Athletes take flight at Whistler Olympic Park - First Nordic combined and ski jumping competitions to be hosted January 1-5, 2008

Dec 29, 2007

Whistler, BC – With construction of the ski jumps and Nordic trails now complete for the 2010 Winter Games, Whistler Olympic Park is ready to welcome the first Nordic combined and ski jumping competitions on January 1-5, 2008.

"To see some of the world’s best ski jumping athletes literally flying at Whistler Olympic Park will be inspiring," said Cathy Priestner Allinger, VANOC’s Executive Vice President, Sport, Paralympic Games and Venue Management. "Ski jumpers and Nordic combined athletes from around the world - both men and women - now have another world-class facility where they can train and compete, and where women ski jumpers in particular can continue to develop their sport in pursuit of their opportunity to compete in future Olympic Winter Games."

The following events are being staged at Whistler Olympic Park:

• December 30                 Unofficial training (Ski jumping)
• January 1                       Open training (Ski jumping / Nordic combined)
• January 2-3                    Nordic Combined North American Junior Championships
• January 4-5                    Canadian National Ski Jumping Championships

These events are being staged by Nordic Combined Ski Canada (NCSC) and Ski Jumping Canada in conjunction with the Callaghan Valley Local Organizing Committee (CALOC), a collaboration between VANOC’s Nordic department and the Squamish Community with assistance from local Sea-to-Sky Nordic clubs.

For more information on the sports of Nordic combined and ski jumping and for more complete details on the operations at Whistler Olympic Park, visit www.vancouver2010.com and/or www.whistlerolympicpark.com .

Test jumps by Canada’s best ski jumpers were made on Friday December 28 and photos are available in high resolution format at ftp://2010ftp.vancouver2010.com . The username is MediaVenueDay and the password is thesc00p. Cutlines for each photo can be found at the end of this media release and also on the FTP site.   Video clips to follow. 

VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010.

Contact

VANOC Communications
mediarelations@vancouver2010.com