There hasn’t been any official word as to who is on it, but the new board of directors of the Vancouver-Whistler 2010 Olympic bid committee is scheduled to hold its first meeting next week. Whistler Mayor Hugh O’Reilly has been invited to the May 19 meeting in Vancouver, but said this week he hasn’t seen the list of appointees. O’Reilly said it will likely be up to the members to decide who chairs the board of the bid committee, but he understands Arthur Griffiths is interested in the position. Two-thirds of the board of the bid committee is appointed by the provincial government, which is the official signatory for the Vancouver-Whistler bid, and one-third by the Canadian Olympic Association. Griffiths headed the Vancouver-Whistler 2010 Bid Society, which presented the Vancouver-Whistler bid to the Canadian Olympic Association last November. Under the rules of the COA, once Vancouver-Whistler won a second-ballot decision to be Canada’s bid for the 2010 Games, (defeating Quebec City and Calgary), the original bid society was disbanded. The bid committee will consist of a board, an executive committee and a lobby team. The province has indicated it is interested in a small board. Jim Pattison’s name has been mentioned as one possible board member. Many of the people who worked with the Vancouver-Whistler 2010 Bid Society are expected to remain involved in the bid committee. The Vancouver-Whistler delegation has agreed not to actively lobby the International Olympic Committee until after Toronto has presented its bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics, in 2001. However, that delay is not expected to hurt the Vancouver-Whistler cause as the rules for bidding for the Games are being changed in the wake of the scandal surrounding Salt Lake City’s successful Olympic bid.
