PARRY SOUND – Experiencing the 2010 Winter Olympics first hand was a one-of-a-kind experience for two local people.
For 20-year-old Wasauksing resident Chance King, the opportunity to perform in front of millions at the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremonies in Vancouver, British Columbia was nothing short of life changing.
“I applied to the Indigenous Youth Gathering, I thought it would be for workshops and other native youth gatherings, but when I got accepted, I found out we were doing the opening ceremonies – it was a pretty great surprise,” said King, who applied sometime in September, 2009.
King had to keep the exciting news to himself, except for his mom. He told her the good news.
“I told everyone else I was going to a youth gathering,” he said with a chuckle.
King was among some 300 other First Nation and Inuit people from across the country who participated in the ceremonies representing different communities.
“They put me into the eastern group, they just stuck all the eastern communities into one, I’m Ojibway,” King said.
Two weeks before the event King flew to B.C. to rehearse for the opening ceremonies. Performers brought their own regalia and received free accommodation, food and travel.
“We danced for close to two hours. It didn’t feel like it,” he said, recalling opening day. “The energy from the crowd and knowing people are watching you. I didn’t get tired at all. I was super sweaty, the sweatiest I’ve ever been, but I wasn’t tired.”
Sharon Ranney arrived home at 3 a.m. Friday and was still high from her whirlwind experience at the Vancouver Olympics.
Ranney oversaw the biathlon field of play, ensuring everyone there – athletes, coaches and media – were properly accredited.
Ranney’s journey to volunteer at the Olympics began more than two years ago when she applied to the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) for the opportunity.
When she first applied to volunteer at the 2010 Olympics, Ranney ranked cross-country skiing as her first choice of three. Alpine skiing was second. Biathlon, a test of both cross-country skiing and target shooting, was her third choice.
“I didn’t hear anything for about six months or so, then I received a telephone interview – an hour-long telephone interview,” she said. “I didn’t hear anything and then I got an email from VANOC to see if I would do an interview in Toronto with them. So I went down to Toronto and had a group interview and then a one-on-one interview after that, then I was told I was on biathlon. It was mandatory that I work a World Cup, so last year I went out in March and I worked the World Cup biathlon.”
A family affair
Ranney’s experience in Vancouver was a family affair, with her husband John along and granddaughter, Katie Madden, 17, who lives just an hour’s drive from the Whistler Olympic Park in Callaghan Valley also volunteering.
“I was there with my granddaughter Katie Madden, who has been attending school in Whistler since September and we stayed with my daughter Tanya and her family in Pemberton, just outside of Whistler. I volunteered with biathlon and Katie was with Alpine skiing in Whistler Creekside. With our accreditation, we could also attend the cross-country and ski jump events as well. We attended five or six of the medal ceremonies each night, with the popular bands, and when you hear the Canadian anthem played, the crowds just went wild. When Alexandre Bilodeau won the first gold medal on Canadian soil, all Canadians left their conservative nature behind and let loose and the momentum never stopped.”
Although she has also been asked to volunteer at the 2014 Olympic winter games in Sochi, Russia, Ranney said she isn’t sure if she’ll go.
“I don’t know yet, that’s four years away, it’s a long way,” she said. “It was certainly nice to be asked.”
While in B.C., Ranney took in bobsledding, ski jumping and cross-country skiing events as well as five medal ceremonies.
“I’m on such a high, it was incredible. It was a wonderful experience,” she said. “I’ve been having all these phone calls this morning. How can I get this across, how can I tell people what I’ve experienced? You wish the whole world could have that feeling. All the problems of the world weren’t there, it was just coming together in a sense of pride and community and joy. It was just incredible. For a short while, it felt to me like these Olympic games were all that mattered in the world. It was truly an honour to be part of the celebration.”