Monday, February 1, 2010

Day One-Uniform and Accreditation

Made it to Vancouver last night. As soon as I got off the plane, the first thing I noticed was all of the Olympic "stuff" around. The whole airport was decorated and there were a lot of Olympic volunteers there to answering questions etc...

My friend Lesley picked me up and after we left the airport, we drove around to see a few sites-the Richmond Olympic oval looks amazing, as it was dark and we were driving so the photos did not turn out. I hope to go back in the daytime to get a better look. Les also drove me by the arena that I will be working out of, Britannia Centre. It is tucked away, part of a larger Community complex including a pool, teen Centre, day care and a school.



This morning, I was scheduled to pick up my accreditation and uniform. This was done near the Pacific Coliseum, the figure skating and short-track speed skating venue. Having never been there before, and not sure about how the bus trip was going to go, I left early. I got there about 30 minutes early, and there were already about 30 people in line. The wait wasn't bad since I got to talk to the people waiting with me about what they were doing at the games. Two of the people in front of me were retired Vancouverites who were working as event hosts, one person behind me came up from Arizona to work in catering in Whistler.

Once we got in, it was very organized. First, they confirmed that I was actually who I said I was and that I was supposed to be there. Then, I followed the red line to get my photo taken (no smiling!), and then the yellow line to pick up my accreditation. Once that was all done, it was onto the white line to get my uniform! The uniform consists of a bright blue waterproof jacket, a fleece vest, 2 long sleeved shirts, a touque, and a pair of pants. I am a bit concerned about only having one pair of pants for a month! The uniform is pretty good, although very bright.

After all that was done, it was time to go to Britannia to meet the other people that I will be working with and to get a brief orientation to the facility and the job (and lots of acronyms!). It is hard to believe that in less than 2 weeks the best hockey players in the world will be in front of me the ice. Check out my next entry for more info on what happens at Britannia, and other adventures.

GO CANADA GO!

Kelly