Vancouver 2010

The End

2010-02-28T21:20:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay! Things are still pretty busy around here!

Here is my re-cap...

Things I've Done Since My Last Post:

- Watched the ladies free skate...our ladies were fabulous as always! Also got to watch the medal ceremony!

- Bummed around downtown and pretended to be trendy...which meant buying a cupcake and shopping for 'subtle' discounted Olympic gear in a very trendy shop

- Had a 'Sloppy Joanne' at the Yaletown Brewery - it was delicious!

- Danced in fake snow (picture explanation below)

- Toured the Olympic Village where the athletes live...SO COOL! I've always wanted to tour the Village and it did not disappoint! (See my pictures below) Best part: the view from the U.S. Figure Skating 6th Floor!

- Went to the USA vs Finland men's hockey game

- Planned and attended U.S. Figure Skating's Team Dinner at the USA House

- Went to (and got in to!) Club Bud

- Packed up and shipped our office

- Went to the figure skating exhibition

- Drove people around Vancouver

- Had a pizza party at the house while we watched the USA vs Canada hockey game...it was such a good try!

- Endured the mayhem otherwise known as downtown...Canadians are crazy when they win

- Went to the Closing Ceremony - it was just as amazing as the Opening! Favorite part: John Furlong's speech (the CEO of VANOC)...and the giant beavers...too funny!

- Ran into my old friend Janine from Winnipeg at the Closing! Such a small world!

Even though it tends to feel like we are in the U.S., I've compiled a few subtle differences between Canada and the States:

- I have a lot more change
- 'Restrooms' don't exist...instead they are called 'washrooms'

- The letter 'z' is actually 'zed' here

- And EVERYONE always says 'eh?'

And now the Olympics come to end...thank you for keeping up with my blog over the past 16+ days! I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you enjoyed the 2010 Olympics Winter Games as much as I did!

My Top 10 Favorite Things About The Olympics

10. Always being able to find a Diet Coke

9. Watching the underdog win

8. Seeing the inside and outside of the Olympic venues

7. Hearing the NBC Olympic theme song

6. Getting to wear my Olympic and USA apparel every day

5. Buying Olympic souvenirs for everyone

4. Taking a picture in front of the torch

3. Hearing the U.S. national anthem

2. Seeing all of the flags from around the world hung up in every venue

1. Telling people I'm an American

The Olympic Village!

The Village Dining Hall

The Athlete Living Room

The 6th Floor =U.S. Figure Skating Floor!

View of the Sochi House from the 6th Floor

U.S. Figure Skating's Team Dinner at the USA House

Closing Ceremony!

The End

OMG

2010-02-24T12:32:00.000-08:00

So I'm sitting in our office today eating McDonald's fries and look up to see Michelle Kwan walking in the door! Apparently my co-worker Ramsey had told her that I hadn't met her yet so she came in to say hi! OMG - seriously still can't even believe it. Then her agent (who I work with on a regular basis) asks me if I want to get a picture with her. I was like - sure! VERY COOL! The best part: she is very nice!

Yesterday I went to the Canada vs Germany hockey game with Liz! Loved the venue! It was sea of red! I was cheering for Germany (my name IS Schmitz after all) but they lost.

Our U.S. ladies did fabulous last night! They are currently in fifth and sixth place going into the free skate which takes place tomorrow night. We're crossing out fingers for another medal!

Room 103 at Washington Elementary School asked me this morning about the medals...each medal weighs about 500 grams which is a little over one pound. They are the heaviest medals in Olympic history! No two medals are alike. I don't think the medals are made out of real gold but I'm not quite sure...check out this awesome website to find out more fun medal facts: http://www.mint.ca/store/mint/learn/medals-4400016

SILVER

2010-02-23T10:48:00.000-08:00

We got another medal!!!!! And have you seen who's still leading the medal count? USA USA U-S-A!!!!!

Last night one of our U.S. ice dance teams, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, earned a silver medal! The Canadians were first and the Russians third. It is the first time ever that North America has dominated the ice dancing podium...so we are VERY happy about that!

We had another party last night at the USA House to celebrate their medal. While there, I ran into the U.S. men's curling team and stopped to chat with them for a bit. They were surprised to hear that I was from Hibbing. It was pretty neat! They said they do know Marcy and Ashley! :)

Everyone keeps asking me if Evan is single and since his dating life went public yesterday in People magazine, I suppose I can confirm that Evan IS dating gymnast Nastia Liukin (that's why she was at his medal party).

Interesting facts:

The odds of a Canadian making it to the Olympic Games: 1 in 50,000. The odds of an American making it to the Olympic games: 1 in 430,000.

Minnesota has 22 athletes representing the U.S...the most of any state! Colorado isn't far behind with 13 athletes!

The U.S. medal count is shaping up to be the best total count since the 1932 Lake Placid Olympics. Yay!

Celebrity sightings: Michelle Kwan and Tara Lipinski!

Shout out to my cousin Senia, her coach Jenna and the Greenway Emerald Ice Figure Skating Club! Their skating show is on March 6th and 7th in Coleraine...if you live up north, be sure to go watch!

Ladies short program begins tonight! Our ladies have been looking very good in practice so don't forget to tune in and cheer!

The ice dancing medalists.

Meryl and Charlie with their coaches and our team leaders.

The steam clock in Gastown...we found it on our way to watch the free dance.

Correction to Today's Post

2010-02-22T15:03:00.001-08:00

As Kjersten pointed out, the Sochi Games will be in 2014 not 2016 like I stated below. Oooops! My mistake...I was typing really fast and didn't catch that! Sorry! Thanks Kjersten!

Fun Things

2010-02-22T11:28:00.000-08:00

Please tell me that you watched the hockey game last night! GO TEAM USA!!!

Fun things I've done since my last post:

- Cheered on the U.S. ice dance teams at both the compulsory dance and the original dance...we are currently in 2nd, 4th and 11th. We ARE expecting another medal party tonight at the USA House - yay!

- Cheered on the U.S. during the USA vs Canada men's hockey game...in a restaurant filled with Canadian fans...needless to say I was booed at for the first time in my life. LOL Interesting fact: Did you know that 7 of the 23 players on the hockey team have 'ryan' in their name?

- Went shopping...again...with Liz in Gastown

- Went to the Procter & Gamble Family Home for another 'Evan Party'. While I was there I saw the curling families...this is how the next few minutes went:

Me: Are you the curling families?

Curling Families: Yes

Me: I'm from Hibbing

Curling Families: (Gasps and shouts) Ohhhhhh! We're from Chisholm! We're from Gilbert!

Me: I know! That's why I came over to say hi!

Curling Families: What are you doing here?

Me: I work for U.S. Figure Skating.

Curling Families: Wow! It's great to meet you!

Me: You too! I think you know my aunt Marcy and my cousin Ashley.

Curling Families: Yes we do!

...Then we exchanged pins and wished each other luck. :) It was awesome!

On tap for this week: Free dance, Ladies short and free skate, tour of the Olympic Village, tour of the International Broadcast Center which will get me closer to the torch, Under Armour party at Club Bud, figure skating exhibition, closing ceremonies...and then the Games are over! It's hard to believe that a week from today I will be back in Colorado Springs!

Be sure to watch the free dance tonight!

View of Gastown

View of the torch...notice all of the people on the sidewalk.

The Sochi car parked right in front of our office! Sochi (pronounced So-chi) is the site for the 2016 Olympic Winter Games. Sochi is in Russia.

Liz and me at the USA House.

Team mangers, Lorrie Parker and Richard Dalley pose for a picture with me. Over the past few years I've gotten to know them both very well and I love them dearly! They are amazing!

Day 9

2010-02-20T09:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Day 9 of the Olympics!

Everyone keeps asking me: 'So Julie, if you don't have a credential and if you're not living in the Olympic Village, what do you do all day?'...so I thought I'd take some time to explain how this all works:

Olympic credentials are very limited and each country can only receive a specific number of them. The people who receive credentials as part of the U.S. Figure Skating Team are: 15 athletes, 9 coaches (remember that each of our skaters/teams have their own personal coach so we use a lot of our credentials on our coaches), 3 team leaders/managers, one team doctor, one team physiotherapist, two media staff members, one president and one executive director. All of these folks (except for the two media staff members, the president and the ED) live in the Village. Then there are lots of other people here on behalf of U.S. Figure Skating including me, a few of my co-workers and a skate technician. We also have several U.S. officials here on behalf of the International Skating Union (ISU). So when you include the assistant coaches that are also here and each athlete's agent, there are about 56 people here for the U.S. Figure Skating Team. Then, every athlete has AT LEAST six family members here...some have over a dozen, which means we're technically supporting roughly 150 people in Vancouver.

With so many friends and family, board members and VIP's, it is easier to understand why me and my other non-credentialed co-workers are here to support our skating family. Here is what my days usually look like:

6:00am - Wake up and get ready (Remember I'm living in the house we are renting which is about 2 blocks from the figure skating/speed skating venue and our U.S. Figure Skating Olympic Office)

7:30am - Open up the office (which is actually a small private school). Turn off the security alarm. Turn on both of the TV's. Turn on both of the laptops. Make coffee. Make hot chocolate. Update the medal count (see picture below). Print and post recent stories about our skaters. Refill our table of USA 'stuff' (pins, noise makers, beads, etc.)

9:00am-ish - Depending on if it's a practice day, we may already have had some visitors by 9am. Each visitor (mostly friends and family) usually has several questions or needs to pick something up. Tips on how to get into the venue, directions for how to get on the bus/train system, addresses for all of the special houses downtown, hours of the Olympic Superstore, distributing practice or event tickets and answering questions about ticket availability are all a part of how we support the F&F.

12:00pm - Usually about this time Bob mans the office and I go grab some to-go lunch. Then when I get back I re-do everything I did at the start of the morning (make more coffee, etc.) I also check my email and actually work on things that I do on a daily basis when I'm in CO. My AMAZING intern, Liz, is still in CO right now and has been handling the vast majority of things for me while I'm gone (organizing the World Junior, World and Spring Teams...all of which compete in March). So fortunately, I haven't had to deal with any major issues back in CO yet.

1:00pm - Things usually start to pick up at the office especially on an event day. Everyone stops by to check their email, catch some Olympic coverage, grab a Diet Coke or just to say hi. The afternoon flies by!

4:00pm/5:00pm - We usually close down the office at about this time. Then we either go across the street to watch the event or we go downtown to watch or we find tickets to something else or we just hangout downtown and take in the atmosphere.

Every day is different which makes life very interesting! You never know when someone will have an extra ticket or a VIP pass to something. You just have to be ready to change your plans and GO!

I am very thankful that I had so many unique jobs in high school and college! Opening up the office reminds of me of working as the house manager at the Ted Man Concert Hall, making coffee reminds me of working at concessions stands both at HCC and the racetrack, answering questions all day reminds me of working at JCPenny's, washing laundry at the house reminds me of working for the women's basketball team at the U, making a bulletin board for the medal count reminds me of student teaching and driving the van reminds me of driving the water truck for Curbside! Like I said before, you can never underestimate the impact of those odd jobs you had growing up! :)

An update on the compulsory dance front: our teams are currently in third, fourth and fourteenth. We are expecting them all to move up after tomorrow's original dance so be sure to watch!

View of the Vancouver skyline from our office - the weather has been great for the past few days!

Entrance to the Pacific Coliseum

Our medal count!

GOLD

2010-02-19T08:48:00.001-08:00

Where do I even begin?

So in case you haven't heard, Evan Lysacek won the GOLD medal last night!!!!! It was a very exciting event and also a very close event. We are thrilled that he beat Plushenko!

Immediately following the end of the event, we hosted a big party for him at the USA House. The place was crawling with famous people! Vera Wang, Nastia Liukin and Wayne Gretzky...just to name a few! I also got to meet Stacey Dales (famous women's basketball player from U of Oklahoma) last night - I got to work with her to set up some interviews...that was pretty cool!

Compulsory Dance starts tonight...there is a STRONG possibility that we will also medal in ice dance so be sure to keep watching! Our dancers will also skate the original dance and free dance on Sunday and Monday.

BTW - found out last night that Apolo Ohno is living about 5 houses down from us. Wild!

Also, just to keep everyone in the loop, here are a couple of fun websites to visit:

http://www.nbcolympics.com/

http://www.icenetwork.com/

http://www.teamusanews.org/

USA USA USA

2010-02-18T14:57:00.001-08:00

Wow - things are busy around here!

Here's a quick rundown of what I've been up to since my last post:

- Watched the men's short program live

- Cheered for our U.S. guys

- Stood in line for an hour at the Olympic Superstore to buy 14 pairs of red mittens

- Got interviewed at the Olympic Superstore by a local news channel because I was buying 14 pairs of red mittens

- Went back to the torch and got a better picture

- Scored a ticket to men's curling

- Cheered on our U.S./Duluth guys at the curling match but unfortunately they lost in overtime...it was a great match though!

- Ran into Mr. Harms at the curling match!

- Organized a potential medal party at the USA House for our men...this included emailing pretty much every famous U.S. figure skating ever to live...and a voice message from Nancy Kerrigan...sometimes it's still hard to believe I have the job I have

- Got a VIP tour of the Coke pavilion

Shout out to all of my family members who are checking the blog! Love and miss you!

And a shout out to Kris Vesel! I promise I was not abducted, I've just been busy!

BTW - have you seen who's leading the medal count???? USA USA USA! 15 medals!

Men's free skate tonight - be sure to watch and cheer! We're hoping for some serious hardware!

The staff and Evan after the short.

The venue right before the men's short.

Japanese TV doing live coverage right outside of our office. One of their skaters is currently in third after the short.

Russian TV doing live coverage right outside of our office. One of their skaters is currently in first after the short.

The Torch!

Curling! The USA men are in blue.

Me with the mascots Quatchi and Miga!

Me with the Canadian Mounted Police!

The Coke Pavilion

The Samsung dog - he was just so cute!

Per Mr. Hattam's request, here is a picture of a Vancouver map.

Mr. Hattam: What is your email address? I will email you some really good maps!

Sweet Potato Fries

2010-02-16T08:55:00.000-08:00

Did you know that you can get sweet potato fries at almost every restaurant in Vancouver? I love it! Therefore I have sweet potato fries (or yam fries as they are called here) just about every day. (and it's making me feel better about the whole not-being-able-to-find-candy-hearts-thing) :)

Last night was the Pairs Free Skate and both of our U.S. teams were amazing! Unfortunately we sold all of our tickets so I didn't get to watch it live but I did watch the whole event on TV in a downtown restaurant which was almost as cool.

It is super fun to be downtown! The atmosphere is very 'Olympic'! The streets are filled with people from all over the world...all wearing their country's gear and carrying their flags. When you walk around you hear dozens of other languages being spoken. Most of the restaurants have outdoor heated patios lined with TV's so everyone stops on the sidewalk to catch a glimpse of the action. And even though it rains almost every night, there is a huge outdoor festival/concert/fireworks show in Robson Square, complete with a plastic ice rink. Like I said in an earlier blog, it truly feels like the world is having a party and I got invited.

On a fashion note, the red mittens with the white maple leaf (that you all keep seeing on TV) are becoming very popular here and abroad. I got three requests yesterday from friends and family to purchase some as souvenirs!

Oh and we DID snag a couple of USA House passes yesterday and we are saving them for a night when there's a huge medal party there...I can't wait!

Tonight is the Men's Free Skate and I DO have a ticket to watch! All three of our men have a legitimate shot at medaling so the event is going to be very exciting! Go Team USA!

Tickets I'm trying to find: USA men's curling match (since they train in Duluth I figured I better try to go cheer for them), USA short track speed skating and USA hockey game...I'll keep you posted on what I come up with!

Bob and I with our medical team, Skip and Judy.

The countdown clock now counting up as the Games continue.

The Paralympic Games countdown clock (they take place about one week after the Olympics conclude).

A snowboarder zip-lining over the crowd in Robson Square.

Fireworks at Robson Square

A poster of the 1980 Miracle on Ice Hockey Team. They have a bunch of posters like this displayed right next to the countdown clock downtown.

Valentine's Day and Pairs

2010-02-14T20:28:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today was the first day of competition and we started off with the Pairs Short Program. Both of our U.S. team skated wonderfully and overall it was a very good day...haven't found any candy hearts yet but I'm still looking. :) And I was lucky enough to snag a ticket to watch most of the event so I really got to cheer on Team USA in style!

Last night I went downtown and visited the Olympic torch with another Minnesota friend, Matt. Seeing the torch never gets old!

Some more celebrity sightings...Brian Boitano spent some time on our office today and me and Evan Lysacek hung out at the house for a bit. He was going to spend the night at our house to get some rest but ended up getting called by USADA (U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) and had to go back to the Village to get tested (dang USADA! lol - just kidding)

Here's a shout out to Room 104 at Castle Elementary School in Oakdale, Minnesota! (aka Miss Schmitz's kindergarten class - aka my sister's class). Be sure to watch the Olympics on TV! There are a lot of Minnesota athletes competing!

Tomorrow...Pairs Free Skate!

Entrance to the Pacific Coliseum

Scottie (our director of media and pr) and I matched today so of course we had to take a pic in front of the flag!

Lorrie (one of our team leaders) and I at our office...notice the furniture! (hint: IKEA!)

Our Office! It's cozy.

Bob working at our desk...both TV's are on at all times so that we can get all of the live coverage. Also the spot where I write most of these blogs!

The Olympic Torch

Opening Ceremony

2010-02-13T11:25:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that four years ago I hosted a Torino Opening Ceremonies party in my apartment in Minnesota...and last night I got to see the entire event unfold before my very eyes. It sort of feels like the world had a party and I got an invitation. Watching the OC live was probably the most amazing thing I've done so far in my life and remembering where I was four years ago makes it that much more special. I am just so grateful to have been given the experience and what an awesome way to celebrate the Olympic Movement. If you ever get a chance to go to an OC, DO IT! You will not regret one second!

Here's my best attempt to recap the day:

The OC is like Cirque du Soleil meets the Superbowl on Christmas. You just can't even compare it to anything else because there is nothing else like it. My day started out by opening up our office near the figure skating venue. As the day progressed it became more and more certain that I was getting a ticket to the OC. I was jumping out of my skin I was so excited! At about 3:00pm we jumped on a bus headed for downtown Vancouver and realized that we had ANOTHER extra ticket. So I quickly called around to see which of my friends would want to attend and Liz (my friend working at the USA House) was able to go! So not only did I get to see the OC live but I also got to see it with one my closest friends (and just as a side note, Liz and I met while studying the ancient Olympics in Athens, Greece in 2001...so needless to say, she is a huge Olympic fan too).

We spent roughly 45 minutes getting through security...as did the other 55,000 spectators. When we made it to our seats, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the audience is part of the show! And as a cast member of the show, you get stuff! On every seat in the building was a 'kit' of supplies that everyone needed to participate...a flashlight, a glow candle, a white poncho, a drum stick and a souvenir program were among the items in the kit. And everything was conveniently in a little drum that doubled as a noise maker!

So of course when you are a part of the show you need to practice...therefore as soon as we got settled in our seats, the stadium did a giant rehearsal where we learned what we were supposed to do with our props and when, etc. That was pretty cool! I should also mention that our seats were right next to the other part of our team...our parents, coaches and medical team...it was super fun to share the experience with them!

Finally the big event began at about 5:30 and I'm assuming most of you watched it on TV. Everyone keeps asking me what my favorite part was but it's hard to just pick one! So I've posted some of my favorite pics below.

On a somber note, as you probably know, there was a very tragic accident yesterday at the luge event that took the life of Georgian athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili. The accident has definitely affected everyone here and his loss was recognized several times last night during the OC. I do believe that everything happens according to God's plan and although we may never know or understand that plan, Nodar's spirit is alive within all of our hearts during these Olympic Games.

One more celebrity sighting...Kristi Yamaguchi is hanging out at our office today as I blog and she just recorded our office voice message LOL...she's very nice!

IKEA

2010-02-11T22:02:00.000-08:00

We officially moved into a small private school today to set up our temporary office in Vancouver...and all of the students get two weeks vacation! The school is conveniently located directly across the street from our venue. The office will serve as the one stop shop for our friends and family...picking up tickets, checking their email, watching other events on our big screen, grabbing some hot chocolate, etc.

To dress up our office and make it a bit more comfortable, I was charged with picking out furniture at IKEA. So I picked out a brown couch, a brown chair, brown tables, a red rug, red pillows and three green plants...keep in mind that the room has exposed ceiling beams that are tannish-brown and some of the walls are red. Overall I think it turned out pretty good...I'll post some pictures of the room when we are all set up.

We also walked over to the venue today - it looks incredible on the inside! Vancouver is definitely ready to host the world!

Some more celebrity sightings...I saw Shaun White, Louie Vito, Bonnie Blair and Picabo Street all within five minutes of each other last night! WOW!

Here's a shout out to Room 103 at Washington Elementary School in Hibbing, MN (aka Mrs. Schmitz's class)! I heard that you've been viewing the blog each day in the library! Keep it up and be sure to watch Opening Ceremonies tomorrow night!

Speaking of which..........as of right now, I have a ticket (courtesy of U.S. Figure Skating) to Opening Ceremonies!!!!!! I have never seen the OC live and I am crossing my fingers and praying to God that I get to go! So if I don't blog tomorrow night, you'll know it's because I'm sitting in BC Place watching Team USA march into the stadium! :)

The Olympics are here!!!!!!!! GET EXCITED!!!!!!!

Me in the Figure Skating Venue

Figure Skating Venue (the men were practicing when we were there)

The Vancouver Logo on the Ice

The American Flag!

The Rings Lit Up at Night

In Search of Brach's Large Candy Hearts

2010-02-10T18:45:00.000-08:00

So apparently they do not sell Brach's large candy hearts in Canada. Bob and I have been on the lookout for the past two days and after all of the shopping we have done, we still haven't been able to find them anywhere! Bummer! (and I already ate the candy heart supply I brought with me to Vancouver lol)

Anyway...today was another fun day...we spent most of the day driving. We did a test run from the house to the Olympic Village to our secondary practice site and back in order to time it out and figure out which was the best route. Due to the Olympic traffic this trip takes much longer than you would normally estimate. We are driving semi-large vans and now I am very thankful that I spent two summers in college driving a 2-ton water truck around the Twin Cities! Oh how those summer jobs pay off in the long run! :)

This afternoon we met with the owners of the school that we are renting to get the keys and go through the last minute details of our rental. We move into the school tomorrow and their multi-purpose room will serve as U.S. Figure Skating's temporary headquarters in Vancouver. The school is literally across the street from the Pacific Coliseum which is the venue for figure skating and speed skating. Rumor has it that some of the speed skaters are living in a house about a block from our house...we're thinking of having a block party with them later in the Games!

Oh and I forgot to blog about the Minnesota celebrity sighting I had the other day...Eric Perkins, from Kare 11 News in the Twin Cities, was at team processing on Tuesday...I wanted to go say hi and tell him I was from Minnesota but he was kind of busy talking to athletes and whatnot...maybe I'll seem him around again!

Finally, here's a shout out to Daisy Girl Scout Troop #2359 in Colorado Springs! I hope you had a great meeting today and that you learned some new facts about the Chinese New Year! Enjoy watching the Olympics and I'll see you all again in March!

Welcome Sign Near the House

View of the Venue from the School (which will be our office starting tomorrow)

Signage Outside the Venue

Shopping Day

2010-02-09T18:17:00.000-08:00

Today could definitely be described as 'shopping day'...and who better to shop for stuff than me! aka the girl who has made shopping (especially Olympic-related shopping) into one of her hobbies!

The morning was spent shopping for supplies for our house and our office (towels, water, snacks, airbeds, etc.) and the afternoon was spent shopping for Olympic gear. I tried very hard to only buy stuff for others but I just can't resist those Olympic rings and wound up buying a few new items for myself. :) Below are some fun pics from the day.

We also toured the USA House...an exclusive hospitality house in downtown Vancouver that you have to have a special pass to gain access...I've never been in the USA House before and let me tell you, it is awesome! There's also a retail shop inside and of course I had to buy something with Team USA on it! One of my co-workers, Mandy and one of my best friends, Liz, will be working at the USA House throughout the Games...I'm hoping they can hook me up with a guest pass again!

Team Processing

The Vancouver Leaves Poster

Our House (it was built less than a year ago)

Our Kitchen (it is SO nice!)

The Coke Pin Trading Center

The Olympic Rings (they're lit up at night)

The Canadian flag wrapped around a building

The chaos that is the Olympic Superstore

Inside the USA House!

Vancouver Day 1

2010-02-08T21:09:00.000-08:00

I am officially in Vancouver! After several hours of flying, my co-worker, Bob, and I finally landed at the Vancouver International Airport early this afternoon. We were lucky enough to catch a ride to the hotel with the U.S. Men's Bobsled Team...that was pretty neat...they were all very pumped to be in Vancouver! All of the U.S. athletes will spend one night at the hotel I am currently in for what we call 'Team Processing'. This is basically where they get all of their stuff...including three giant duffel bags full of Nike gear. I'm very jealous! Wait until you see their Opening Ceremony apparel!

This afternoon Bob and I did some reconnaissance...got the keys for our rental vans, got the keys for the house we're moving into tomorrow, got the rest of the tickets we purchased, etc. etc. etc. In addition, our two pair teams and their coaches arrived today from Florida. They are staying at my hotel tonight too and can't wait to take the ice tomorrow for their first official practice. I can't even explain how excited these four skaters are to be here...they just can't stop smiling and neither can I!

The internet in the hotel is very slow so I'll post some pictures tomorrow when we move into the house.

And on a final note for the night, Jodi: I hope you had a fabulous 21st birthday today! :)

Final Preparations

2010-02-04T07:09:00.000-08:00

T minus 4 days until I depart for the Olympics! I can't believe the day is almost here! The past few weeks have been filled with the final preparations for our team and helping the athletes' families navigate through the Olympic waters. Between housing, tickets, transportation and how to get special guest passes for everything from the Olympic Village to the USA House, the 'friends and family' part of our delegation has kept us very busy! Even so, it has certainly been an exciting time and we aren't even in Vancouver yet! Go Team USA!

About to send our official Olympic entries to the USOC...might be the most important thing I've done so far in my career LOL ...good thing Liz (my intern) was there to double check because you wouldn't want to mess something like that up! I was also glad that Liz thinks this is worthy of taking a picutre of as much as I do! :)

Organizing each family's Olympic tickets...it was pretty cool!

Preparing for the Olympics

2009-12-15T15:19:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, my trip to Vancouver in February will not be my first trip to this Olympic city. In the past year, I've had the opportunity to visit Vancouver three times on site visits! During these visits, our main goal always remains the same: scope out the city and find a way to make the Olympic experience smooth and stress free for our figure skating team. Over the course of the past year, we have visited several important locations including the Pacific Coliseum (home of the figure skating events), the practice facilities, the Olympic Village and the Whistler venues. In addition, we also found a house to rent (where I'll be living) and a school to rent (where I'll be working). Here are some of the photos from my previous visits!

Pacific Coliseum (Home of the Figure Skating Events)

Trout Lake (Official Practice Rink for Figure Skating)

BC Place (Venue for Opening and Closing Ceremonies)

Olympic Village (Where the Athletes Live)

Olympic Superstore (Where I'll Be Shopping!)

Whistler (Home of the Ski and Snowboard Events)