When I bought my Olympics tickets in february 2013, I had bought two tickets to the Men’s Bronze Medal Game, since gold tickets were not available at the time. So now, after the game from the previous night, I was stuck with two tickets for a game that Canada would not be playing in.

I had posted my tickets to the Facebook groups as soon as the Canada – USA game ended, hoping to find some Americans to either sell my tickets to or make a trade with. I had a few responses on the Facebook page, but found that a lot of people were flakey and didn’t show up when they said they would, so I was getting a bit frustrated.

Everyone’s Looking For Tickets!

These guys were AWESOME!

I headed to the Olympic Park and went straight to the Canada and USA houses. I talked to everyone around the two houses and pretty much everyone was hoping to do the same thing as I was. I found one guy, who turned out to be one of the people I had connected with through my Facebook post. He had a single gold ticket, and wanted two bronze for an even trade for him and his friend.

DONE!

Now What?

Since the bronze event was all I had tickets for that day, I was stuck with no events for the day. I decided I wanted to go to the bronze game anyway. I walked over to the Bolshoy and ran into these guys, who were selling their tickets, but at a price that I was not willing to pay.

I hung around outside the arena until the game started. (There were always people selling ticket for less than face value after events started.) I took the opportunity to take some pics of the rings and the cauldron and then I saw a group of people in matching Canada gear walking up to the rings. I thought, “Hey! This is perfect Olympic Spirit Project material!” And when I looked closer…

It was THE CANADIAN MEN’S HOCKEY TEAM!!!

Soch i2014 Canadian Men’s Olympic Hockey Team

Sochi 2014 Canadian Men’s Olympic Hockey Team

Whaaaaat?!?!?!!! I could NOT believe my luck! It was perfect! I nestled into the crowd and stood front and center right beside the team photographer when I took this photo! YES!! I was SO excited!

Bronze Medal Hockey

So after THAT happened, I found a Canadian couple selling a single bronze ticket for half face value. I paid less than $100 for the ticket and headed inside. You would think the day couldn’t possibly get any better and then I got to my seat. The seat I had just bought for 1/5 the price of my original tickets was BETTER than the ones I had traded with the American guy!  He was sitting about 8 rows behind me!

So I once again counted my blessings of yet another fantastic day as I watched the USA lose to Finland for the bronze medal.

Where were you for the bronze medal game?

Olympic Spirit Project postcards are now available! 

Canadians were buzzing with anticipation as they entered the Bolshoy for the Canada vs Latvia quarterfinal hockey.

It’s always interesting walking into an event solo, not knowing who you will be sitting with or the energy of those around you. I was pleasantly surprised and excited to find that my seat was beside these guys! Canadian superfans always make the experience that much more awesome.

There were no alcohol sales inside the official Olympic venues, but these guys didn’t let that stop them! Cuz seriously, how can you be at a Canadian at a hockey and not have a beer in your hand? There is something very wrong about that scenario. So these superfans each came in with a backpack full of beer and generously shared them around to fellow Canadians (ie. me!)

There was plenty of Olympic Spirit to be found and you can see from this photographic summary:

Canada won over Latvia with a score of 2 – 1, the two goals were scored by Patrick Sharp and Shea Weber. You can find more stats and details from the game here.

After the game we were once again approached by Russian after Russian for photos. This group included a couple that I had been sitting beside earlier in the day for the Russia vs Finland game. They were super excited to run into me again, so of course wanted a photo.

I LOVED this super cute mini fan that we found on our way to the House of Switzerland to celebrate.

I traded my Canada scarf with this group of Russian athletes at the cauldron for some Russian Olympic pins.

Most Canadians made their way to the House of Switzerland to celebrate the win and as was the nightly tradition, the Canadian national anthem broke out.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWLp7cdS5RU&list=UUAX8Y6j1NZFWZleMJcM_FXA

It was another awesome day full of pleasant surprises. Two incredible hockey games, an unexpected curling, new friends and fantastic memories that will last a lifetime! Despite my challenges with lost luggage and the flu, my Olympic experience was only getting better and better with each passing day!

Did you watch Team Canada play in the quarter final match?

Street Hockey: Canada House vs USA House

Thank goodness my fever broke after a full 20 hours of sleep! I woke up on Day 6 to a message from a friend letting me know about a street hockey game between Canada Olympic House and USA Olympic House that was supposed to begin in a half hour. I rushed to get out the door and to the Olympic Park, but unfortunately I missed it. But I was still able to get a shot of speed skater (and best team mate ever!) Gilmore Junio and figure skating Silver Medalist Patrick Chan before they cleared everything away.

Men’s Quarterfinal Hockey: Russia vs Finland

My first event of the day was the men’s Russia vs Finland quarter final hockey game. When I bought the tickets a year ago, I was really hoping I would get to watch Canada play, but this wasn’t the case. I had sold my second ticket to this game earlier in the week, so I had some extra cash to put towards a ticket for the Canada vs Latvia game later that evening. I found a Russian fan outside Canada Olympic House selling tickets and managed to get a Category A ticket for just over half of face value. I was set and excited to watch Team Canada play! My one-event day just turned into a two-event day! YAY!

The Russia vs Finland game was INSANE! The energy in the arena was crazy, wow! Both the Russian and Finnish fans were in top form. Finland won with a score of 3 – 1, sending them to the semifinal round, and Russia was out, a huge disappointment to Russian fans.

Men’s Semifinal Curling: Canada vs China

As I left the Shayba Arena, I got a message from a friend (who I had met in a Facebook group and had yet to meet in person) offering me a free last minute ticket to the men’s semifinal curling match. My luck went even further in that Canada was playing China! My two-event day just turned into a three-event day! YES!! 

I was once again blown away by the fact that: People. Are. Awesome! (Thank you Tom!!!)

At Vancouver 2010 I had only watched Paralympic curling, so I was excited (as excited as one can get about curling…) to go check out my first Olympic curling match. Canada beat China with a score of 10 – 6! Yay Canada!

I had to duck out of curling early though, to head back to the Shayba Arena for Canada vs Latvia hockey. I’ll tell you all about that in part 2 of the story because Team Canada hockey should really have it’s very own post…

I woke up on Day 4 with bruised knees and a hovering flu, and I tried my best to ignore both as I prepared for a day of hockey. I was about to leave the hotel when there was a knock on the door and there stood Evgeny from the front desk with my luggage! I was so happy to see him standing there there with my bag that I jumped up and down, screaming, “YAY!!!” and gave him a giant hug! (I don’t think he expected that! Haha!)

The best part about having my luggage back (besides the fresh clean socks and underwear) was the meds that I always pack in my first aid kit! So after changing into fresh clothes (so good!) I popped a couple of DayQuill and headed out for a day of women’s hockey!

I arrived in Sochi with 2 tickets to the afternoon women’s semi-final game and was really hoping it would be the Canada vs Switzerland game, but it turned out to be the USA vs Sweden game.

I had managed to sell my extra ticket to the same American guy I had bought my short track speed skating ticket from (yay!!), so now I had some extra cash to buy a ticket to the Canada vs Switzerland game! So after the USA game, I headed straight over to Canada Olympic House to see if anyone was selling tickets, and sure enough there were! I got one for almost half of face value!

Looking as terrible as I feel with the Sochi flu.

By this time it was about 7:30pm, I was hungry and the DayQuill had pretty much completely worn off. I felt terrible! I realized that this flu was only going to get worse before it got any better, and started to wonder if it had been such a great idea to stay for the second game…? But who was I kidding??? OF COURSE it was a great idea!! Canada was playing and I HAD to go support them!

I had about 2 hours to kill before the game, so connected with my friend Shauna and we headed to the cafeteria tent for some food and to get warm. I must have looked as terrible as I felt, because Shauna ended up buying me a bowl of soup and a hot cup of mulled wine to warm me up from the inside out. (Thank you Shauna!!) It helped and I perked up as game time approached.

When we got to the Shayba Arena , we were stopped by CBC who followed us in, thanks to Shauna’s awesome homemade Canada signs! Seconds after this happened, both Shauna’s and my phones went crazy with messages from friends back in Canada who had just seen us on TV! Awesome!!

Once inside, we found Mascot #2, the bear! I immediately went to have my photo taken and when he saw my Canadian flag pins, he gestured that he would love to have one, so of course I gave it to him!

The game was incredible with a 3-1 win for Canada, moving the ladies on to the gold medal round! Unfortunately my seat was right behind the net, so I was not able to get too many great shots of the ladies playing, but it was an amazing experience and great to see so much support for women’s hockey! Being surrounded by other Canadians brought the energy up and made it that much more exciting.

Click the image below for CBC’s summary of the game.

So there you have it, another incredible day at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics! With each passing day, I just don’t know how the next day could possibly top it, but somehow it just does!

Did you watch the ladies play in the semi final? What did you think of the game?

This was taken during the Wide Mouth Mason show held at the Molson Canadian Hockey House between periods of the Gold Medal Olympic Hockey game of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games! Amazing band, amazing show, unbelievable game!

For more pics of the concert, visit the Set on Flickr!

The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) today announced that sledge hockey captain Jean Labonté has been selected as flag bearer for Canada at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

“Jean has demonstrated throughout his career the determination, athletic excellence, and strong character that embodies the Paralympic spirit,” said Blair McIntosh, chef de mission, Team Canada.”  Jean is a most deserving athlete to not only captain our sledge hockey team but to also lead our entire Canadian delegation into B.C. Place for the first Paralympic Winter Games on home soil.”

The native of Gatineau, Québec has competed in three previous Paralympic Winter Games, earning a gold medal in 2006 and silver in 1998. Labonté is one of the most decorated and admired athletes in the sport, having played in five International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Sledge Hockey World Championships, taking the gold medal in 2000 and 2008, and bronze in 1996 and 2009.

(photo courtesy of the Canadian Paralympic Committee)

The veteran defenceman demonstrates great leadership both on and off the ice. Labonté is an outstanding ambassador for sledge hockey and for the Paralympic movement.  He has worked tirelessly to promote Paralympic sport across Canada, educating Canadians about sport for athletes with a disability, and encouraging young and old to participate and take advantage of sporting and volunteering opportunities in their communities.

“When the eyes of the world focus on B.C. Place for the opening ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games – the first to be hosted in Canada, they will witness an historic moment in Canadian sport,” said Carla Qualtrough, president, CPC. “The profile of Paralympic sport has reached new heights and our flag bearer, Jean Labonté, has helped lead the way. It is a tremendous honour to carry the flag for your country. Jean, like all of our Paralympic athletes, is about to make Canada very proud.”

The Opening Ceremony of the 10th Paralympic Winter Games is scheduled for 6pm PT on Friday, March 12, 2010 at BC Place in Vancouver.

About the Canadian Paralympic Committee

The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) is a non-profit, private organisation with 43 member sports organisations dedicated to strengthening the Paralympic Movement.  The CPC is responsible for creating an optimal high-performance environment for the Canadian Paralympic athletes to win at Paralympic and ParaPanAmerican Games.  By supporting Canadian Paralympic athletes and promoting their success, the CPC inspires all Canadians with a physical disability to get involved in sport through programs delivered by its member organisations.  For more information, visit www.paralympic.ca.

Follow the Canadian Paralympic Committee by becoming a fan on Facebook, and following on Twitter.

(News Release courtesy of the Canadian Paralympic Committee.)

(Photo credit on blog page: Ariane Colenbrander)

I watched the Canada vs. USA Gold Medal Hockey game from the best venue in town next to Canada Hockey Place: the Molson Canadian Hockey House!

Already at 8am the lineups were growing for bars, pubs and cultural houses around the city. The lineups on and around Granville Street were huge in the morning in anticipation for the noon-time game! This was the view from my living room window that morning.

Inside the Molson Canadian Hockey House, the people were packing in and the energy and excitement for the upcoming game was building!

Francois-Louis Tremblay stopped by to celebrate the Canadian speed skating team’s Gold Medal win!

Wide Mouth Mason played two AMAZING sets! I was very excited about this, as I had been hoping to see them at some point during the Games and my moment had finally come!

And of course, the crowd cheered for Team Canada with such loud, excited optimism, that I have no doubt that we could be heard at Canada Hockey Place!

After the game, and during the Olympic Games Closing Ceremonies, Roberto Luongo and his daughter, Gabriela, stopped by for a quick visit to thank the fans for their support and show off his gold medal and the crowd went WILD for one of Canada’s newest heroes!

All in all, it was an amazing day and the perfect wrap up for the Games! If someone had written a script for the day, it could not have been written with a better ending!

For more photos of the Molson Canadian Hockey House during the Gold Medal Hockey Game, visit my set on Flickr.

For more photos of Wide Mouth Mason, there is a Flickr set for that too!

I’ve been quite fortunate in getting tickets to Olympic events here at the Vancouver 2010 Games! I’ve been lucky enough to acquire tickets to several events, all at face value. Events I’ve seen include speed skating at the Olympic Oval, men’s hockey at Canada Hockey Place, and women’s hockey at Thunderbird Stadium at UBC. I’ve also been to a Victory Ceremony and to the Molson Canadian Hockey House twice to watch hockey games there.

The best part about all of these opportunities for me is that I am able to take  photos of once in a lifetime events in our beautiful city!

Here are some of those images to give you a taste of my 2010 Olympics experiences:

Speed Skating:

On February 13th, after winning tickets in the Holland Heineken House ticket lottery for Dutch citizens, I went to my first speed skating event. It was unbelievable! The energy in the Richmond Oval was electrifying! And the fact that Holland’s Sven Kramer won Gold, made it that much better!

Gold Medalist, Sven Kramer of the Netherlands.

Victory Ceremony:

The first gold medal for Canada was awarded to Alex Bilodeau on February 15th. I was at the medal ceremony to see it happen!

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Molson Canadian Hockey House:

On February 15th, Tom Cochrane played at the Molson Canadian Hockey House. Guests to his stage included Tyler Stewart of the Barenaked Ladies, and Donald Sutherland. It was an amazing show and the House was full of energy and excitement! A super fun time! If you have a chance to watch a game at the Molson Canadian Hockey House, take it! Included in the FanZone ticket is entrance, food, and non-alcoholic beverages. Beer is $7.50 tax and tip included.

Men’s Hockey:

I was at the USA vs Norway game on February 18th. We had seats right behind the photographers’ pit and I was able to sneak into the photographers area for about 20 minutes in the second period! It was amazing to be so close to the action and having the players bang up against the glass right in front of me! Here are some of the shots from that game.

Women’s Hockey:

On February 22nd, the Swiss played the Russians in Women’s Hockey at Thunderbird Stadium out at UBC. After a well-matched game, a few injuries, overtime and a shootout, the Swiss were victorious, winning 4th place in the 2010 Olympic standings! Congratulations Switzerland!

Believe it or not, there are still tickets available for upcoming events! We are into the final week of the Games and your final chances to see some awesome Olympic athletes in action! Try your luck for tickets at the Vancouver 2010 Fan to Fan site, Craigslist, or even right outside the venues from people trying to simply sell extra tickets at face value because they are unable to attend the event. It doesn’t always have to be pricey!