Words from Whistler

Canada House Rocks
Whistler Canada Olympic House was rocking today as it was open to the public in the morning for a pancake breakfast and in the evening everyone was celebrating the Gold medal ceremony for Jon Montgomery.

The pancake breakfast with maple syrup may have been an initial draw to check out the beautiful Canada House (also known as the Whistler Public Library centrally located right in Village), but the jam packed venue full with entertainment for the kids and a chance to mingle with the athletes was brimming with excitement. Naturally the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were present in the scarlet red surge and the majestic horses from the musical ride welcomed visitors to the home. Whistler Canada Olympic House has be designed to provide a meeting place for Canadian athletes, their families, guests and dignitaries. It showcases the beauty of both BC and Whistler with its unique and truly Canadian architecture.

Speaking about truly Canadian, the entire Village as well as COH rocked in the evening with the medal ceremony for Jon Montgomery, Canada's gold medalist in skeleton. As Jon jumped up on the top of the podium the cheers were heard in every corner of the town. And when the Canadian flag was raised high into the air, the chorus of O Canada was heard loud and clear both outside and inside COH. After the ceremony everyone returned to COH, including Jon's very proud parents and exuberant friends and family. Volunteers waved an enormous flag to greet our Olympian and Steve Podborski shared his heart felt words of wisdom. What I will remember is his smile, the sparkle in the eyes and the love for life shown by both Jon and his parents. To quote Jon's father "we taught Jon that when he starts something he should finish it. Today he definitely finished it".

Keep watching for more "Words from Whistler" as Debra Gassewitz, President & CEO, SIRC, continues her stay at Whistler. You can find Debra at Whistler Canada Olympic House.

Words from Whistler

Dancing their Way to Gold

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir made history yesterday at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics when they became the youngest and first North Americans to win the Olympic gold medal in Ice Dancing. Their performance was breath taking, their chemistry was undeniable and the result was what they and every Canadian had dreamed it could be. Olympic Gold for Canada!

Ice Dancing is a sport that requires two people to skate as one. The pair must cover the entire ice surface with speed and grace, and invoke within the viewer an emotion that pulls you into the story being told through music and choreography. The intricacy of the footwork, lifts and spins is all the more powerful when it feels as if the couple is floating across the ice. You should not be distracted from the emotional flow of the program by thinking “that move looked difficult.” Virtue and Moir told a beautiful story to Gustav Mahler's Fifth Symphony and judging from the tears streaming down the cheeks of the people watching their program here in Whistler, I would say everyone felt the passion and certainly shared their joy.

This is a story with a fairy tale ending. They believed in themselves, they believed they could win and Canada believes in Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. Congratulations!

Keep watching for more "Words from Whistler" as Debra Gassewitz, President & CEO, SIRC, continues her stay at Whistler. You can find Debra at Whistler Canada Olympic House.

Words from Whistler

O Canada,

The women continue to bring the house down. Canada won gold in women’s hockey. The game vs the USA was electric to the end and the cheers were thunderous as the Canadian women reclaimed their Olympic title.

While the Canadian anthem was playing in Vancouver tonight, it was also reverberating off the mountain walls in Whistler for the double medal ceremony for women’s bobsleigh where yesterday we won gold with the team of Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse and silver with Helen Upperton and brakeman Shelley-Ann Brown. It’s hard to describe the feelings you experience when you see your flag raised high above the others and hear the anthem echoing off the mountains. Surrounded by thousands of spectators from around the world you hear this soft rumble begin as the familiar lyrics to O Canada become audible. And then, ever so quickly, all the voices become a unified chorus as they sing out our national anthem loud and strong and you can’t help but feel overwhelmed as the singing and cheering reach their crescendo at the finale. Sport is such a wonderful vehicle to allow us to show our national pride, to unite us from coast to coast as we celebrate who we are and what we can achieve.

The Olympic Games brings the world together as we celebrate both athletic triumphs and the strength of human spirit. Tonight the world cheered as Joannie Rochette skated with determination and beauty as she completed her long freeskate. She demonstrated not only exceptional athletic ability in completing a technically and artistically challenging program but also the incredible strength of her inner will power to skate after experiencing personal tragedy earlier in the week. We are all part of a global sport community and regardless of the nationality; everyone wanted to see Joannie skate well. Congratulations Joannie, not only did you skate very well, you won the Olympic bronze medal!