Vancouver View -- Winter Weather; No Security Threats; Ceremony Hints

Winter Weather at Outdoor Venues

It only took until the end of the Olympics to get winter weather at the outdoor venues.

Snow fell steadily during the four man bobsleigh run Friday at Whistler Mountain. Volunteers had to shovel snow off the track in between runs. The low on Saturday will be freezing.

The weather at Cypress Mountain was above freezing with rain. The low on Friday was 6 C. Forecasts say the temperature will dip Saturday with a low of 3 C.

The Vancouver Olympics have had warm weather for most of the Games. Temperatures in the city was as high as 13C on occasion.

IOC Not Investigating Canadian Celebration

IOC spokesman Mark Adams said the IOC is not investigating the Canadian women’s hockey team post-gold medal ceremony.

Following the medal ceremony, members of the team were seen drinking and smoking, even though some of the team are underage.

“I would say to characterize it as investigation is wrong” Adams said. The team immediately apologized and acknowledged “inappropriate” behavior according to Addams.

“We are just writing [the Canadian Olympic Committee a letter to find out a few details but that’s as far as it goes at the moment.”

Adams added more action could be pursued, but he was not going to “pre-judge” what will happen especially as the letter hasn’t been drafted.

“A very quick apology from the team and from the athletes looks to me pretty much where we’ll draw the line.”

Furlong chimed in saying “I honestly thought it was young kids who were happy.

“Yes a few things happened on the ice that probably were a bit inappropriate then they said they were sorry, they’re kids! But they’re great ambassadors for the country…and we shouldn’t diminish what they did for a moment.”

No Known Security Threats in Vancouver

With two days to left in the Olympics, there has been an apparent uptick in security personnel in Vancouver. But that does not mean there are any credible security threats.

VANOC CEO John Furlong said today he is “not aware” of any potential danger.

Today all media at Whistler Mountain were required to go through a security check. Typically media were randomly selected for screenings.

U.S. Bobsledder Incident Fades Away as Competition Begins

The U.S. Olympic Committee has no comment on an incident that led police in Whistler to question Bill Schuffenhauer, a pusher on the USA3 sled in the four-man competition which began today.

A heated argument at a public place in Whistler Wednesday between Schuffenhauer and his fiancée apparently drew the attention of police. Schuffenhauer was questioned for a couple of hours and then released.

No charges have been filed. A statement from the U.S. bobsleigh federation indicates that Schuffenhauer’s place on the team is unaffected by the episode.

After the first heat Friday at the Whistler Sliding Center, the USA3 sled was well-off the pace, 15th out of 24 sleds.

Ceremony Hints

The Vancouver Games will end Feb. 28 with a “celeb-fest” according to the pageant’s producer.

David Atkins told an Australian Trade Commission event this week that the ceremony would celebrate “Canadian humor, talent and innovation” and it would star various Canadian performers and rock bands.

“Canada has an embarrassment of riches in those departments,” Atkins said.

“It’s going to be a very contrasting night to the opening ceremony.”

The event, he said, will capture the spirit of the Games and allow athletes to “let their hair down.”

Atkins also produced the Sydney 2000 closing ceremony, which was a celebration of Australian pop culture that starred Kylie Minogue, Men at Work, INXS, Midnight Oil, Olivia Newton-John and Greg Norman.

Atkins jokingly referred to the climax of the opening ceremony, in which one-quarter of the cauldron in B.C. Place Stadium remained stuck in the false floor.

“We‘ve now perfected the three-legged cauldron, a unique and Australian invention and we’ll see it again in the closing,” Atkins said.

John Furlong said at the daily VANOC briefing the ceremony would be “warm, fun, and celebratory, it will be Canada’s way of saying goodbye and saying thank you.”

He added “we will probably poke a bit fun at ourselves, you will probably come away from the ceremonies knowing little more about us than you did if you weren’t from Canada and we’ll probably bust a few Canadian myths.”

Less Than 50 Volunteers Depart Says VANOC

VANOC has lost “fewer than 50” members of its 18,500-strong volunteer army.

“We expected there would be more,” said workforce operations director Allen Vansen.

Vansen was unable to say precisely how many people were gone and for what reasons.

“Some decided they were ready to conclude their journey,” he said.

“For most it’s some other life factor.”Vansen said 3,000 Olympic volunteers would be part of the 6,500 volunteers for the March 12-21 Paralympics.

Condom Shortage

A Toronto charity airlifted 8,500 condoms to Vancouver because the supplies in the Olympic Village are said to be running out.

“We felt it important to respond immediately,” said Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research executive director Kerry Whiteside.

“Safer sex is key to preventing the spread of the HIV virus.”

The supply of 100,000 was dwindling, but it’s not clear whether they’re being used.

“It's kind of like a joke thing. People just take handfuls of them,” said Marnie McBean, a three-time gold medal rower for Canada who is an athlete mentor at the Games.

Written by Ed Hula, Bob Mackin, Ed Hula III.