Whistler may not have been given top billing when naming the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, but the first event of the competition will be taking place at Whistler Olympic Park.
Last week the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) released a schedule for 2010, starting with the opening ceremonies at B.C. Place at 6 p.m. on Feb. 12, 2010. Tickets for events will go on sale Oct. 3, 2008, and will range from $25 for bleacher seats at the biathlon to $775 for the best seats at the gold medal hockey game.
Having a schedule will allow people to plan their ticket
purchases, help television networks plan their event coverage, and let national
sports organizations plan their strategies for athletes.
“This is a major milestone we can share with our sport and
broadcast partners who worked closely with us to develop a balanced Games
schedule that satisfies the respective International Sports Federations,
television audiences around the world and spectators who will attend the
Games,” said Cathy Priestner Allinger, executive vice president of VANOC for
sport and Games operations.
“As with all Games, the schedule will maintain a degree of
flexibility in timing. However, now that the overall schedule has been refined
we know it will be of great interest to spectators so they can plan their
activities. But It’s also a key planning document for others.”
There are nine competition venues, with 12 stadiums, seven
sports, 15 disciplines, and 86 medal events for the Olympics, and 64 medal
events for the Paralympics.
The schedule is available online at www.winter2010.com, but
here are some of the highlights of the schedule:
Olympics — The first event is the men’s normal hill ski
jumping individual qualification at Whistler Olympic Park, taking place Friday,
Feb. 12 at 10 a.m. The last event is the men’s gold medal ice hockey game on
Day 17, Feb. 28, taking place at 12:15 p.m. at General Motors Place.
Paralympics — The first event is the men’s and women’s downhill on Whistler Mountain on Saturday, March 13, starting 9:30 a.m. The last event is the men’s and women’s one kilometre sprint at Whistler Olympic Park on Sunday, March 21, starting at noon.
