From the Associated Press:

LONDON - The International Olympic Committee has made an unprecedented offer to help cover any budget deficit of the 2010 Vancouver Games because of the economic downturn.

Click here to read the entire story.

FROM VANOC:

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) today released its report for the second quarter of the fiscal year, which includes a management discussion and analysis, and interim financial statements for the period ending January 31, 2009. VANOC’s quarterly report is available at www.vancouver2010.com.

“As we expected, we’re in a positive cash position this quarter because of revenues arising from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), sponsors and ticket sales. Licensing and merchandising revenue doubled this quarter and over $94 million worth of tickets were sold,” said John McLaughlin, VANOC’s chief financial officer. “However, these remain challenging economic times reinforcing our need to be financially prudent.”

=> Read more!

From VANOC:

One of the biggest milestones in preparing to host the top athletes from countries around the world has been reached by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) and its partners: construction and upgrades on all sport competition venues were completed on time and within the $580-million budget. Athletes are now training and competing in the venues in preparation for the Games.

The Vancouver 2010 sport venue program is officially complete today with the opening of the Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre, the venue for curling and wheelchair curling events during the Games.

“Today is a proud moment for all of us and would not have been possible without the unwavering support of the Government of Canada and the Province of BC,” said John Furlong, VANOC Chief Executive Officer. “After years of teamwork and careful planning, together we’ve reached one of our biggest milestones. It’s wonderful to see athletes now competing and testing these venues while youngsters and adults alike experience the legacies far in advance of the Games.”

=> Read more!

A tower supporting the Excalibur Gondola at Whistler Blackcomb partially collapsed this afternoon leaving several skiers and snowboarders trapped.

Ten people were injured according to the Vancouver Sun.

Here are some links to coverage:
- The Associated Press
- The Vancouver Sun
- The Globe and Mail.

Photo: The Canadian Press

If you are like me the most boring part of the Olympics - summer or winter - is the opening ceremonies. Save the halftime show for halftime.

But Beijing's opening ceremonies last week were amazing (until the athlete parade. Zzzzzzz.)

So, my hope is China has set a new standard for the opening ceremonies that will make them worth watching from now on.

The man charged with keeping that tradition going is Australia's David Atkins. He directed the 2000 Sydney Olympics and will do the same in 2010 in Vancouver.

Here's a statement from the Vancouver Organizing Committee which includes a long conversation with Atkins about the opening ceremonies:

Four billion people will be watching. An Opening Ceremony for the Olympic Games is the biggest live production of its kind. There's pressure to perform, pressure to be imaginative, and for the Host Country, the Opening Ceremony is like inviting the world into your living room.

At the Opening Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the world is eager see what Beijing and China will express culturally, and how they want to be perceived going forward. Australia's David Atkins knows how big that task can be.

=> Read more!

Here's our monthly 2010 Winter Games update:

LOCAL ATHLETES
Crystal Mountain skier Scott Macartney continues to train as he recovers from a nasty crash that cut last season short.
“It's been good to get back on snow with all the guys and for me it's been good to be back since it's been a while,” Macartney, an ’04 Olympian, said in statement released by the U.S. Ski Team.
Macartney is staying pretty active off the snow, too. He’s surfing, cooking salmon and might take a European vacation. He says Kitzbuhel, the ski area where he had his accident, offered him a week long summer vacation.
Earlier this month Macartney and the U.S. Ski Team finished a hockey cross-training program in Utah. The program ended with a hockey game.
“It was really fun to be out there with everybody and mix it up a little bit,” Macartney said in press release. “I got checked a few times, but we had a good time. It was a very close game. It came down to the wire and could have gone either way.”

TEAMS USA UPDATES
- Snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler won Best Female Action Sports Athlete honors this month at the ESPY Awards.
- Kikkan Randall of the U.S. Nordic ski team spent part of July training on the Eagle Glacier in his home state of Alaska
- Skating Magazine readers voted Johnny Weir the skater of the year making him the first man to win the award since Michael Weiss in 2000. Weir received 1,156 of approximately 8,400 votes.
- The U.S. Snowboarding team finished a training session on Mount Hood on July 25.

FACILITY UPDATES
- According to the Vancouver Sun, a bad splice resulted in an underground explosion that destroyed 14 circuits and left 20 percent of the city in darkness for three days. According to the newspaper, some officials are concerned about a power failure during the Olympics.
- On July 7 the University of British Columbia’s Thunderbird Arena became the first indoor competition venue to be completed. According to a statement released by organizers the 7,500 arena was finished four months early and on budget. The venue will host men’s and women’s hockey.
- Organizers announced this month that the anti-doping lab for the games will be located at the Richmond Oval, the speed skating venue.

OTHER OLYMPIC NEWS
- The Summer Olympics start Aug. 8 and the Vancouver Olympic Committee will send 36 members to the games to study the event as it continues to plan for 2010.
- General Electric donated a CT scanner for the games that Olympic organizers say will be the first in Whistler. The scanner will be installed in December.

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets go on sale Oct. 11, 2008. Tickets.com was selected as the games’ official ticket service.

From VANOC:

What will the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic torches look like and how will the cauldron showcase the Olympic Flame at BC Place Stadium on February 12, 2010? While the answers will remain a surprise for months to come, Bombardier has received the honour of designing and manufacturing the iconic torches and cauldrons for the 2010 Winter Games.

=> Read more!

From the Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee:

Vancouver, BC – The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) today announced that The Whistler Sliding Centre will open its doors for tours this summer, providing the public with the first opportunity to personally touch and feel one of the 2010 Winter Games venues. Located on Blackcomb Mountain in Whistler BC, The Whistler Sliding Centre will be home to bobsleigh, luge and skeleton competitions in 2010. It is one of only 15 international competition sliding tracks in the world, and one of four in North America.

=> Read more!

LOCAL ATHLETES
- Cle Elum mogul skier Patrick Deneen was named the FIS rookie of the year and celebrated March 15 by finishing third in a race in Italy.
- Federal Way native Apolo Anton Ohno finished his season with a strong performance at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in South Korea. He won gold at 500 meters and overall. He also took the 1,000- meter silver and bronze at 3,000 meters. Ohno has won 18 world championship medals – six of each hue.
- Yakima’s Phil Mahre, a gold medalist in the 1984 Olympics, fell short of his goal of qualifying for this month’s U.S. Alpine Nationals. He turned down special invitations to compete because he wanted to qualify on his own.
- Crystal Mountain’s Scott Macartney finished 26th in the World Cup’s downhill standings this season despite not racing since January because of an injury. A ski team spokesman said he’s hoping to return to racing speed this summer.
- Crystal’s Libby Ludlow finished 32nd in the giant slalom and 36th in the Super G. She participated in the NorAm Finals in New York despite knee injuries.

TEAMS USA UPDATES
- March was an historic month for the U.S. Ski Team as it finished one of its best World Cup seasons ever. Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn took the overall titles. It’s the first time U.S. men and women have swept the titles since 1983 when Yakima’s Phil Mahre and Kentucky’s Tamara McKinney won the titles. Miller also claimed the season combined title and Vonn took the downhill title in February.
- Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety won the World Cup season giant slalom title.
- Vonn and Jimmy Cochran each won slalom and combined titles at this week’s U.S. Alpine Championships.
- Miller did not compete in the U.S. Alpine Nationals.
- Katherine Ruetter won Team USA’s only women’s medal at the speed skating world championships. She took bronze at 3,000 meters.
- The 1998 Olympic Women's Hockey Team, which won the first-ever Olympic gold medal in the sport, is one of five finalists for the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. It’s the only winter team nominated. Its competition includes the 1992 Men’s basketball team - the original Dream Team.
- Figure skater Brian Boitano and speedskater Sheila Young Ochowicz are among the 18 individuals nominated. Fans can vote at usolympichalloffame.com.

FACILITY UPDATES
- Testing at the sliding center on Blackcomb Mountain continued this month.
- Work is expected to be completed on the Hillcrest/Nat Bailey Stadium Park, the Whistler Athlete’s Centre, the UBC Winter Sports Centre and the Richmond Oval this year.

OTHER OLYMPIC NEWS
- Some members of the Canadian cross-country team have complained that the 2010 Nordic venue is too easy according to the Vancouver Sun.
- The 2010 day-by-day competition schedule can be viewed online at blogs.thenewstribune.com/adventure.

COMING UP
- The U.S. Freestyle Championships start today in Park City, Utah.

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets go on sale Oct. 11, 2008. Tickets.com was selected as the games’ official ticket service.

This isn't necessarily Olympic related, but we'd love to have your help:

Help us determine the best ski area in the Northwest by voting for your favorite resort, lodge food, ski run and more.

Click below to take the quick survey. Your favorites will featured in 2008-09 Ski preview sections in newspapers across the Northwest. Voters from around the region - Idaho, Washington, Oregon and B.C. - are participating so make sure your favorites are well represented.

2008-09 Snow Ride Guide Survey

OK, folks. I've received your calls and e-mails. The biggest questions so far are about the schedule.

Well, this ought to help you out. Click below to download the 2010 competition schedule. It probably goes without saying considering we have two years to go, but times and dates are subject to change.

Thanks for the e-mails and comments. Keep them coming.

2010 Olympic Day-by-day competition schedule

This weekend marks the two-year countdown to the Vancouver Olympics. A World Cup freestyle event will be held at Cypress Mountain today and tomorrow.

John Kircher of Bellevue operates Cypress along with Crystal Mountain and the Summit at Snoqualmie. We'd hoped to run a feature on Kircher yesterday but the story had to be moved to Monday.

Here's another story about Kircher to tide you over until then.

Big Sky Resort manager Taylor Middleton has seen John Kircher stiff-arm death before.
In the early 1990s, the men were researching one of Kircher’s ideas. Kircher wanted to run a tram to the top of 11,166-foot Lone Peak, the highest point at Big Sky Resort. Today, the tram is one of the United States’ most famous lifts, but on the day a helicopter dropped Kircher and Middleton off on the peak Middleton wasn’t so sure.
After Middleton and some ski patrol directors skied the mountain’s steep upper slopes, it was Kircher’s turn.
“John jumped in and kicked off this huge avalanche,” Middleton said. “He’s a great skier and he was able to ski out of it just before it would have taken him over a cliff.”