Wednesday 24 February
This should now be the start of the end of the Games but no, the
weather Gods played havoc with weather today and we had fog, rain
and no sunshine! I woke up in the flat this morning and was bemused
as to why I could not see any light. It seems that I had turned
around in my sleep in the night. Nothing strange here, I am sure
many people do this many nights. My point however is that the
weather keeps changing around here. People had warned me about it
and while this is the nearest I have been to the Pacific, this
constant changing has been baffling. I can now see why the World Cup
does not come to Whistler. Great courses, superb course helpers but
when the weather Gods control everything, this is a nightmare.
This is now day 14 of competition and you can start to see the multi
event racers tiring. While two weeks of competition is hard to
undertake if you are not ready for it, the fact that the organisers
have had to juggle, jiggle and squeeze the races into any day that
the weather gods have said, it is super hard to try and achieve
everything you do on the World Cup.
I bumped into the Irish team at Creekside this evening. With just
six athletes they are one of the smallest teams yet they have some
of the biggest smiles and a great team spirit. My buddy Shane, was
there at the Opening Ceremony, video camera in hand to remember it
all (he is getting on a bit so you have to give him some
allowances....). What really impressed me about the team was how
thay all go to support each other in competition. Today they were up
at Creekside to support Kirsty McGarry and then they were off
to the Sliding Centre to support their bob girls. I know that some
of the British team have been up to watch Chemmy and she has been
supporting the guys, but to watch other sports as well - that is
what the Games are all about.
I was always under the impression that the Olympics were about being
non - commercial. Non sponsors logos down the side of the course and
no sponsors logos on race suits, over suits etc. Rossignol
must be absolutely delighted with the producer of the skiing events
as every so often they flick to a ski boot being clicked into a
binding. Great use of slo-mo technology but surely this breaks the
no advertising code?
It had to come sooner or later: A gripe. When I arrived here
two weeks ago I was 'forced' to pay $260 dollars for internet usage
for 14 days. When you can get a contract for your house for £10 a
month, this is just scandalous what they are charging us. With
competition going on for 17 days, we now have to pay another 76
dollars for three days use! as one journalist said to me today: "It
must be us lot that are paying off the national debt these games are
going to cause....." hmmmmm they may have a point!
So was that crash a carefully construed moment to stop Mancuso
getting another medal or just pure coincidence. Make your own mind
up. Certainly it has given the media something to write about
instead of the fog.
Despite being given a last chance salon get out of jail card, the
curlers failed to advance into the medal games and according to the
UK Sport Boss who was interviewed by the Daily Mail Hawks, they will
not be getting an increase in funding for the next four year cycle.
Will skiing I hear you ask? Who knows. Performances have not
been super strong but then this is a new and young team that are
being given the experience for Sochi and beyond. If the BOA
and the powers that be can get their acts together and bring
interested parties together, there may be a chance for some serious
competitors in 2018. Young Jack Gower, 16, who has just scored some
awesome results in races in Canada (30 point results....check his
FIS pages out (click
here))will be at his prime then. Gower hardly featured in the
Children's team until he was in Children 2 and now has results in
the 30's and 60's in the tech events. Come the British Champs in
April and March, this will be the guy all the papers will be wanting
to talk to! Jack has been here for the experience, to sample
the crowds as there is nothing like this anywhere...
and right now there is nothing like my bed......
