his best advice for businesses that want to be involved in the Games is to form a relationship early with those who are putting on the Games - that could be with sponsors or their contractors, as well as with the Vancouver organizing committee, adding, "There's nothing better than being involved with the Olympics." He said the real challenge is the time between the games are awarded and the time they are held. "There's lots of time to fall in love and out of love with the Olympics."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 3, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC|
PUBLIC CONTEST FOR DESIGN OF 2010 LOGO TO BE ANNOUNCED IN JUNE

The person in charge of working on sponsorship planning and marketing for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, Linda Harmon, says VANOC will announce a public contest for developing the 2010 Games logo in June.

Harmon says the contest will have specific rules, timeframes and guidelines, with the decision on which logo is selected to be made public on February 12, 2005, when the Games are exactly five years away.

The winning logo will become one of the most recognized brands in Canada almost overnight, and will be used on all manner of Olympic marketing materials at least until 2012, when VANOC's rights to use Olympic slogans and marks will revert to the International Olympic Committee.

Harmon says VANOC is still undecided about what to do for a mascot, or when to begin marketing it. She says that the Italian winter games didn't start using a mascot until 18 months from the start of its games, which she says is quite late, while the Salt Lake City Games in 2002 began using its mascot about two and a half years before the Games, as did Calgary, even though its mascot was identified several years earlier during the Bid phase.

"So it's not likely a 2010 mascot will be chosen for at least two more years," she says. But, she pointed out, "We've got lots of ideas and lots of lobbying going on," with the group advocating a marmot evening publishing a newsletter called "The Marmoteer".

She told a breakout conference at the 2010 Business Summit meeting in Vancouver today that VANOC and the IOC will begin marketing the 2010 Winter Games in earnest after the end of the 2006 Winter Games, so there's no confusion in the marketplace.

Harmon said that Canadians have a strong interest in Olympic Games. She noted that a study of countries that had won at least five medals at the Salt Lake City games found that Canadians had the strongest interest in following the Olympics. "They would rearrange their day, they would check the Internet, they would listen to the news," to keep track of the Games, she said, and that bodes well for companies interested in marketing in connection with the 2010 Games.

She told the group that VANOC had a year for planning, and was working hard on doing just that. "Part of our mandate right now is to interview CEOs across the country and ask their advice about how we can make ]these Games] relevant to people right across the country. We've got plenty of time to activate this." She said that VANOC will be open to all kinds of good ideas, and that companies don't have to be large to be involved in sponsorships or working out marketing arrangements. "But the word for this year is 'patience'," she advised.

Once the Committee has developed its marketing plans, it will enter into a formal Joint Marketing Agreement with the International Olympic Committee, which needs to approve VANOC's marketing plan to ensure it doesn't conflict with contracts the IOC has signed with various top-level sponsors, which have international marketing rights.

Harmon said VANOC has not yet set values to the types of sponsorships it will control, which restrict marketing to Canada. She said that generally there will be a cash-and-benefits component and a value-in-kind component, depending on which part of VANOC's accounting line items the sponsorship addresses. But, she pointed out, not all companies interested working with the Games need to be direct sponsors. Lots of companies might work with sponsors or subcontract to them for a wide variety of work, including hospitality programs.

One of the things that she advised businesses in the audience was to do planning now, but be flexible as the projects move forward. "As we've discovered at VANOC, plans need to be adjusted as we go."

She told the group that 1.8 million tickets for the Games and various events, which will be part of the marketing revenue for the games and is budgeted to generate $140 million, will not go on sale until 2009.

In answer to a question, she said that VANOC will work at protecting its trademarks, and that it will have a working relationship with the RCMP and Canadian Customs, which will watch for infringing materials coming in over the borders.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 3, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government|
PROPOSED NEW 2010 BUSINESS WEBSITE STILL VAPOURWARE

The director of business development for the provincial government's Olympics Secretariat says the proposed 2010 Commerce Centre website will eventually be the business portal for the 2010 Games, but right now it's very much in the concept phase.

Gordon Goodman says the original intention was to launch the website on July 2, to mark the first anniversary of the Bid Corporation winning the 2010 Games for Vancouver and Whistler. But he says the team that will be developing the new website announced by a provincial government cabinet minister this morning is still in the needs-assessment phase.

"In fact they're going to be interviewing John [McLaughlin, the vice-president of finance for the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee] this week, to find out what his goals are for the website," Goodman said.

John Les, Minister of Small Business and Economic Development, whose duties include the government's Olympics Secretariat, says the 2010 Commerce Centre "will give companies one-stop access to accurate and timely information about the business opportunities resulting from the Games. It will also be a portal for information to assist B.C. companies in developing Olympic-related strategies and pursuing new partnerships leading up to, during and after the 2010 Games." The announcement of the new site was one of the prominent parts of his speech to the 2010 Business Summit Conference today.

Goodman agreed with Les that it would probably be fall in Vancouver before the new website could be launched, adding, "the early fall, I would hope." He said the first priority for the website would be to begin posting procurement information about the 2010 Games for businesses, "to begin taking some of the pressure off VANOC." He added, "VANOC is getting lots and lots of calls every day from people and companies wanting to be involved in the Games in some way. The information on the site will help reduce that."

But he said it's still quite unclear how the Business Centre website will interact with VANOC's procurement requirements, or even how it will link to the Vancouver 2010 website, which is rarely updated at this point. Nor, he said, is it clear how it will interact with BC Bid, the official provincial government website that tracks formal requests for proposals and other bidding documents for government contracts.

McLaughlin said that because VANOC is an organization that's not quite government and not quite private-sector, the bidding and procurement documents would not be as formal as they are required to be through the BC Bid process, suggesting that the process requests too much unnecessary information for VANOC's purposes. He expects the VANOC procurement process, once it gets underway in about a year will be less complicated. He noted that VANOC had already used the BC Bid process at least twice, but only because the organization needed to get working on acquiring certain supplies for itself before it had its procurement process or people in place.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on May 3, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC|
RAY & BERNDSTON BEGINS 2010 SENIOR VP JOB SEARCH WORLD WIDE

The job-search for the five senior executives to run the 2010 Olympics under CEO John Furlong has begun in earnest.

The international executive search firm of Ray & Berndtson, which specializes in recruiting services for top-level executives, began running the search ads this month for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic & Paralympic Games, and has them posted on its website so they are available around the world. Each position has been assigned a team of two recruiters each.

The search firm has its Vancouver offices in a corporate tower that will be adjacent to VANOC's new headquarters at 1095 West Pender, starting in June. Those who make the shortlist will be interviewed by Furlong and a committee of the VANOC board of directors, headed by Michael Phelps, former CEO of Westcoast Energy Inc., the same committee that hired Furlong.

The ads are running under the theme of “Do something extraordinary for canada and the world”, and applicants, in the usual hyperbole of the recruitment ad, are being told "The planning and staging of this extraordinary event [the 2010 Games] will require the harmonized efforts and passions of thousands of people. It will become an intricate, split second ballet of planning, construction, revenue generation, relationship building, coordination and leadership. It will attract the best and the brightest as the clock ticks down to the opening ceremonies, then twenty-seven days of unprecedented athletic achievement, international goodwill, arts and cultural events...a celebration for the whole planet." There's no deadline for responding to the ads, however, it's expected that the decision will be made during this summer.

Senior Vice President, Olympic Services. This position will be responsible for transportation, security, accommodations, technology and logistics. (You can see the ad itself by clicking this link)
http://www.raybern.ca/execopp/bc/bcj36.html
Senior Vice President, Venue Development. This person will be responsible for developing, constructing or renovating multiple multi-million dollar projects, starting with the $61 million Nordic and $35 million Sliding Centres in Whistler. According to the ad, the person will also put together"a team who share your on-time and on-budget obsession. Work closely with the government agencies whose approvals are necessary. Establish a co-operative and supportive labour environment. Be available and willing to include the public in the plans and progress..."
http://www.raybern.ca/execopp/bc/bcj35.html
Senior Vice President, Revenue and Marketing. This person will be responsible for the overall image of the Games and how it's expressed, through a wide range of public relations and marketing, such sponsorships, licensing, television and ticket revenues, fundraising and "additional inspiration." The person will be in charge of a team of marketing, communication and sponsor relations professionals.
http://www.raybern.ca/execopp/bc/bcj34.html
Senior Vice President, Human Resources. This person will be required to recruit "talented people who believe passionately and professionally in the Olympic ideals." Starting with a human resources plan they'll generate, they will need to "create a flexible and scalable infrastructure that accommodates best practices in employee relations, compensation and performance measurement." They're looking for "a leader by example in a large, complex and results-first organization."
http://www.raybern.ca/execopp/bc/bcj33.html
Senior Vice President, Sports. This person, according to the job description, will be the "voice of sport and champion of the athletes in the planning and staging" of the Games. The person will become a relationship manager with international sports federations. They're looking for somebody who already has Olympic experience "to ensure that the athletes' villages, venue operations and competitions encourage excellence and reflect the values of the Olympic Movement." They're looking for a person who has sports business expertise and "international credibility."
http://www.raybern.ca/execopp/bc/bcj32.html

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on April 30, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Sports|
YOUNGEST US NATIONAL SKIIER AIMING FOR 2010 OLYMPICS

2010NewsWatch

The youngest person ever named to the U.S. National Ski Team says she intends to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Rachel Pack, 12, of Park City, Utah, was appointed to the women's freestyle team as an aerialist, joining 21 other (older) women, based on her performance during the past season. Among other things, she won the girls' aerials at the Freestyle Junior Olympics in Kellogg, Idaho, in March.

She'll be 13 on Friday, which will make her 18 when the 2010 Games open. Since the U.S. skiing federation's rules prohibit double somersault jumps in international competition before the age of 15, she'll only have a couple of seasons to perfect them before 2010. On the other hand, she can do a twisting back somersault. That's a jump that won the men's national title in the 1970s.

Her 26-year-old brother, Joe Pack, won silver in the men's aerials at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He made the national team when he was 14. Joe's currently training at a conditioning camp in California which, because of her eligibility, Rachael was entitled to attend, but, her mother told the Salt Lake City Tribune newspaper, "There are some things a 12-year-old shouldn't be doing yet."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on April 30, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Government|
SALMON ARM MAYOR SAYS LOCAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE HAS BEGUN PLANNING PROCESS

The mayor of the British Columbian Okanagan community of Salmon Arm, Colin Mayes, says his town's 2010 Olympic Committee has begun, "to investigate the opportunities the Olympics might present." Mayes notes that "Many countries locate their athletes in nearby communities to train as much as a year in advance of the Olympics."

Mayes says the committee is looking at the community's capacity for accommodations, restaurants and facilities. "The committee is also researching information as to capacity required by an Olympic contingency from one of the smaller countries participating in the Olympics."

Mayes notes that the province will be spending "a large amount of taxpayer's money investing in infrastructure for the Olympics and it is my hope that if Salmon Arm needs money to increase our capacity to host an Olympic contingency, that provincial money will be available. Maybe our third sheet of ice needs to be of Olympic size to facilitate the capacity needed to host an Olympic contingency. With provincial financial support this could be our community's Olympic legacy, and the taxpayers of Salmon Arm that are sharing in supporting the 2010 Olympics will have something to show for our participation."

RESOURCES:

Contact Page for Salmon Arm Municipal Hall
http://www.district.salmon-arm.bc.ca/siteengine/ActivePage.asp?PageID=17

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on April 30, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Administration, Business|
REPORTS AND WEB LINKS ON OLYMPIC AND SPONSORSHIP MARKETING ASSEMBLED

Morgan:News:2010 has assembled five reports in PDF format on various aspects of Olympic marketing and, in particular, Olympic sponsorship marketing, which are now available for download for subscribers. We've also assembled several links to related marketing expertise on the Olympics.

VANOC has indicated that it is not expecting to begin dealing with sponsorship applications until the first half of next year, however a number of companies in Canada are known to be now formulating their plans for working with the Committee on sponsorships.

These reports have all be written by others and offer a wealth of experiences, expertise and background information, but their veracity has not been confirmed by Morgan:News:2010. Here are the reports:

Vancouver Olympic Committee’s policy about its logo and brand usage. Note that this report, although current, was prepared for the Vancouver Bid Corporation and inherited by VANOC. It may be updated later this year:
http://Morgan-News.com/2010/SupportFiles/2004-04/2010LogoGuidelines.pdf
How the Olympic Marketing portion of the 2004 Athens Olympics has been structured. This detailed report was published by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last December:
http://Morgan-News.com/2010/SupportFiles/2004-04/AthensOlympicMarketing.pdf
A detailed report on marketing, particularly for tourism, at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, including ambush marketing techniques:
http://Morgan-News.com/2010/SupportFiles/2004-04/MarketingReportSydney.pdf
Olympic marketing techniques, which often differ from traditional marketing ideas, can provide marketing lessons that are useful for other types of event marketing. This report offers lessons learned from Olympic marketing:
http://Morgan-News.com/2010/SupportFiles/2004-04/MarketingLessonsFromOlympic.pdf
The 2010 Olympic Committee’s Bid Book segment that provides promises and guarantees to the International Olympic Committee about how marketing is to be conducted by the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee:
http://Morgan-News.com/2010/SupportFiles/2004-04/2010BidBookMarketing.pdf
How the Canadian Olympic Committee uses its marketing slogans and trademarks. The COC does not (yet) have a specific policy about how its corporate marks and slogans can or should be used, such as VANOC's policy, but instead relies on common Canadian business traditions and corporate law. This document, however, is the nearest the COC comes to such a policy. It describes the marks and how they are to be used, and is primarily focused at graphic designers:
http://Morgan-News.com/2010/SupportFiles/2004-04/CanOlySlogansMarks.pdf

One other note: Morgan:News:2010 is not claiming copyright on these materials. These are all offered for their news value only and to prevent transient link breakage.

In addition, we have several other links of interest:

This is the section of the IOC's web site which provides a look at the history of Olympic marketing, data on Olympic broadcasting, as well as detailed information on the IOC and national Olympic Committee marketing, sponsoring and licensing programs:
http://www.olympic.org/uk/organisation/facts/introduction/index_uk.asp
This section of the IOC's website offers information on how the IOC is financed. The section also includes the Final Report for the Olympiad 1997-2000 that includes audit and activity reports.
http://www.olympic.org/uk/organisation/facts/introduction/index_uk.asp
Also, although the information is 12 years old, this web page by a market-research firm is a summary of the impact that the sponsorship programs of various companies had on spectators during the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville. A great deal has been learned by sponsorship companies during the years since as marketing programs have become much more sophisticated, but the data provides a good baseline.
http://www.performanceresearch.com/olympic-sponsorship-albertville.htm

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on April 29, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Business, Government|
FINAL AGENDA RELEASED FOR SPIRIT OF 2010 MEETING IN VANCOUVER MONDAY

A sell-out crowd of about 750 delegates from across British Columbia are expected to attend the Spirit of 2010 Business Summit, a conference set up at the Wall Centre in downtown Vancouver by the B.C. government to provide an outline of the government's strategy and framework for BC businesses, of all sizes, to, as the government puts it, "prosper from the successful 2010 Winter Games bid."

Note that because of the sudden expansion of labour issues this week, and the fact that the Wall Centre is across the street from St. Paul's Hospital, the scene of substantial picketing by health unions, there could be protest picketing on the street outside the Wall Centre, particularly in the morning, when provincial government officials are slated to speak.

The final agenda for the day-long meeting, sponsored by the Government of British Columbia and RBC Financial Group, has now been released:

8:15 am: Graham MacLachlan, Senior Vice President, RBC Financial Group

8:30 am :Keynote Address: Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Columbia

9:15 am: "Trade and Investment in BC: Leveraging 2010 Opportunities", Andrew Wilkinson, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Small Business & Economic Development and Dr. Daniel Muzyka, the Dean of the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia

10:00 am: "British Columbia's Tourism Strategy: The Olympics and Beyond", Doug Caul, Assistant Deputy Minster, Economic Development Division in the B.C. Government's Ministry of Small Business & Economic Development, and Stuart McLaughlin, the president and owner of Grouse Mountain Resorts, a skiing operation in the mountain's just north of Vancouver.

10:30 am: "BC's Labour Supply: The Outlook for 2010 and Beyond", Dr. Roslyn Kunin, president, Roslyn Kunin & Associates Inc., which published a detailed study late last year of various types of labour shortages forecast between now and 2010, plus Philip Steenkamp, the deputy minister of B.C.'s Ministry of Advanced Education.

11:15 am: "2010 Procurement Opportunities: Challenges, Solutions and Opportunities", Russ Anthony, president & project director of the Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project , John McLaughlin, the chief financial officer of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and Gordon Goodman, the director of Business Development for the B.C. Government's office overseeing the 2010 Games, the Olympic Games Secretariat.

12:45 pm: Dick Ebersol, the chairman of NBC Sports and Olympics coverage. NBC was the successful bidder for the broadcast rights to the 2010 Olympic Games, and about US$870 million is expected from the bid for 2010.

Afternoon breakout sessions will cover topics such as:

Financing for entrepreneurs and corporations to talk about how to capture the biggest benefit with the least financial risk.
Community outreach programs for discussions about how communities can make the most of their unique strengths leading up to 2010.
Partnerships and alliances for talks about how to find the a strategic partner and negotiating an alliance.
Information and strategies for partnership opportunities from major technology-industry companies
Procurement timelines and categories plus discussion on strategies to use when competing for 2010 opportunities.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on April 29, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Business, Government|
MORE INFORMATION RELEASED ABOUT BREAKOUT SESSIONS FOR SPIRIT OF 2010 SUMMIT CONFERENCE

More details are now available on the several breakout sessions that are scheduled for the Spirit of 2010 Summit conference on Monday afternoon in Vancouver, however, it appears that only some of the sessions are aimed at exploring aspects of the 2010 Games. Several of the sessions are designed to be focused on marketing financial services to the attendees or providing generic information about business operations in British Columbia.

Each session is to be about 40 minutes. The following are descriptions of just the sessions that appear to be focused on aspects of the Games themselves:

"Gearing up to 2010: Planning for Procurement Opportunities" This is to be an overview of procurement timelines and categories for the 2010 Games, including strategies for “building up” to compete for opportunities, as well as information on planning and preparing RFP responses. The panel members are to be Michael Kennedy, the project manager for Stantec, a B.C.-based engineering and architectural firm, and John McLaughlin:, the vice president of finance for the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC), and the moderator is to be Gordon Goodman, the director of Business Development for the BC Olympic Games Secretariat
"2010 Labour Demand and Supply: Challenges and Opportunities" This session is expected to provide information on the provincial government’s new Industry Training Authority as well as "provide insight from industry leaders on how they are planning to address labour needs around 2010 and beyond." The panel members are to include Jeff Fielder, the executive director of sales infrastructure for Fluor Corporation and Gordon Ahrens, the master plan co-ordinator for Whistler/Blackcomb 2014, a division of Intrawest, which owns the major ski-hill facilities at Whistler, and Brian Clewes, the chief executive offers of the government's Industry Training Authority. The moderator will be Steve Thomson, the chair of the board of directors for the BC Chamber of Commerce.
"Community and Business Success Strategies: 2010 and Beyond" This session is to focus "on steps and approaches that can be used by communities to realize economic opportunities related to the 2010 Winter Games. The panel will also discuss how similar strategies can be successfully applied for other upcoming provincial hosting activities." Although this sounds generic, the make-up of the panel indicates a strong focus on aspects of the 2010 Games. The panel members include two people from Telus Communications, which has an Olympic desk and is quite involved in a number of sports initiatives, particularly on the sponsorship side. They include Gary Wilson, Telus's director, government relations in BC and Shannon Taylor, Telus's director of marketing & communications. Also on the panel are to be two representatives from Community Vitality Enterprises: Dan London, the firm's managing partner and David Hughes, a partner. The moderator is to be Marion Lay, the president of LegaciesNow, which is allied with the provincial government's Olympic Secretariat and the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee.
"Economics of Sport and Culture: Leveraging Business Success" Sport and culture are two of the three key components of Olympic Games. The panel members are to include Marion Lay of 2010 LegaciesNow, which is in charge of providing funding for cultural and sports applications throughout British Columbia, and Don Shumka, the chair of the BC Arts Council. Also on the panel is Richard Prokopanko, the director of corporate affairs for aluminum manufacturer Alcan BC, a long-time supporter of the arts in British Columbia. The moderator is to be Charmaine Crooks, one of Canada's sports representatives on the International Olympic Committee and a member of the Board of Directors for VANOC.
"The World’s Most Powerful Brand" The title refers to the Olympic name. The meaning of sponsorship marketing for the 2010 Games is on the agenda for this session, where "Three experts discuss the opportunities and realities of sponsorship, including a checklist of how a company can assess its own potential as well as an example of how one company has been so successful in leveraging its Olympic sponsorship." The panel members include Linda Harmon of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee's marketing department, who is working on sponsorship procedures and Rich Patterson, the marketing and sales manager, Roots Canada, which supplied the a key fashion statement for the 2002 Winter Olympics: a toque. Also on the panel, as well as being its moderator, is Linda Oglov, the president of Altius Sport Marketing. Altius is a division of Vancouver's Cossette Communication Group, which is handling the public relations activities of the 2010 Summit. Oglov, before she took the position, was the vice-president of marketing for the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on April 29, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Business|
MARKETING CONFERENCE TOLD 2010 MARKETING SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ADVANCE TIME

Susan Goldsmith, the Director of Partnership Marketing for the U.S. Olympic Committee, told a marketing conference in Vancouver today that Olympic culture and values extend throughout the entire period leading up to the Games and that companies who become involved in sponsorships or related marketing should take advantage of the entire time.

Goldsmith was Account Manager for the Olympic Properties of the United States during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and managed corporate sponsorships for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Based in Denver, she was in Vancouver as part of a wide-ranging panel discussion on Olympic sponsorship marketing.

She told the standing-room-only crowd of 250 marketing executives - members of the BC chapter of the American Marketing Association - that the 2010 Games, "is more than an advertising opportunity."

She said that companies, for instance, might sponsor specific athletes well before the Games begin. "Bring the Olympic athlete to [your client's] board or sales meetings, place the [sponsorship] logos on all corporate materials, tell your story and talk about it. You've only got 17 days [for the Games themselves], so talk about it before and after the Games. Scale your plans according to your budget."

Brad Gamble, the senior director of marketing for McDonald's Restaurants in Western Canada was also a panelist, and he agreed. "The games only happen every two years and it may not come back to Canada for years," he said, noting that McDonald's recently renewed its top-level sponsorship with the International Olympic Committee for the 2010 Games. "Duration perspective is important," he said. "McDonald's doesn't need brand awareness [at the Games]. It's a short time frame. What you do before and after will leverage and expand this opportunity."

This year's summer games are in Athens, the 2006 Winter Games are in Torino, Italy, the 2008 summer Olympics are Beijing, China and though the bidding for the 2012 summer games is not yet completed, there's speculation those games will end up in Europe.

Steve Podborski, a former Olympic athlete but now part of Telus's Olympic desk, was another member of the panel. He spoke about the International Olympic Committee's rules that prevent marketing messages from appearing at venues while the Games are underway -- making them what the Olympics calls "clean venues". He said that the sponsorship of athletes is a gray area where the rules aren't clear, and aren't always resolved well. But, he added, "The clean-venues approach also applies to clean athletes during the run-up to the games."

Podborski is a World Cup downhill champion and an Olympic medallist who has turned himself into a brand name though sponsorships since becoming the first North American man to win an Olympic medal in downhill skiing some years ago. He was also part of the team that put together Vancouver's successful bid for the 2010 Games.

He told the group that what they do to let the athlete help with a company's sponsorship marketing is important. And he had these tips for the marketers who are thinking about sponsoring an athlete: "Assign a person to decide on what to do with the athlete. Activation is key. Watch regional and national events to pick a young athlete" and follow the person through to the Games.

Gamble said McDonald's has done that, adding, "Align yourself with an athlete who has promise and follow that athlete through the good and bad times. Show your customer base that you're supporting a Canadian athlete. Supporting a Canadian ideal creates stronger linkage with your customer base."

Gamble said that McDonald's will "go top dollar on TV campaigns to dominate the market. But how do you bring it to life in a restaurant? We're all guilty of sponsoring an event where the customer goes to the contact point [for a company] and they don't know what's going on. They must see and feel what you're doing," he advised.

Podborski added that sponsored athletes — and both Gamble and Goldsmith concurred - have the same aggressive, we-want-to-be-first attitude that mark many companies in their markets, and so athletic sponsorships are often a good fit for companies. Gamble added,"Athletes will go to 300% and beyond for their sponsor. Involve them with your local staff. Those staff are key because they'll talk to their family and friends. Activate your customer base through marketing activities like direct mail, donations to the Canadian Olympic foundations and integrate [the message] vertically" within the sponsoring company.

Added Goldsmith, "Don't put an athlete on a pedestal who only sees the executive. Involve them with staff and have them send e-mails to staff" about the athlete's activities.

Goldsmith said that companies thinking about approaching the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee about sponsorship plans need to take what Podborski called "the Olympic ideals" of VANOC into consideration if they are to have any hope of success. "If you activate and make a connection with an Olympic story you'll have a home run. Tell [VANOC] why you're different and incorporate this into your [sponsorship] plan."

Goldsmith added that trying to forecast how a company's sales picture will respond through Olympic sponsorships is tough. "You're going to get spikes in sales that may seem entirely unrelated to what you're doing at the time, and to ask for a forecast of sales is challenging. There are too many factors you can't plan for."

But, Podborski concluded, "If you can supply product to the Olympics you'll benefit from the 'Olympic halo' the Olympics attracts."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on April 28, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |IOC|
CANADIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE PUZZLED BY IOC'S NEW INSURANCE SCHEME

A spokesman for the Canadian Olympic Committee indicates that COC officials were somewhat surprised by the announcement of the International Olympic Committee that the IOC was acquiring a US$170 million risk-management policy to protect its cashflow in the event an Olympic games is cancelled.

COC communications director, Jackie DeSousa says, "We have contacted the IOC to find out more information about this insurance policy because we don't have a clear idea about what this means for us as an NOC [National Olympic Committee]."

The IOC has so far only said the policy,"protects the interests of the National Olympic Committees and the International Federations." IOC president Jacques Rogge said the new policy covers full and partial cancellation of the games for a "whole range of issues such as terrorism, earthquake, flooding, landslides, things like that."

DeSousa says the COC doesn't carry cancellation insurance, "However, we do have a risk-management policy for Games."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on April 28, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |IOC|
IOC TAKES OUT INSURANCE POLICY FOR OLYMPIC GAMES INCLUDING 2010

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) says it has taken out an insurance policy for US$170 million on several Olympic Games -- including the 2010 Games in Vancouver and the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee -- to protect itself, the National Olympic Committees and the International Sports Federations.

The summer Olympics in Athens this August will be the first to be covered by the new policy. Similar policies will apply to the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, the summer Games in Beijing in 2008 and the Vancouver/Whistler Games in 2010, the IOC said.

It’s being billed as “the next step” in the IOC’s strategy to “manage the risks inherent to its core business - the Olympic Games.” The specific risks covered by the policy were not immediately listed, nor were the cost of the policy or the issuer.

The idea to put in place a risk-management policy was initiated by IOC President Jacques Rogge following his election in 2001, when he said there was a need for the IOC to protect the funding of the Olympic Movement by building financial reserves and, when necessary, taking out insurance. The first discussions on the matter were held during the IOC’s meeting in Mexico two years ago.

Rogge said: "Taking out a policy to manage the risk associated with one's core business is standard, prudent behaviour for any modern organization. We are happy with the terms agreed which will support not only the IOC but also the National Olympic Committees and the International Federations.”

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on April 27, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |IOC|
UPDATE ON IOC'S INSURANCE POLICY DECISION AND COVERAGE ISSUED

2010NewsWatch

More information is now available about the International Olympic Committee's announcement this morning about a new insurance policy that covers itself, national Olympic committees such as the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee and sports federations.

The policy is cancellation insurance: a US$170 million policy to protect against the Games being forced to be cancelled because of war, terrorism or natural disasters.

The policy does not specifically protect the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, according to clarifications provided by the IOC, but the organization intends to negotiate such policies for each Olympic Games as they come into focus.

The policy would fund continued operations for the IOC and its affiliated bodies, since virtually all of its revenue is from sharing the income on a franchise basis from broadcasters, sponsors and suppliers to the Games.

IOC president Jacques Rogge told The Associated Press the move represents "standard prudent judgment." The policy covers full and partial cancellation of the games for a "whole range of issues such as terrorism, earthquake, flooding, landslides, things like that," Rogge said by phone from Lausanne, Switzerland.

The IOC policy does not cover corporate sponsors or television networks, which have billions of dollars riding on specific games, since they have their own insurance. Host city organizers also underwrite their own liability coverage, but it's not clear yet whether Vancouver's coverage would be replaced or added to the IOC's policy.

IOC finance chairman Richard Carrion, who led the negotiations, said the scenario of Olympic venues not being ready on time is not covered by the policy. "It is specifically excluded," he told the AP. The possibility of teams not showing up for the games is also not covered, Carrion said.

The IOC is paying about US$6.8 million for the policy, and the syndicate is led by New York-based insurance giant AIG, according to two Olympic sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. AIG had no immediate comment.

The policy also protects the bulk of the 28 international sports federations on the Olympic program and the 202 national Olympic committees sending teams to the games. Many of those organizations rely heavily on games-related revenue for their existence.

The policy is meant to ensure that the IOC and Olympic sports bodies can continue to operate for another four-year Olympic cycle if the games are called off. Rogge told AP the IOC needs just over US$200 million to keep running in the event of cancellation. The committee already has around US$160 million in financial reserves.

"We will certainly have the required amount after the successful completion of the Athens Games," Carrion said.

The Athens Olympics, the first summer games to be covered, will be the most heavily guarded in history. The security budget is nearing $1 billion. That's more than triple the amount spent on protecting the 2000 summer Games in Sydney, Australia.

Rogge said the IOC began exploring the possibility of taking out insurance in 2001 but the industry was reluctant to offer terrorism coverage after the Sept. 11 attacks. The IOC had no coverage for the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

Carrion said the IOC also considered two other options: taking out a credit line to absorb the bulk of the risk, and a combined insurance-credit arrangement for both Athens and Beijing. The executive board decided in February to go with the standard contingency insurance.

Carrion told AP the IOC negotiated the bulk of the coverage before the March 11 terror bombings in Madrid that killed 191 people.

"We were fortunate we had found capacity before the Madrid incident, that was very helpful," he said. "After the Madrid bombings, capacity become even more strained, and we would have felt it in the price."
Rogge said security has long been the IOC's "No. 1 priority" and that Greece has done "everything humanly possible" to safeguard the games.

"This is an unprecedented effort," he said. "More cannot be done. Nobody can guarantee 100% security, but we can guarantee that we've done everything that was available and possible."

Aside from terrorism, insurance experts told AP the main risk in Athens would be from earthquakes. Athens sits on a fault line. In 1999, a quake in the Athens area killed 143 people, injured about 2,000 and left thousands more homeless.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on April 27, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |IOC, Labour|
SPORTS COMMENTATOR SAYS FASEL UNDERSTANDS THE NHL WANTS TO GO TO VANCOUVER 2010, NOT TORINO

A veteran sports commentator says the weekend's comments by 2010 International Olympic Commissioner Rene Fesel about National Hockey League participation in the 2006 Torino games has to be confirmed by January surprised the NHL team owners and players as they attempt to prevent a strike/lockout this fall.

Damien Cox says in the Toronto Star newspaper that "For starters, Olympic competition has never formally been part of the league's CBA in the past, so it's not clear why the NHL involvement in 2006 would necessarily turn on a new agreement. If the NHL isn't playing in the 2005-06 season, all players would be free to go to Torino anyway. And if a new collective bargaining agreement were reached in July, 2005, there would still be ample time to create a schedule with an Olympic break."

Cox adds, "No, the truth is that Fasel already understands [NHL Commissioner Gary] Bettman really doesn't want to be in Italy, mostly because an Olympic hockey tournament with a six-hour time difference doesn't fit with the league's TV needs. That's why Fasel is no longer connecting the '06 Games with the 2010 Vancouver Games as he once did, saying the NHL has to be at both. Instead, he now says that if the NHL misses Turin, it could return to the fold for the much more appealing and convenient Vancouver competition.

"We're in Canada and I cannot see the NHL not being there," Cox quotes Fasel.

Cox adds, "This, quite frankly, stunned both the league and the players. It also removes Olympic participation as a bargaining chip for either side in the current labour stalemate without the fear missing 2006 will erase the NHL from the Olympic mindset forever."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on April 27, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC|
VANOC DOESN'T YET HAVE CANCELLATION INSURANCE IN PLACE FOR 2010 GAMES

A spokesman for the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC) says the organization has operational insurance, but doesn't yet have cancellation insurance in place for the 2010 Games. It says, however, the cancellation issue will be addressed later.

Sam Corea, VANOC's communications director, was commenting on today's announcement that the IOC has put a US$170 million cancellation policy on this summer's Olympic Games in Athens as a matter of policy, and intends to do so for the games at least until 2010 to protect the IOC, its affiliated sports organizations and its national Olympic committees, such as Canada's.

"Risk management is a critical part of planning for any Games organizing committee," says Corea. "Insurance on VANOC's current operations is in place. However, the major coverage that the IOC refers to is an area that will be addressed later. VANOC's placement of cancellation coverage is not expected for some time yet as the insurance markets are not prepared to write such a policy that far into the future.."

Corea added that, "VANOC will address the situation at the appropriate time."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on April 27, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |IOC
Labour|
FASEL FRETS ABOUT NHL PLAYERS IN TORINO BUT NOT 2010 VANCOUVER GAMES

2010NewsWatch

The chair of the International Olympic Committee Commission which oversees the development of the 2010 Winter Olympics says he's confident that National Hockey League players will take part in the 2010 Games, but he's not so sure about the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Italy.

Rene Fasel, who is also the head of the International Ice Hockey Federation, said in a Reuters interview in Prague that if the NHL goes on a protracted strike as forecast this fall, the Commissioner of the NHL, Gary Bettman, was unlikely be able to confirm players from the teams would be playing in Italy for three weeks the following winter by the January 2005 deadline the NHL needs.

Fasel said to reporter Alan Crosby,"Gary Bettman has told me that for the NHL to send players to the 2006 Olympics, they have to decide by January 2005. But that decision would be part of an agreement with the NHLPA [the players' association], so if there is no agreement and no hockey in January, then they cannot commit to playing in Torino."

NHL players first represented national teams during the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, with the League taking a three-week break, allowing the cream of the players to travel, but that decision took years of negotiations to achieve. The move was repeated in the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, when Canada defeated the U.S.

Fasel, however, said: "Whatever happens in 2006 has nothing to do with 2010 in Vancouver. If the NHL doesn't come to Torino, they can still play in Vancouver."

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on April 26, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC|
VANOC BEGINS LOOKING FOR MID-LEVEL MANAGERS AND SECRETARIAL HELP

The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC) has begun looking for mid-level managers and secretarial help in several key administrative areas. Finance, procurement, administration and scheduling are the hot list for the moment.

VANOC documents say, "We are looking for exceptionally talented, flexible, energetic leaders with excellent interpersonal and relationship-building skills to contribute their knowledge, vision and forward thinking... Experience in a project-driven environment - where budgets and timelines are a challenge - is key."

There's no time deadline. VANOC officials say at this point, they're looking for resumes, which will be kept on file for six months. If a position becomes available which matches the person's skills and background, they will be contacted; if not, VANOC says people can simply resubmit their resume.

VANOC is looking for, on the finance side, a "senior expert in budget planning and control, policy writing." Financial reporting and management is one of the essential requirements, along with "experience in a project-driven environment."

For procurement, VANOC wants senior people who know about the public tender process, requests for proposals, writing contracts, who can maintain" internal customer satisfaction," as well people who are good at "defining, documenting and implementing policies and procedures."

On the scheduling side, the Committee is looking for people with planning-and-process development, who know how to use scheduling tools such as Microsoft Project and Primavera, and who have construction scheduling expertise. VANOC wants those applying to have extensive experience with multi-level project schedules, and "exceptional communication and interpersonal skills." It says that experience in developing customized project-tracking and project-monitoring tools is essential because the environment will be "task-driven, time-sensitive." And the documents add, "Previous multi-sport games experience an asset but not required."

Administration requirements at the moment include executive assistance for several departments, providing clerical and secretarial services and that these people, "may report to multiple individuals."

In addition, the administrative duties include: managing day-to-day activities of department heads, scheduling calendars, screening and responding to e-mail and voicemail, making appointments, co-ordinating meetings, preparing agendas and minutes, coordinating travel arrangements, ensuring ongoing accessibility to information and individuals by people inside and outside of VANOC, managing and maintaining the organization's filing system, preparing letters, correspondence and reports, filing, faxing, photocopying...

VANOC has leased two floors at 1095 West Pender for occupancy in June for the fourth floor and August for the fifth floor, with executive offices located on the fourth level and a cube farm on the fifth. The floors, which VANOC expects will be filled within 18 months, provide for about triple the current staffing level of 40, which includes full time, part time and consultants.

RESOURCES
========

E-mail address for submitting a resume:
human_resources@vancouver2010.com

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on April 26, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |Paralympic|
PARALYMPICS TOLD 5% OF VOLUNTEERS WANT TO WORK EXCLUSIVELY FOR DISABLED ATHLETICS

The executive group of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), which met in The Netherlands over the weekend, says that research is showing that about 5% of people who have volunteered for this August's summer Olympics in Athens want to work exclusively for the Paralympics.

The results have planning significance for the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee in working out the staffing requirements of the Paralympic Games, which start March 12, 2010, about two weeks after the Winter Games finish, and use many of the same facilities. The Athens report to the IPC this weekend showed that of the 152,164 volunteer applications received by Greece, 25% want to work for both the Paralympic and Olympic Games, while the balance are only interested in the Olympics themselves.

The Vancouver volunteer roster, built during the Bid process, was about 20,000, but that is expected to dip and then build again as 2010 nears and volunteer recruitment efforts by the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee begin in later years. The rule of thumb is that a Winter Olympics is about a third the size of a summer Olympics, indicating that VANOC should be looking for about 50,000 volunteers for the 2010 Games overall, and that about 2,500 of those would be interested in working exclusively for the Paralympics portion, with about 12,000 interested in working for both the Olympics and Paralympic Games. But these figures are still quite rough at this stage.

The IPC is the international governing body of sport for athletes with a disability. It supervises and co-ordinates the Paralympic Summer and Winter Games and other multi-disability competitions, such as the World and Regional Championships. The IPC, headquartered in Bonn, Germany, also supports the recruitment and development of local, national and international athletes.

The executive committee also had a look at the first draft of the organization's Constitution and bylaws, which will be approved by the 2005 IPC General Assembly. Nomination and election procedures for the IPC Governing Board, which will replace the current EC in 2005, and which may have an effect on how the 2010 Winter Games are organized, were also discussed. IPC President Phil Craven, speaking after the meeting at the Papendal Sport Centre in Arnheim, said: "A lot of work was done in essential areas specifically regarding the new governance principles, but also concerning sport, branding, sponsorship and development."

The Executive Committee was also told that 115 national Paralympic committees (NPCs), all sports and all International Organizations of Sport for the Disabled have now signed the World Anti-Doping Code. Any NPC, which has not signed the Code, will not be allowed to participate in the Athens Paralympic Games. The International Olympic Committee has taken the same position.

The executive committee was also told that four new NPCs were approved for membership: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iraq and Nepal, bringing IPC membership to 160 national organizations.

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on April 26, 2004

Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC|
TEAM 2010 HELPERS AWARDED GROUP VOLUNTEER AWARD

Team 2010 volunteers from Vancouver and Whistler have been given the Community Service Award, Group Category, at Volunteer Vancouver's Recognition Awards this month.

Team 2010 volunteers helped acquire about 150,000 supporter signatures, part of the 2010 Winter Games Bid. The volunteers represented the Bid at numerous community events and functions and helped operate the Bid's information centres in Vancouver and Whistler. A Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee spokesman says "Their contribution was an essential component of producing the winning bid."

RESOURCES:
========

Volunteer Vancouver website:
http://www.volunteervancouver.ca/

Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on April 26, 2004

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