Day Three - Silver Lining at Cypress

Ah yes, another day, another medal.

Today things shifted from Freestyle Plaza to Snocross Centre. On one hand, there were 4000 disappointed people in Vancouver who found out that their general admission tickets were cancelled for today's Snocross because of safety issues, and on the other, hundreds of EVS (Event Services) staff breathing a small sigh of relief that we only had to manage 5000 people.

The half-pipe/cross course is quite amazing. It sits to the right of the new Day Lodge on the other side of the mountain. The Grandstands tower 14 stories over the arriving crowd, and people get to climb over 216 stairs to reach the top, and another 30 if they are sitting at the top row. On the way to the field of play area, spectators pass a Graffiti Wall, a sectioned area sponsored by VANOC to highlight Urban Art. For people who have been up to Cypress the last few days, it's nice to change up the dynamics.

My section today was in the path area, which meant crowd and access control, answering questions, and making the spectators feel welcome. Although I wasn't in a position to see any of the action (other than 10 minutes of it on my lunch), I could hear the roar of the crowd, particularly when Canada's Mike Roberston narrowly missed winning gold by about a foot to American Bryon Wilson.

And so there I was among the departing fans thanking them for coming, wishing them a good night, asking if they had a great time, congratulating the Americans on their gold. The smile on my face is always genuine, my thanks always sincere. It's just so cool being surrounded by Austrians, Norweigians, French, Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Poles, Americans, fellow Canadians....we speak so many different languages, but deep down we are so much alike.

I was able to see many of the athletes come down and into the access controlled area, many of them greeted by their families. For many of these 'kids', it's their first Olympic Games. For the mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, all of their many family members, it must be such a sense of pride to watch them compete. We put so much emphasis on placing in the medals, and gold is so coveted, but for many countries, and for many athletes, the chance to just compete, attend, and finish their event is gold enough.

Off to bed, short sleep followed by my longest shift tomorrow - 5:30 a.m. until 3:15, not counting the 5 hrs of commuting total. Ladies' snocross, should be exciting.

Reporting from Cypress Mountain, British Columbia...