Making a Difference at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver! (Part 3)

What an awesome 2 weeks for Canada with the final touch being the Gold Medal Hockey Game where Canada beat the US by just one point in overtime! Canada came out of the games with the highest ever number of gold medal wins for a Winter Olympic Games host country! (Not bad considering everyone was so nervous about Canada never winning a gold medal on home soil before, eh?)

Heather has been very busy volunteering at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and has just sent us a new update to help keep the Olympic excitement alight!

Saturday February 20th was the day before the men’s ski cross event so we were resetting fence for the new course after it had been toned down for the skiers. The weather was still great with the sun shining and no rain. The men trained on the course and we sat out on the hill with our sunglasses and sunscreen and watched them fly by. During the training runs the guys are getting a feel for the course while taking it easy on their speed. Sunday was race day and it was our earliest day for the whole schedule. It was a 5am start so that meant you were catching the bus at 4:10 so that also meant that you were out of bed by 3. It really was not as bad as I had expected but I did have to be in bed by 9 on Saturday evening.

Race day was crazy as usual and the qualification and training rounds seem to go so slowly but once the heats start it is over before you know it. The ski cross racers only got 1 qualification round compared to 2 for the snowcross participants. They took the top 32 racers and they are put into heats of 4. 4 skiers race down the course together, fast and close together and there is a very good chance that there is going to be a crash or 2. It's faster paced than snowboard cross although I enjoyed the snowboard cross more. There was one particular corner on the course just above the big jump before the finish line that caused a lot of grief for the skiers. From where we sat on the hill we could see about 3 banked corners and 3 jump features. As the skiers came over the one set of jumps there were a lot of arms and legs flailing in the air and as they disappeared from view with us, we knew that they were landing on their backs, butts or worse and you just kind of shuddered as if you could honestly feel them hit the ground. One of those crashes was a Canadian who until that moment looked like he was definitely going to win a medal.

The next day was training day for the women’s ski cross and as we were sitting out on the hill a blonde girl in a Canadian uniform came along and was just checking out a certain part of the course with a few rollers on it that was causing her grief. We realized that she was a Canada team member but really had no idea who she was. She talked to us about being at the X Games so we came to the conclusion that she was probably the girl who was the World Cup champion and that is who she ended up being. Ashleigh McIvor from Whistler is our new Gold medal champion. The girls are not quite as fast as the guys but they still fall into the crazy category. One of the girls slid out on the corner by us and ended up tangled in our fence and broke off a couple of poles. We then had to run out and fix the fence before the racing could continue. I have one of the fence clips involved in that incident and it is going to become an ornament on my Christmas tree. As soon as the ski cross was over, all of the fencing on the hill had to come down as the course needed to be completely taken down so that it could be rebuilt for PGS, parallel grand slalom.

The day that we started setting up for PGS, the weather changed and the rain returned. The sun was gone and the forecast for the next week was not good. The course for PGS is easier to set than any of the other courses. It just a large rectangle down the hill, 2 raby side around gates/flags. It's fast paced but totally different than the other events. There are no jumps to hit, the racers never leave the ground; they just race flat out down the hill to see who can get to the finish line first.

We did a lot of cleaning up the ski cross course, taking down nets and moving extra nets and poles to the bottom. It was really foggy and wet and you are always chilled and damp. It snowed close to a foot in those couple of days coming up to Friday and Saturday race days. The snow is heavy and wet and packs like cement. It is nothing like soft fluffy Rocky Mountain powder. The PGS racers do not practice on the real course so a training course is set up on another run on the hill and that is where they teams get time to practice. We were sent over to the practice area on Thursday to do side slipping down the course after each racer goes to mow down the grooves they make around each gate. It was super foggy and just about zero visibility. It was so difficult to find your way back after you got off the chair. It was so out of my comfort zone. The Russian coach kept offering us all a cup of tea from his thermos. He had a thermos and about 20 paper cups in his bag and was quite sure we should have tea with him.

I had Friday the 26th off and Darla, my sister in law, had flown in the night before. A friend that we had both gone to high school with came and picked us up and we went back to North Vancouver with her and did a walk through Lynn Canyon with her and her dog. We then went back to her house and had tea and caught up on the years. Darla has kept in contact with her through the years but I had not seen her since our 10 year high school reunion. I missed the PGS women’s event on my day off and it was won by a Dutch skier. Ben, the crew chief we had from Holland, was hysterical. The rest of the crew were still laughing about his reaction the next day and I honestly was sad I had missed it. He had Saturday off and we all thought that he was probably still celebrating the whole day.

Saturday was most everyone’s last shift. The day started early at 6:30 and it was pouring rain. We were out on the hill before 7 and chilled and damp instantly. It was the worst day we had. By noon we were all wet and cold and grouchy and just wanted it all to be over so that we could do the take down and go home to get dry and warm. That is a poor attitude when you are at the Olympics but I do believe that most of the spectators, some who had been in the stands since 8am, felt the same. It was foggy as well so most of the course was out of view. We were standing about 20 feet downhill from the start gates and would lose sight of the racers after about 3 gates.

I never did do the gate judge job; I kept my job as net crew for all my shifts. One of the young girls on our crew and I were told by the crew chiefs, who all worked regularly as trail crew at Cypress Mtn, that we could come and work with them anytime as trail crew guys. We had proved ourselves and made the cut!!

The quarter final heats started about 1 o’clock and by this time I had water running down my legs into my boots and my boots literally squished when I walked. We had a couple of Canadians who we knew could be medal contenders and I have photo of Jasey- Jay Anderson in the start gate for his gold medal run and another one with him about 10 feet out of the gates on his way to winning gold. It was amazing and you could always tell from the reaction of the crowd how well Canada had done. When we realized that we had won gold, we all cheered, hooted and hollered and then immediately got started on taking down all the fence so that we could be done and finally dry. As soon as we started working, we started to warm up.

We could hear that they were going to do the medal ceremony right then at Cypress and I had never been on the hill while a medal ceremony was done. All of a sudden we could hear the national anthem being played and we all stopped and just stood there. You could honestly hear the spectators singing all the way up the mountain. The rain, fog, cold and squishy boots were instantly forgotten. It was my teary eyed moment and those few minutes were the perfect ending to an amazing adventure. It was the ultimate moment and I knew then that it was over and it was time to go home to my very missed family.

Love Heather

Making a Difference at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver! (Part 2)

It looks like Heather is having a great time at the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, except for perhaps all the rain!

Here is Heather's latest update:

February 17, 2010

I have an extra day off just because we are all so fabulous that the big guys thought they would be kind to us. Mens' halfpipe is going today and we do not have anything to do with that so we are having a bonus free day. The snowboard cross course needs to be altered for the ski cross which runs on Sunday so they are changing, reshaping and scaling down some of the features so we can go back tomorrow and put up all that lovely blue fence again. Ski cross is faster than snowboard cross so the features need to be downsized or changed a bit so that the athletes do not overshoot some of the landings.

During the mens snowboard cross on Monday the weather was awesome. Blue skies and sunshine, a perfect race day. Our crew stood on the sidehill between 3 banked curves and 2 jumps and watched all the qualifying runs go by. I was texting Devin and Laurel the whole time as they were watching at home and it was incredible. Devin told me to wave the next time a qualifier went by but they could not pick me out. I saw the coverage later on TV and did pick out the exact spot we had been sitting but the volunteers shown in the background were way too small to pick out anyone specifically. We could hear the spectators shouting and cheering as they watched on the big screen at the bottom and then as the athletes came off the last big jump into the finish area you could tell who did well, especially when it was the Canadians. A Canadian coach and French coach were standing on the side hill right beside us so kept us posted on who was doing well and what their times were.

After qualifying we were the crew that stayed at the top of the course while the heats ran. We could see the first several features of the race right after they left the gates and it was super exciting. You could hear the coaches yelling at them and telling them to get at it. At one point an official came along looking for a few volunteers with a shovel for 5 minutes and when I saw him heading through the athlete compound towards the start gates, I grabbed a shovel and followed. I found myself standing 6 inches away from the start gate shoveling snow into 5 gallon pails and snapping a few photos as the racers were getting into position. It was amazing!!! I am taking pictures of everything!!

Mike Robertson from Canmore was ahead for the whole race but got past right near the end and came away with the Silver medal. Amazing!!

Tuesday was women's race day and it started out with pouring horrible rain and fog. The qualifying rounds were supposed to start by 10 but it was more like noon before they got started with them. It was amazing that they even started them as the fog kept coming in and then lifting and then settling in again. We, the workers, and I am sure the spectators too, were wet and soggy by this time so then you are always chilly after that. After the first qualifying round there was talk that that would be it and they would then proceed with the heats. It all has to run on the TV schedule so time is tight. At that moment the fog lifted and they decided to proceed with qualifying round 2. Our Canadian girl, Maelle Ricker had fallen during her first round so would not have made the cut and won the gold it the fog had not lifted at that moment. Somethings are just meant to be!!!

During the 1st qualifying round we were stationed at the top of the hill so did not see much in the fog.

We moved down to the same spot we had been the day before for the 2nd qualifying round. The coaches were there again so kept us posted. The sun had broken through and all of a sudden it was a great day for a race. Maelle Ricker had a great 2nd qualifier and made the cut. The rest is history as she blew away the competition in the final to take the gold.

For the heats we got to move down the hill to stand by a banked corner & jump combination then 3 rollers into a banked turn. We had 2 girls slide out into the fence in the very same spot and our crew had to run out, help the girls get out of the fence and then fix what was messed up. We were the only crew that got any action for all of the 2 days of racing. While the guys were out fixing the poles, I was the official photo taker. During the final we were right there on the side as Maelle flew past way ahead of the other 3 girls although that heat was the closest race they had been all day. We could tell by the cheering and screaming coming from the spectator area that she had safely made the last jump into the finish and that she had won the gold. It was awesome. Everyone was cheering and giving each other high fives.

On Monday morning we went over to the moguls stadium and took down the banners and removed the foam pads around the finish area to take them to the boarder cross area. It was incredible to stand at the bottom of the mogul run and know that just a few hours before we had won 2 medals there and it had been crazy busy and buzzing with hype. It was kind of sad but amazing all at the same time. One of the crew chiefs let us take the official banners if we wanted one. The university kids all took one and I am quite sure that the 3 foot by 20 foot long Vancouver 2010 banner looks great hanging in their living rooms. I know it would have looked great in my house when I was their age.

After the women's racing was done we then needed to take down all the fencing off the course so that we can go back tomorrow and put it all back up. YEAH!!!! Our crew found ourselves back down at the start gates shovelling snow and taking photos of what it looks like standing in the gates. Again, awesome!!!

This whole experience is awesome. Hard work at times and then just amazing as you are standing on the hill watching Olympic athletes fly by. One of the kids said the other day that it is really surreal. The Olympics is something that we watch on TV and so you are out there watching and working and it really does not feel like the Olympics as we know them. I totally agreed with him. Then a Canadian wins a medal right there where you are and it's real!! The people watching is spectacular. Our crew itself is made up of many funny, annoying and amazing incredible people.

My adventure today is to get on the sky train and head downtown to see what I can see. I need a photo of the Olympic cauldron and to see if I can find Laurel her "strong and free" t-shirt.

Have a fantastic day! I plan to!

LOVE HEATHER

Making a Difference at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver! (Part 1)

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to volunteer at a large worldwide event such as the Winter Olympics? Perhaps you have volunteered in the Olympic Games in the past and want to rekindle those fond memories?

We have been very fortunate to have been given permission from one Airdrie resident to share her amazing experience as a volunteer at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Over the next few days, we'll be posting Heather's updates as they come in.

Visit often and follow Heather's "Experience of a Lifetime" right here!

Introducing Heather - In Her Own Words

My name is Heather Keller, I am 52 years old and I have a husband and 5 children. 2 teenagers still live with us but we are coming to the time in our life when we will soon not have any kids left living at home. That day scares me. I have been trying to ease myself into it for a few years and that is how it came to be that I am a volunteer at the 2010 Olympics.

About 2 years ago, I saw a commercial on TV asking for volunteers for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. I thought it sounded like a great thing to do and while not telling any of my family, I applied. The process took about a year and a half before I was offered a volunteer position as a Net Crew member at Cypress Mountain. I was not exactly sure what a net crew did but I did have a pretty good idea. I knew it was going to be hard work and long hours but I was also ready for the experience of a lifetime. I was ready for some time for me! I packed my suitcase, left my family behind and have moved in with my 25 year old neice in Burnaby for close to a month.

That's where I am right now. 1/2 way through the experience of my life!

The Adventure So Far...

February 12, 2010

I am 3 days into my adventure and my feet hurt. They are really tired of being wet and soggy in snowboard boots for 8 hours a day. I have worked 3 shifts and have tomorrow off. Thank goodness, although Lindsay thinks that I am going to do the zipline on Robson Street downtown Vancouver with her on tomorrow.

Have I mentioned yet, that it has rained just about everyday I have been here and I will take -20 any day to rain everyday? People just look at me very strangely here when I say that.

My first shift started on Wednesday morning at 8:30 which means I needed to be on the bus by 6:45. The buses are very nice new coaches from Idaho and California and the drivers are on their own adventure driving up and down the windy switch back road to Cypress and back many times a day. It snowed for most of Wednesday but it is a wet snow so needless to say we got wet, but only on the outside. The nice turquoise blue uniform is very waterproof. The helicopters were flying as long as they could bringing in snow and as the big one flies over it blows down the fences, banners and even flattens the moguls so everyone finds themselves doing jobs 2, 3 and even 4 times over again. It's very frustrating and time consuming. Then the bosses from the skiing federations come along to do a run through and they may make you do things over again as well.

Thursday started at 8:30 as well and it was raining. I will not say pouring as I am assured that I have seen mist, drizzle and even rain but have not encountered pouring rain yet. Oh boy, can't wait for that one!!! They issued us a rain poncho which was slightly thicker than a dry cleaning bag and these were to be multi-use items. Needless to say most of them did not last the day. Our crew leader came up with a pair of rubberized lined gloves for each of us and that was about all that would keep our hands warm and dry. They just happened to be Men's XL so I had about 1- 1/2 inches extra at the end of each warm and dry finger. We spent a lot of time on Thursday standing around in the rain while the higher ups tried to decide what to do with all the soft mushy snow.

This morning our shift started at 6 am so that meant we were on the bus by 5:10. It is about a 20 minute drive from Lindsay's (my Niece) to the bus stop. There are some people driving an hour or more so I got off very lucky. It's about 4 turns and I am there. We all have very impressive security tags that are scanned every morning with the RCMP present. You may then be asked to place your bags and the contents of your pockets into a plastic tub and it is x-rayed just like at the airport

We then need to go check in, get a sticker on your work card, a bag lunch coupon and a bottle of water. If you do not get your lunch coupon for whatever reason, you need to do the 10 minute walk back to pick it up. Have I mentioned that it is a 20 minute walk from where they drop you off from the bus to the day lodge. It's a very long walk on the way to the bus at the end of a wet and soggy day. I missed the bus yesterday by 1 person. The guy in front of me got the last seat so we had to had to wait an hour for the next one. People get really grouchy when they are wet, soggy and tired and then are told the next bus is not coming for an hour. ( It was not me!) They brought another bus up front to let us get out of the rain while we waited but the driver could not run his bus to give us heat as these are the :Green Olympics" so we were all colder sitting on that bus than we had been all day on the hill being rained on.

Have I said yet that this is amazing and I am loving it! It is hard work and I am tired but it is awesome!!!!! I do hate rain!! Have I mentioned that??

We have put up "B" fence, and "C" fence. We have taken down "B' fence and "C" fence and moved it over a foot or 2 and then put it back up. I have walked down most of Cypress Mtn. and about 1/2 way back up I am sure. We have slid own steep icy pitches on our butts and put up fence along a 2 foot ledge with a 15 foot drop behind us. I came here for an adventure and that is what I am getting. Thanks goodness for that daily workout for 4 years. I am going to hopefully be at least 10 pounds lighter and in way better shape by the time I get back.

Today started out with a gorgeous sunrise and things looked promising. We were on the chair lift by 6:40 and I must admit that I have never been on a chair lift in the morning in the dark. It was unusual. The fog then rolled in, the wind started blowing and that was the way the day went. It did start to snow finally. The weather at Cypress is even more weird and extreme than Calgarys with the chinooks. We reinstalled a bunch of fence today that had blown down overnight and did get a lot accomplished. You never know for sure if you are going to get a lunch break so you take you lunch along and eat it when you can. Today that was behind a TV platform while hiding from the wind watching some of the test runs. Some of the teams came today to start testing the boarder cross course so we got to see some of them doing that. Canada, France and the US were there. It's pretty cool to watch them and they are really good and slightly crazy. I am sure there will be more tomorrow and on Sunday. I do believe they race on Monday

I have been told that the view from Cypress is amazing and that you can watch the ships come in on the ocean, that you can see islands out in the waters and the city of Vancouver. I have yet to see that and an waiting everyday to see if this will be the day. Sooner or later I am hoping.

I am watching the opening ceremonies on TV and they are about to light the cauldron. I have not even cried yet. I had better go!

LOVE HEATHER

How My Passion for Volunteerism was Sparked by an Olympic Torch

The sky is gray, the air is warm with the promise of a Chinook, that blessed release from the usual cold in February. Thirty students, ranging in age from 12 - 13, have just returned from lunch and are now starting to warm up after being outside for almost an hour. There are expressions of glee when some notice that the television from the library is now at the front of the room. This means a movie or something that does not involve having to listen to the teacher drone on about something or other.

The teacher enters the room and the sounds of shuffling papers, binders being dropped on desks and general student fidgeting come to a grinding halt as she stands in front of her desk with that smile that could stop the world. After four months, the students in Mrs. Good's homeroom class have come to appreciate her smile because she is rarely actually present due to an illness.

"I thought we'd get into the Olympic Spirit by watching some of the news coverage," Mrs. Good says while turning on the TV.

The reporter from an American news channel is on site at the venue where the ski jumping events will be held and talking about how the warm weather could cause some problems for the events. Snow will have to be manufactured or trucked in, Olympic Organizers fear. The students giggle as he mispronounces the names of some of the towns and cities near the Olympic City. One student keeps draws a cartoon of the reporter with a propeller beanie on his head in her binder and snickers softly to herself.

After about 10 minutes, the teacher turns off the TV and her smile fades into a look of grave concern.

"How many people volunteered to run for our school in the School Torch Relay?"

A sea of thirty faces looks blankly back at her. Apparently, no one in this particular class did!

"None. That's how many people volunteered," Mrs. Good continued. "Why is that?"

No one can come up with an answer, of course. Over the next two hours, Mrs. Good delivers one of those lectures that will either bore or inspire; one of those lectures that every teacher will deliver at least once in their career. She talks about all of the great causes that would not exist were it not for volunteers, the amazing people one can become friends with and the valuable experience gained from helping others make a difference in the world, no matter how small the contribution.

The bell rings and the students shuffle out of the room. One remains behind and approaches the teacher nervously. She is a small, shy and spindly girl with short brown hair, large brown eyes and the pale skin that defines most people in the city in the middle of winter. Mrs. Good notes that she had been sitting at her desk transfixed by the speech instead of doodling in her notebook as was her usual habit.

"Um... thanks for that speech, Mrs. Good. Do you still need volunteers for the torch relay?"

"Of course, we do," Mrs. Good replies with a smile. "Are you volunteering?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess so," the girl replies with a shy smile, her cheeks turning red with nervousness as she hands Mrs. Good a folded up piece of paper. "Here's my form."

The following week when she is supposed to be in math class, the young girl is on a school bus, heading downtown to visit one of the Olympic venues. Hundreds of students from other schools are already there, milling around. She gets off the bus and is greeted by the organizers of the school torch relay. What follows is an inspiring 2 hours of speeches given by key people in the Olympic Organizing Committee, the Mayor, the Premier and a few athletes. The girl is caught up in the excitement of the whole affair and for the first time in years feels herself filling with pride and excitement in being a part of something huge.

One week later, the weather is cool, but not too cold and a light flurry of snow falls around the girl and three other students from her school who are all in grade 9. They are all wearing plastic vests with the Sponsor's logo on it and the gym teacher is going over the route of the relay. One student will run with the torch for 500 metres while the other three run with the school's banner behind, then they will switch off. Once all four have run, the torch will be passed to a group of students from the school next door. At this point, the teacher pulls out a camera and takes pictures of all four students, one holding the torch while the others hold the banner, until all four have been photographed holding the torch.

Being the youngest, our girl gets to run first. The excitement that has been building for past half hour is now released as she takes up the 2 pound torch and begins to run. People are standing on either side, cheering, while she runs past. Before she knows it, she has run her 500 metres and it's time to pass the torch to the next person. Two hours later, she is back at school. The day is over and her mother is waiting outside to pick her up. When she gets into the car, she tells her mother about her amazing adventure and how awesome volunteering for stuff is. After that experience, she is usually first in line to volunteer for things that are going on around the school.

Running with the torch has sparked a sense of the power of community service inside this one student and she wonders how many others have been inspired by such experiences?

The year was 1988, the Olympic City was Calgary, Alberta and that student was me, Daria Skibington-Roffel, Coordinator for Volunteer Airdrie.

Since then, I have been passionate about volunteerism and have volunteered for over 20 different agencies and causes. The spirit of volunteerism was kindled that one cold day in February of 1988 and 22 years later, it is still burning strong!

The purpose of this blog is to share the experiences of individual volunteers and organizations or individuals who have been inspired and blessed by the kind hearts of volunteers. Real people make a difference in many ways through volunteerism and you can too!

Please send an email to info@volunteerairdrie.ca if you have a story to share about your own volunteer experience or how a volunteer has made a difference in your life, and it will be published here!

Make this your year to make a difference!