To my BCIT Television students (and anyone else who cares to comment constructively) I pose the following question.
Now that you have been on the "front lines" of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, would you say that the Games were overall a positive thing (for citizens of Vancouver, First Nations, Canada, and the world), neutral, or negative thing?
Reflect on your experiences with insight and professional tone - and without revealing any trade secrets of course.
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Overall, I think the Games turned out to be a positive thing for Vancouver, and for Canadians in general. Not only did many Vancouverites get to experience the exciting vibe of the Games (regardless of whether they could afford venue tickets), but it seemed to have a positive effect on our Canadian psyche. While British Columbians can be rather casual and diffident in our patriotism, the success of our athletes, and the community atmosphere it inspired, was a much needed boost to our Canadian self-esteem.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, there were undoubtably groups of Canadians who did not benefit from the Games, and the overall economic cost to the public remains to be seen.
I believe that the games started off to a rocky start, but turned out in the end to be a great success and a positive experience. The atmosphere and vibe of the city was unbelievable, and the sense of true canadian spirt was almost everywhere you looked. Being on the front lines made everything seem so much greater. The roar of the crowd and the sounds of the athletes passing by filled my body with a warm sensation that I have never felt before, the emotion was so real and so strong.
ReplyDeleteIt was sad to see the games go, leaving Downtown what seems like a ghost town, but the great canadian spirt will always remain.
( This is From Matt B, haven't made a profile yet :)
From where I stood, all I could feel was the energy of the city; the excitement of celebrating in the glow of a newly discovered feeling of patriotism. As Canadians, we really shared in our athletes' journies. We cried for their losses, injuries, or disspointments, and we celebrated each medal as if it were our own achievment. In this way, the games unified our country. Standing beside my camera operator in front of a crowd of 60 000 screaming, celebrating Canadians is not an experience I'm bound to forget. Watching crowds of people be brought to tears as our National Anthem rings out over the city of Vancouver is almost a surreal, out-of-body experience.
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult to cast a critical eye on something that procurred such strong emotion. We could speak of monies spent, of the magnitude of our homeless population, about the price of event tickets. I suppose it remains to be seen what the aftermath of these Games will be. How will we as Canadians uphold the Olympic legacy?
(Posted by Allie...still have to make an account)
as a vancouver resident, and someone who witnessed the games firsthand, my feelings towards the olympics are generally positive. i'm happy the events were successful, and i'm glad everyone enjoyed themselves at the party. but really, i don't regard it as much more than that--a party.
ReplyDeletei'm reluctant to subscribe to the notion that the olympic games should be treated as a sort of community-building, human-unifying experience. it was a commercially-oriented, large scale sporting event that attracted thousands of tourists to vancouver for several weeks. i don't think we need to attach any patriotic fervour to it.
sure, it was nice to cheer for the canadian athletes, but we need to be critical about buying into the hype. canada, to me, is much more than the neat, pre-packaged image being sold. the olympics were fun, but we don't need to assign anything more than that to them.
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ReplyDeleteThe general consensus regarding 2010 Vancouver Olympics seems to be that the games instilled within Canadians (and British Columbians especially) a greater sense of patriotism that wasn't there before.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I believe that that national pride has always existed within us - but it's the Vancouver 2010 Olympics that gave us a common point on which to gather and show off our love for our country. We just needed an excuse to show the world what Canada is about.
Along with our first gold medal won on Canadian soil, our awesome female athletes, and the dramatic overtime win by Crosby, I feel that the past two weeks will be well worth the cost, because you can't put a price tag on patriotism.
When I found out that I would be working at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in early 2009 I was immediately excited. However as the time went on, and my start date approached I found myself feeling stressed, nervous, and confused. How would I get to Cypress each day? Who do I call to find bus schedules? I couldn't seem to get any answers and to be completely honest, I couldn't wait till it was over with...
ReplyDeleteAll of this changed as soon as I set foot on Cypress. I can truly say that it was two of the most exciting weeks of my life. Canadians dominated Cypress Mountain and although I wasn't technically allowed to celebrate, I may have high-fived a Canadian coach or two when Ashleigh McIvor won gold in Ski Cross. Whether Canadians were winning or losing, it was heart-warming to see the relentless support from the crowds.
My experience overall was very positive, I had the time of my life! I realize there is much controversy surrounding the Olympics and try to keep an open mind to political and humanitarian concerns...but in the end I am just so happy that the Olympics came to Vancouver in my lifetime!
I was surprised at how positive the games were for Vancouver. I think that people decided that once they were here you might as well enjoy them. That being said, I agree with Dylan in that the Olympics is commercialism being sold as a patriotic, unity boosting exercise. Vancouver certainly benefited economically but whether or not we break even remains to be seen.
ReplyDeleteAll in all, I enjoyed the Olympics because I was working in an industry I love . While I may not be focused on sports broadcasting, every job I have increases my skills and confidence. To be able to participate in an internationally televised event in my last semester really helped to motivate and encourage me.
All in all, I'm glad the Olympics happened and I'm glad they're over.
As a Camera Assist/ Production & Tech Personnel, I couldn’t have asked for a better entry level position. Considering my venue was stationed at Cypress Mountain, my job was to make the best of it. Overall, the experience I had at Cypress was great! Not only was I working an event that was broadcasted world wide, but I got to work with industry professionals. The highlight of my Olympic experience was getting to shoot the rehearsal runs and getting to see athletes in action. Not only was everyone friendly, but welcoming as well, which made my experience even better .
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe 2010 Winter Olympic Games we're a good experience to see first hand. I worked as a Camera assist at the Pacific Coliseum broadcasting Short Track Speed skating and Figure Skating. Over the Olympic period I developed a passion for Short Track Speed skating. I thought it was a very exciting event to watch and shoot. After each show my job was to go with my Camera Operator and follow the athletes off the ice and into the Media Zone. The high light of the games though was when I was able to shoot the rehearsals live in the wipe out zone for Short Track. I thought the Olympics were the best work experience I’ve had since coming to BCIT. I never had a day off and I didn’t want one because of the fun I had working the games. Everyone was very welcoming and friendly from my first day of work till the very end.
ReplyDeleteKris Woznesensky
ReplyDeleteThe Olympics have been nothing but the upmost positive experience for me and others that surround me. I have been working as a logistics runner as of December 1st and will work as head runner as of March 12th, when I boss leaves and I get to fill in for her.
I have met great friends and met a lot of people who can help me along my career path. I have been so lucky to have the opportunity to have a higher sense of responsibility during the Paralympic games.
Some of the stuff I have done is the organizing and distribution of accreditation, uniform packaging and venue distribution in all Vancouver and Whistler locations, responsible for logistically delegating distribution for furniture to various broadcasters within the International Broadcast Center, informing various broadcasters of "news flashes", audience maintenance at various press conferences, confirming accommodation prices and inquiries, and much more.
As the Olympic games ended, it was like a total culture shock and it was quite depressing. I'm, excited for things to pick up during the Paralympic games!
Kris
I think the olympics were a very positive experience for the city overall. I was downtown filming the crowds many times and the energy and the patriotism of the people really surprised and impressed me.
ReplyDeleteI got to attend a few of the events and it seemed to me that all the people at the events were in great moods as well.
Working for NBC, was a great experience, I got to work with people from all over the world so that was a really fun experience. There was a little hostility towards NBC, when the USA beat Canada in their first meeting, but other than that it was a great experience.
Kyle
Initially I was excited about working for OBS during the Olympics, although I really didn’t know what to expect. Leading up to the Olympics there was a lot of bad press around the games and I couldn’t help but be a bit skeptical about the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the day I arrived in Whistler the torch relay went right in front of my house. Everyone came out from their homes wearing patriotic colors to watch the torch pass by. It was exciting to see everyone brought together for this event.
My actual experience working during the Olympics was great. It was really positive experience for me working with such a diverse group of people. It was educational working with people from other countries and learning from there differences.
On a larger scale I think the Olympics were a great thing for the citizens of Vancouver, BC and Canada. Hosting them here in Canada really gave the province and country a chance to and redefine Canada and to show the world who Canadians are. It gave us something to be hopefully for and a reason to come together and cheer in a truly Canadian way.
However in hindsight I’m not certain how hosting the Olympics will benefit the country in any sort of measureable way. I feel like it was a great experience for each individual that was involved and good things will come from as a result of it. Except I don’t see how it will change any of the problems that BC and Canada have to face economically and financially. So although its been a great experience and something Canadians will remember forever as a great thing for Canada, I’m not sure that we will see any major changes in our province or country due to hosting the games.
Jessica McNeill
Personally I had a great experience at the Oympics. I was working at UBC covering most of the woman's hockey games and a few men's games. I also lived at UBC for the entire 2 week period, which was super convenient and a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteEverywhere I went had a positive vibe. I went downtown a lot and the atmosphere down there was amazing.
Hosting the Olympics in Vancouver will most likely benefit the city and Canada as a whole in the future. The manner in which the city and country was portrayed to the world was tastefully done, and it will promote a lot of tourism and growth.
Overall I think everyone had fun, and I am sad to see them go.
Greg
Overall I would say that the Olympics were a success. I agree with others that the 2-week had a rough start but the games and the city hit its full stride by the start of the second week. It was nice to see such a high degree of overt and blatant patriotism in Canada. The city and country should gain a good reputation from our fair weather during the games, and relieve any preconceived notions that all Canadians live in igloos.
ReplyDeleteI think the Olympic contributed positively and negatively to Canada. Positively because I think it gave every canadian, specially vancouverites, the chance to experience the biggest winter sporting event in the world first hand and it was a once in a lifetime experience.
ReplyDeleteNegatively because a lot of the tax-payer's money went to futile things like the Canada Pavilion which apparently cost more than 10 million dollars to build and it was barely used. Vancouver faces a lot of issues related to poverty and homelessness, and personally I would've cut the Olympic budget to half so the homeless could have had a place to live, teachers with less than 5 years of experience still their jobs, vancouver a better health system and the disable still their premium assistance.
I had the opportunity to work for OBS during the games, and it was a great experience career-wise.
Nevertheless I think it was great to see how patriotic Canada was for those 2 weeks and for Team Canada to show the world once again that they are still the best.
I was a camera assist at the opening and closing ceremonies. It was really amazing to see all the athletes come out and the crowd going crazy. During the games I would venture out and brave the crowds on Robson, while daily passing the tent city that was down Hastings.
ReplyDeletePersonally I found the Olympics to be an amazing time. Seven years ago when the announcement was made that the games were to be held in Vancouver, I was a little perturbed. Vancouver has many economic issues that have been neglected for so long, that I felt that we were wasting money on something so unimportant.
With that being said, my views of the games were changed from the moment I saw the energy and enthusiasm that the games had on people. Sure, the torch cost a thousand dollars an hour to keep lit. Sure, there were four torches. Sure, the torch’s hourly natural gas consumption was what a house hold would use in one year. These are things that will be forgotten, it’s not like we’re running out of fossil fuels or anything. What I will remember was the public displays of nationalism and public drunkenness, that’s what I will remember.
The games were a complete success and I feel that it was an important milestone for Vancouver. We were gracious and polite, a positive way to show the world that we are world class city.
In my opinion the Olympic Games were a complete success. Not only did we win our first gold medal on home soil, we set a new record for most gold medals ever by a host country. The fans were incredible whether it was standing in the rain and snow of Cypress and Whistler, inside the arenas, or on the streets of Vancouver Canadian Fans never stopped encouraging our athletes until the flame was extinguished.
ReplyDeleteFor me the ability to be a Camera assist at GM Place for the men's hockey tournament was absolutely incredible and to top it all off I was given the opportunity to go out onto the ice during the medal ceremonies for the men's and women's hockey. Being in the building during those games and seeing them win is an incredible experience but going out onto the ice during the ceremonies you kind of feel like one of the athletes, and it is one of coolest things to experience.
I think Vancouver 2010 set a new standard on how the city and population should be during an Olympic games and can't wait for London 2012.
- Tyler
I have nothing but positive things to say about the 2010 Winter Games! Everything from the production side and the amount of support we as Canadians gave to our country, was superb. The work was not tough, I have done harder things on set. I managed to meet and work with a huge amount of professionals, that itself is a treat indeed.
ReplyDeleteThe world was watching and we managed to pull off an amazing job. Sure there were a couple hiccups on the production side of things, not to mention a tragic accident that started off the Winter Games but we bounced back and threw one heck of a show. On my days off I managed to go Downtown to see what all the fuss was about. I have never seen that much Patriotism in my life. I was proud to be Canadian, so proud I went and spent $180 on a Team Canada jersey.
I was stationed at the Vancouver Olympic Centre for both the Curling and Wheelchair Curling events. In retrospect, I don't think I will ever do the type of work and get paid decently ever again. It was a walk in the park, really. I was a Utility/Camera Assistant and for the first couple days, we did not do much except read Magazines, play Nintendo Wii and bugged our superviser for work. As the days progressed more work was done but not enough; I was dying to do more work! Having the experience working alongside professionals was an experience I will never forget. These guys were good at what they did and not one of them despised a minute of it.
In the end, I was a bit depressed, in a sense that an event like this will never happen again in my lifetime, but proud that did a good job by helping out to produce an amazing experience for the world to see.
-Peter N.
I have come to the conclusion that the Olympics were mostly a positive experience for the majority of Vancouverites. Yes, there was a lot of negativity in the news surrounding the Games but conflict is what makes a story interesting! However, one week before the Opening Ceremonies there was definitely a new buzz in the air. People were truly excited. As an avid bus rider, I witnessed small miracles everyday. People were no longer staring at their feet, they were actually conversing with one another! Being able to relate to one another through a common experience was what turned our city into a community for two glorious weeks!
ReplyDeleteI was blown away by the amount of controversy that the Olympics to this city and this country as a whole. I was enjoying the excitement of having the greatest sporting event in the world almost as much as I enjoyed watching the bleeding hearts using the media attention to air Canada's "dirty laundry". After all the hot air and "rioting", maybe these advocacy groups will finally get the point that there is no gold medal for whining. Score one for Canada!
ReplyDeleteThe 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games was the single greatest event to ever occur in this city. I have never seen Canadians so patriotic, yet so welcoming at the same time. Yes, we may be in some debt for years to come but can you really put a price tag on what we have all just experienced? I highly doubt it. People like Maelle Ricker and Alexandre Bilodeau will forever be household names in Canada and we have the Olympics to thank for that.
ReplyDeleteI definitely believe whole heartedly that the Winter Olympics games were the best thing to have ever happened to Vancouver.
ReplyDeleteWe have become a part of history and will forever be mapped as an olympic city.
The fact the we won the women and mens gold medals for hockey only adds to these facts as hockey is one of the biggest sports in the winter olympics.
I also believe it was wonderful for the native community. First Nations people are such a strong part of Vancouver and Canada in general and the fact that the medals, all of the olympic art, the opening and closing ceremonies all incorporated native art into it, I thought was just fabulous and very positive for the First Nations people and Vancouver in general!
-Julie Robinson
I would have to say the Olympics here left a very positive and lasting impression on the residents and visitors of Vancouver. I thought most if not all the planning and execution of all the events and concerts were perfect. On each of my days off from working at the Richmond Oval I was downtown to see all the sights and join in the celebration of the games. It was clear to me that all parts to Canada's heritage were well represented and carried a positive message to the world.
ReplyDeleteGeoff
I was a camera assistant at the mens hockey games. I thought it was an amazing experience and I wish that it never ended.
ReplyDeleteIt was really cool to see how the city can really come together by such an event. When I was riding the skytrain everyone would break out singing the national anthem and starting up conversations with everyone, it was a really great thing to see.
The one thing that I thought was kind of a pain is it was hard to get into a bar after my shift downtown. Other than that it was a great time.
-Peter Elston