The Canadian Olympic Association (COA) has informed the IOC that Vancouver is now officially Canada’s Applicant City for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Games.
The COA said it sent a letter to the IOC well ahead of the Feb. 4 deadline for countries to submit applications. The bid proposes that hockey, figure skating, curling and speed skating be staged in Vancouver with alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and ski jumping held in Whistler B.C., where the Paralympic Games would also be held.
Michael Chambers, President of the COA, said, “Vancouver along with the alpine resort of Whistler, will present a unique package of venues that will challenge the world’s best Olympic athletes. And eight years from now, Canada will provide visitors with a truly memorable Winter Games experience”.
Jack Poole, President and CEO of the Vancouver Whistler 2010 bid said, “we are pleased to reach this important step in the bid process. Our team is working closely with athletes, communities, government, First Nations and corporate partners to produce a winning bid that will incorporate the themes of legacy reaction and sustainable development”.
The lobbying by all the bid cities will take place under strict rules imposed following the Salt Lake City scandal. Under the new rules, Olympic bidders are no longer allowed to fly IOC members to their cities and are not allowed to meet individually with IOC members in their home countries.
Chambers told the Vancouver Sun, “the IOC’s very strict now about following the rules they’ve laid down and if you get anywhere near the line, they’re rapping your fingers”. He added, “the bid committee itself can’t lobby people directly. But Mike Chambers as president of the Canadian Olympic Committee has to go to events that the International Olympic Committee members are at. At those events you can be sure that Mike Chambers is going to be, I might say, small-l lobbying for the 2010 bid”.
Chambers said Vancouver-Whistler’s chances “are as good as any bid city ever had to get the Winter Games in Canada”.
