Previous shows have been in Olympic cities including Lake Placid, N.Y., Atlanta and Los Angeles. (Getty Images)Olympic Collectors converge on Calgary
Olympic collectors from around the world are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Calgary Games this weekend. They are also buying, selling and trading memorabilia dating from 1896 to two months ago in Beijing.
The 27th Annual Olympin Collector's Show features more than 40 dealer tables over its three-day run.
Organizers stressed that no selling or displaying of counterfeit or questionable pins or memorabilia will be allowed. Vendors also have been told to respect IOC and Canadian Olympic Committee copyrights.
The Olympin Collectors Club was formed in 1982 and now has more than 600 members worldwide. The club’s focus has expanded from pins to include medals, badges, paper items, mascots and other memorabilia.
The event includes a charity auction benefitting a fund that helps athletes. Catriona LeMay-Doan, Olympic gold medalist and head of the fund, says up to seven $1,000 awards are given to full-time athletes involved in sports at the Olympic Oval: short track speed skating, long track speed skating, women's hockey and cycling.
For information, visit www.olympinclub.com. Vancouver 2010 has warned consumers not to buy tickets from unauthorized sources such as Roadtrips. (VANOC)
Unauthorized Ticket Vendor in U.S. Court
A Canadian travel agency that is flogging tickets to Vancouver 2010 is being sued in Texas because it failed to provide customers with tickets to the Beijing 2008 opening ceremony.
A Houston attorney filed a class action lawsuit Tuesday against Roadtrips Inc. of Winnipeg on behalf of three people.
They are among more than 300 Roadtrips customers who say they paid in advance for tickets to the Aug. 8 ceremony but learned just the day before that Roadtrips could not deliver the promised tickets.
"Had Roadtrips not promised Plaintiffs and other class members opening ceremony tickets, they would not have purchased the travel packages from Roadtrips and they would not have traveled to Beijing," said the lawsuit.
Roadtrips president Dave Guenther admitted in a letter to clients that he had broken his promise, later telling media that his company “did not receive a number of Beijing Summer Games opening ceremony tickets from a supplier which, up until this incident, had been a secure and reputable source in North America."
Roadtrips is promising tickets to the 2010 Winter Olympics as part of hotel and hospitality packages starting at $CA6,325. The company sponsors Ski Jumping Canada and the Canadian Snowboard Federation, but is not affiliated with VANOC or the International Olympic Committee.
Briefs…
The Chinese Gymnastics Association is investigating two athletes about their ages during the Sydney Games. Dong Fangxiao and her bronze medal-winning teammate Yang Yun competed in Sydney on documents showing they were at least 16, but the International Gymnastics Federation says new investigations raise questions.
CGA spokesperson Zhou Qiurui told the Associated Press that her association relies on government authorities for documents about the athletes. The allegations about the gymnasts came to light during the Beijing Games, when a pair of independent investigators started questioning the ages of the Chinese gymnastics team. FIG cleared the Beijing athletes, but has more questions aboutYang Yun won bronze in the uneven bars event in 2000. (Getty Images)Dong and Yang. Dong's accreditation to the Beijing Games as an official reportedly gives a birthdate three years later than the date in the FIG database.
Olympic drug cheat Tim Montgomery will stay in prison an additional five years, after a U.S. judge hands down his sentence on heroin distribution charges. Montgomery pleaded guilty in July. He is already serving a four-year sentence in New York for check fraud. The U.S. sprinter won Olympic gold in the 400m relay at the Sydney Games, but his record was wiped from the books after a positive drug test.
The Games may be leaving a green legacy in Beijing, as officials announce plans for trial car restrictions based on Games-time car bans. All cars will be banned from Beijing roads at least one day per week starting Oct. 11, the city environmental protection bureau chief is quoted in state media. If pollution is especially heavy, half of cars will be banned, depending on the last digit of their license plate. The trial program will run for six months, after which the city may make further changes.
Misty May-Treanor may be a double Olympic champion, but she's no match for the dance step that ruptured her Achilles tendon. The beach volleyball player from the U.S. has been forced to drop out of the dance competition show Dancing with the Stars after the injury during a Lindy Hop practice session. "I thought I flew out of control and hit the judges' stairs, or it felt like I got hit in the back with a baseball bat. Then, I just couldn't put weight on it." She's now resting after surgery.
Written by Bob Mackin, Karen Rosen and Maggie Lee
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