November 6, 2006 – There are only three-and-a-half years before Vancouver kicks off the official opening of the 2010 Olympic games, and like Chandra Crawford, they’ll likely fly by in a blur! The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from Feb. 12-28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12-21, 2010.

The construction of the Callaghan Valley Nordic venue is also in a full-on sprint as Feb. 2010 fast approaches. Access roads, ski courses, stadium-building foundations and infrastructure are all underway and scheduled to be completed by the end of 2006.

The 2007 season will see the completion of permanent buildings, bridges, paving and lighting for the facility, and 2008 will consist of final adjustments and fine-tuning. Temporary construction and set-up of facilities specifically focused on the Games will commence in the summer of 2009.

When the athletes arrive in 2010, the compact two-square-kilometre 2010 Winter Games core area will include three separate stadiums located approximately 500 metres apart. Each of the stadiums will manage up to 12,000 people per day. Trail configuration will consist of approximately 14 kilometres of competition cross-country trails (made up of two separate five-kilometre loops), a four-kilometre biathlon loop and eight kilometres of training trails.

The Nordic centre will also see the development of 20-25 kilometres of recreational trails that will provide some stunning cross-country cruising through the beautiful Callaghan Valley. Elevation changes for the cross-country area will run from a base of 843 metres to a high point of 927 metres.

In addition to the cross-country facilities, there will also be two Olympic ski jumps developed (HS 140 and HS 106), highly visible to spectators as they enter the venue. At present, training and test events are scheduled for NorAm/BC Cup (cross-country) in January 2008, and Canadian National Championships (cross-country) in March of ’08. World Cup ski jumping will follow a year later in February 2009, with World Cup biathlon, cross-country skiing and para-Nordic events scheduled for March of the same year.

It is expected that the public opening of the Nordic venue will take place in December 2007.