Whistler Olympic Park
Encyclopedia
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
and is located in the Madeley Creek basin in the Callaghan Valley
Callaghan Valley
The Callaghan Valley is a wilderness recreation area in the Sea to Sky Country of southwestern, British Columbia, located in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains 90 km north of Vancouver...
, west of Whistler, British Columbia
Whistler, British Columbia
Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada, approximately north of Vancouver...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The facility hosted the biathlon
Biathlon at the 2010 Winter Olympics
The biathlon competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics were held at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler, British Columbia. The events were held between the 13th and 26 February 2010....
, cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing at the 2010 Winter Olympics
The cross-country skiing competition of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver were held at Whistler Olympic Park. The events were held between 15 and 28 February 2010.- Medal table :- Men's events :- Women's events :- Competition schedule :...
, nordic combined
Nordic combined at the 2010 Winter Olympics
The nordic combined competition of the 2010 Winter Olympics was held at Whistler Olympic Park. The events were held between 14 and 25 February 2010. Sprint and individual Gundersen events of 7.5 km and 15 km events were replaced by two 10 km individual events with one jump each from...
, and ski jumping
Ski jumping at the 2010 Winter Olympics
The ski jumping competition of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics was held at Whistler Olympic Park between 12 and 22 February 2010.- Medal table :- Events :Three ski jumping events was held at Vancouver 2010 :- Competition schedule :...
. After the Olympics will remain a public facility, complementing the extensive wilderness trails and alpine routes already in use. Three temporary stadiums were built with a capacity for 12,000 spectators each (6,000 for the Paralympics
2010 Winter Paralympics
The 2010 Winter Paralympics, officially the X Paralympic Winter Games, or the 10th Winter Paralympics, were held in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada from March 12 to 21, 2010. The Opening Ceremony took place in BC Place Stadium in Vancouver and the Closing Ceremony in Whistler...
). The location is approximately 8 km from the junction of its access road with Highway 99 and 14 km from the Whistler Olympic Village.
The two year construction project saw, 14 km (8.7 mi) of cross country and biathlon trails, two ski jumps (HS 106 and HS 140 metre), and another 20 to 25 km of recreational trails built. There is also a permanent Biathlon range which can be used daily. Overall, $119.7 million was spent on the facilities in the Callaghan Valley. Permanent features were completed in the fall of 2007. It is now a public cross-country and back country ski facility.
Located between the ski jumps and cross country area there is an 11000 square feet (1,021.9 m²) Day Lodge. Which has a gift shop, cafeteria, washrooms, lounge and rental center. In addition to the Lodge, there are two 6000 square feet (557.4 m²) Technical Buildings, one for Cross Country and one for Biathlon located at each of the sports main venue area of the park. There are also other necessary infrastructure facilities on site.
The park was officially opened to the public on November 22, 2008 at noon PST despite having no snow the previous evening. Inauguration took place at the day lodge to mark the start of the public skiing season. 500 people daily would use the lodge during weekends and 100 during a regular weekday.
During the Olympics the park was managed by VANOC, it is now owned and operated by Whistler 2010 Sport Legacies. They also operate the Sliding Center and Training Center.
World Cup competitions at the park took place the weekend of January 15–18, 2009 for cross country skiing and nordic combined. Eleven nordic combined teams totalling 50 skiers and 47 support staff along with 17 cross country teams with about 230 skiers participated in the event. Ski jumping World Cup at the venue took place on the weekend of January 22–25, 2009. The Park is the first venue in 2009 to have its operational readiness tested for the upcoming Games in 2010.
Winners of the test events for cross country skiing were Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
's Alena Prochazkova
Alena Procházková
Alena Procházková is a Slovak cross country skier who has competed since 2002. Competing in two Winter Olympics, she earned her best finish of 18th in the individual sprint event at Vancouver in 2010....
in women's sprint, Emil Jönsson
Emil Jönsson
Greger superEmil Jönsson is a Swedish cross country skier who has been competing since 2004...
of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in the men's sprint, Justyna Kowalczyk
Justyna Kowalczyk
Justyna Kowalczyk is a Polish cross country skier who has been competing since 2000.Kowalczyk is an Olympic Champion, a double World Champion and a triple winner of the FIS Cross-Country World Cup...
of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
in the women's double pursuit, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
's Pietro Piller Cottrer
Pietro Piller Cottrer
Pietro Piller Cottrer is an Italian cross-country skier who won gold medal in the 4 x 10 km relay at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. He was born at Sappada, province of Belluno....
in the men's double pursuit, and in the team sprint, the winners were Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
for the women (Magda Genuin
Magda Genuin
Magda Genuin is an Italian cross country skier who has been competing since 1997. She finished sixth in the 4 x 5 km relay at the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Sapporo and earned her best individual finish of 12th in the 10 km event at those same championships.Genuin's best individual...
and Arianna Follis
Arianna Follis
Arianna Follis is an Italian cross country skier who started competing in 1995. Competing in two Winter Olympics, she earned a bronze medal in the 4 x 5 km at Turin in 2006....
) and Sweden for the men (Jönsson and Robin Bryntesson
Robin Bryntesson
Robin Bryntesson is a Swedish cross country skier who has been competing since 2003. His only World Cup victory took place at Whistler Olympic Park in the team sprint event on 17 January 2009....
). The nordic combined winners were Bill Demong
Bill Demong
Bill Demong is an American Nordic combined skier and Olympic gold medalist. Demong is a four-time Olympian competing in Nagano, Salt Lake City, Torino and Vancouver.-Career:...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on the 16th and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
's Magnus Moan
Magnus Moan
Magnus Hovdal Moan born 26 August 1983 in Lillehammer, Norway; is a Norwegian nordic combined skier who has competed since 2002. Magnus moved from Lillehammer when he was two years old and has lived in Trondheim ever since. He skis with the Byåsen IL club. When he is not training or competing Moan...
on the 17th. Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
's Gregor Schlierenzauer
Gregor Schlierenzauer
Gregor Schlierenzauer - Schlieri is an Austrian ski jumper. He began his senior career in 2005–06 with one win and three additional podiums in the Ski Jumping Grand Prix, and made his World Cup debut in 2005—06 World Cup...
won both ski jumping test events.