mr.x
Feb 26, 2008, 12:01 AM
World Cup weather just too good to be true
Vanoc had hoped for at least one day of cold, slush and wind
Gary Kingston, Vancouver Sun
Published: Monday, February 25, 2008
There were a couple of Tourism Whistler dialed-up kind of days -- bluebird skies, sun-splashed course, comfortable temperatures. And there were a couple of overcast, but still pleasant days during four days of World Cup ski racing on the 2010 venue.
What the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee didn't get at the pre-Olympic test event -- and you might be forgiven for thinking "Were they nuts?" -- was one brutal weather day. The kind of day that delivered way too much snow, slushy wet conditions, or perhaps a howling wind.
Vanoc CEO John Furlong said that kind of day would have provided a good challenge for the hundreds of course workers, a combination of the famed Whistler Weasel Workers and Vanoc volunteers.
"The chances of going through 17 days [at the Olympics] without a bad day are pretty darn slim," said Furlong. "So you want to have a day where you really have to face up to a big, big challenge. In Torino, the night before one of the downhills, they had to put 1,000 volunteers on the mountain all night to prepare.
"No volunteer wants to do that, but you have to get ready for it. You always want to know that if you're going to deal with it, you've dealt with it once before."
The World Cup was the first to go off successfully in Whistler since a late February men's downhill and Super G in 1995.
Men's races in late fall of '96, '97 and '98 all were cancelled because of either too much snow or fog. It resulted in the Federation Internationale de Ski abandoning Whistler, until this year because a World Cup test event is required prior to an Olympics. - only because those events were held in December, not the best time of year
While there was no significant weather challenge for volunteers this year, most of the rest of the World Cup, a collaborative effort between Alpine Canada, Vanoc and FIS, seemed to go off relatively trouble free. The one hiccup was the issue of getting fans up the hill from Creekside to the Timing Flats finish area.
After complaints from some people about the 30-minute hike to the finish area, while 250 VIPs and corporate sponsors were shuttled up in vans, organizers switched gears and made buses available on the weekend for fans.
"We heard some things that make us think about how we move people from lower down to up into the area, the kind of walk we have, whether we have a walk [at all] or we actually transport people," said Furlong.
He said it's "quite common" at Olympics to have walks to venue where it's "entertaining and fun and there's a good atmosphere." None of those, however, had people walking 30 minutes up a steep incline.
There has been talk of a mini gondola being built, or a motorized ramp, but Furlong said the "the less infrastructure you need to move people up, the better."
With all the alpine events, from slalom to downhill in both genders, finishing at the same area -- a rarity at an Olympics -- some foreign journalists who made the trip to Whistler for the World Cup were surprised to find out that grandstand seating capacity will be just over 7,000.
In the Olympic bid book, technical events were to be held on Blackcomb Mountain, but the International Olympic Committee, FIS and Whistler municipality pushed for a more sustainable venue setup -- one media/medical/support staff compound and one grandstand to be built.
However, the terrain at Timing Flats doesn't allow room for more than a 7,000-seat grandstand.
"Seven thousand people isn't a small number," insisted Cathy Priestner Allinger, Vanoc's vice-president of sport and venue management. "It's in a great theatre.
"And we will look at opportunities to get on along the course. FIS, today, talked to us about that. There may be some strategic locations where we can get some spectators along the course."
Priestner Allinger also reiterated Furlong's view that the focus of the World Cup test event wasn't about the fan experience, especially given that the venue will have a completely different look come 2010.
"The focus from our end were the courses, the field of play," said Priestner Allinger.
Furlong was delighted that the reviews early in the week of the men's Super G and the women's downhill were quite favourable. By the weekend, however, word was out that not everybody was happy with the men's giant slalom track used on Saturday.
An Austrian journalist said several skiers on that powerhouse team felt the course was too easy.
American Bode Miller, the overall World Cup points leader, was also somewhat critical, telling the Los Angeles Times the course was "really flat, very moderate."
"That's not to say they can't be challenging. With the right snow conditions, they can be really tough. But with the terrain available here, it seems crazy to run the Olympics on those particular hills."
Of course Miller, who is skiing as an independent after leaving the U.S. team over policy differences, has said previously that it's doubtful he'd be at Whistler for the Olympics, although he left that possibility open on the weekend.
gkingston@png.canwest.com
Well, okay....Feb. 12 started pretty bad. Some events at Cypress were canceled due to low visibility, and the snow was also pretty soggy. But over the last few days, coincidentally with the Alpine World Cup at Whistler Creekside, the weather has been phenomenal. But starting tomorrow, and into the 27th we will be expecting rain.
Vanoc had hoped for at least one day of cold, slush and wind
Gary Kingston, Vancouver Sun
Published: Monday, February 25, 2008
There were a couple of Tourism Whistler dialed-up kind of days -- bluebird skies, sun-splashed course, comfortable temperatures. And there were a couple of overcast, but still pleasant days during four days of World Cup ski racing on the 2010 venue.
What the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee didn't get at the pre-Olympic test event -- and you might be forgiven for thinking "Were they nuts?" -- was one brutal weather day. The kind of day that delivered way too much snow, slushy wet conditions, or perhaps a howling wind.
Vanoc CEO John Furlong said that kind of day would have provided a good challenge for the hundreds of course workers, a combination of the famed Whistler Weasel Workers and Vanoc volunteers.
"The chances of going through 17 days [at the Olympics] without a bad day are pretty darn slim," said Furlong. "So you want to have a day where you really have to face up to a big, big challenge. In Torino, the night before one of the downhills, they had to put 1,000 volunteers on the mountain all night to prepare.
"No volunteer wants to do that, but you have to get ready for it. You always want to know that if you're going to deal with it, you've dealt with it once before."
The World Cup was the first to go off successfully in Whistler since a late February men's downhill and Super G in 1995.
Men's races in late fall of '96, '97 and '98 all were cancelled because of either too much snow or fog. It resulted in the Federation Internationale de Ski abandoning Whistler, until this year because a World Cup test event is required prior to an Olympics. - only because those events were held in December, not the best time of year
While there was no significant weather challenge for volunteers this year, most of the rest of the World Cup, a collaborative effort between Alpine Canada, Vanoc and FIS, seemed to go off relatively trouble free. The one hiccup was the issue of getting fans up the hill from Creekside to the Timing Flats finish area.
After complaints from some people about the 30-minute hike to the finish area, while 250 VIPs and corporate sponsors were shuttled up in vans, organizers switched gears and made buses available on the weekend for fans.
"We heard some things that make us think about how we move people from lower down to up into the area, the kind of walk we have, whether we have a walk [at all] or we actually transport people," said Furlong.
He said it's "quite common" at Olympics to have walks to venue where it's "entertaining and fun and there's a good atmosphere." None of those, however, had people walking 30 minutes up a steep incline.
There has been talk of a mini gondola being built, or a motorized ramp, but Furlong said the "the less infrastructure you need to move people up, the better."
With all the alpine events, from slalom to downhill in both genders, finishing at the same area -- a rarity at an Olympics -- some foreign journalists who made the trip to Whistler for the World Cup were surprised to find out that grandstand seating capacity will be just over 7,000.
In the Olympic bid book, technical events were to be held on Blackcomb Mountain, but the International Olympic Committee, FIS and Whistler municipality pushed for a more sustainable venue setup -- one media/medical/support staff compound and one grandstand to be built.
However, the terrain at Timing Flats doesn't allow room for more than a 7,000-seat grandstand.
"Seven thousand people isn't a small number," insisted Cathy Priestner Allinger, Vanoc's vice-president of sport and venue management. "It's in a great theatre.
"And we will look at opportunities to get on along the course. FIS, today, talked to us about that. There may be some strategic locations where we can get some spectators along the course."
Priestner Allinger also reiterated Furlong's view that the focus of the World Cup test event wasn't about the fan experience, especially given that the venue will have a completely different look come 2010.
"The focus from our end were the courses, the field of play," said Priestner Allinger.
Furlong was delighted that the reviews early in the week of the men's Super G and the women's downhill were quite favourable. By the weekend, however, word was out that not everybody was happy with the men's giant slalom track used on Saturday.
An Austrian journalist said several skiers on that powerhouse team felt the course was too easy.
American Bode Miller, the overall World Cup points leader, was also somewhat critical, telling the Los Angeles Times the course was "really flat, very moderate."
"That's not to say they can't be challenging. With the right snow conditions, they can be really tough. But with the terrain available here, it seems crazy to run the Olympics on those particular hills."
Of course Miller, who is skiing as an independent after leaving the U.S. team over policy differences, has said previously that it's doubtful he'd be at Whistler for the Olympics, although he left that possibility open on the weekend.
gkingston@png.canwest.com
Well, okay....Feb. 12 started pretty bad. Some events at Cypress were canceled due to low visibility, and the snow was also pretty soggy. But over the last few days, coincidentally with the Alpine World Cup at Whistler Creekside, the weather has been phenomenal. But starting tomorrow, and into the 27th we will be expecting rain.