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YouTubeThe winter Olympic games began in Chamonix, France and are held every four years beginning in 1924, with the exceptions of 1940 and 1944.
These games consist of sports related to the season such as skiing, snowboarding, bobsledding, skating, and hockey. This year, Vancouver, Canada had the honor of hosting the competitions; the country’s second time doing so. The United States have hosted the games four times, more than any other country. The location for the 2014 games is set for Sochi, Russia.
1901 marked the beginning of organized winter sports in Sweden with the Nordic Games. Since then, more and more events have been added; figure skating in 1908, ice hockey in 1920, among others. The games literally snowballed since their inception, now consisting of 15 sports, some with separate branches. For instance, skiing is split into events such as downhill, slalom, combined, and others.
The infamous Olympic Torch was introduced in the Summer of 1928 in Amsterdam, and stuck with the event ever since. The torch is a symbol of the Olympic games, commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus.
In 1932, the Winter Games left Europe for the first time and landed in Lake Placid, New York. There were fewer participants than in previous years, however that has changed dramatically as there are 2,629 participants representing 82 nations in the 2010 games.
Medals are given to the top three finishers of each event; gold, silver, and bronze. In the all-time standings, Norway leads the race with 290 medals thus far. The United States comes in second trailing by 53 with a count of 237.
Though the World Wars put the Winter Games on hold, they still prove to be ever popular and growing nonetheless.
Going Green:
The Vancouver Winter Olympics extended its program to include the social and economic dimensions of sustainability for the 2010 Games.
Beyond the environmental impacts and benefits of the Games, Vancouver now recognizes local and global sustainability practices. Learning from past games and practices, and current sustainability initiatives, the 2010 Winter Olympics embraces opportunities to make an impact.
The 2010 Vancouver Winter Games are the first Olympic and Paralympic Games to take an integrated approach to forecasting, reducing, offsetting and publicly reporting its carbon footprint. According to Vancouver2010.org, “Sustainability at VANOC means managing the environmental, social and economic impacts and opportunities of our Games to produce lasting benefits, locally and globally.”
Aside from thinking sustainability, Vancouver signed a historic protocol with the Four Host First Nations (FHFN), to ensure that the Nations in whose traditional territories the Games are being held are involved with their planning, hosting and legacy. The games are held on the traditional and shared traditional territories of the Lil’wat, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.
A Sustainable Sport and Event Toolkit (SSET) is also being used to measure sustainable practices in Vancouver, as well as for other local and international sport organizations and events. In addition, Vancouver reached out to those who don’t typically participate in opportunities created by the Games by targeting inner-city residents and businesses.
LEED standards were incorporated into the venue’s design, and green principles are now included in the operations and events, including transportation, waste management and food services. A sustainable purchasing and ethical sourcing program called Buy Smart was also launched.
A new sustainability initiative, The Vancouver 2010 Sustainability Star program, was established to recognize initiatives by the Games partners and sponsors, who show positive and measurable social, economic and environmental impacts.
Other measures include raising awareness by encouraging participants, spectators and others to get involved and take part in the initiatives, with a program called “Do Your Part.
Vancouver is leaving lasting legacies. With accessible energy and water efficient community facilities, management tools, such as the SSET; transferable programs like Buy Smart, carbon management and asset-disposal programs, affordable housing units in Vancouver and Whistler, and in six other BC communities, and changing transportation habits, the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics will create lasting benefits in the surrounding communities.
Vancouver is accountable for its performance on sustainability. Their efforts can be found in the annual sustainability reports.
Visit http://www.vancouver2010.com/more-2010-information/sustainability/sustainability-videos/ to view sustainability videos.
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