I'm getting excited. February 12th is the first day of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. News is starting to come in about events and athletes now that the countdown is down below 60 days. New this year will be a Pride House for Lesbian and Gay athletes. Set up in partnership with the Pan Pacific Whistler Village Hotel, this will be a hangout for out athletes, families, friends and fans.
"For a traditionally conservative festival like the Olympic Games, I think this is significant," said Kevin Wamsley, an Olympic historian. One of the organizers, Dean Nelson, said they've been working for three years on this as part of an extension to hold the North American Gay Games. "We're hoping we can be a catalyst and change [sic] perception, [sic] and be your authentic self."
Pride House will also offer moral support for Olympic athletes who are not yet out of the closet or who come from countries that are not progressive towards homosexuality.
Also hitting the news is Lindsay Vonn. She's been the best alpine skier in the world two years running and she wants art on her head.
What I mean is she's holding a competition to have someone's artwork on her helmet while she's competing in Vancouver.
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Deadline is December 21st. I'll let you know if I won and got to meet her in person.
Next up is women's hockey and the hopeful bet of youth over experience.
Only six players with Olympic backgrounds were chosen for the U.S. 2010 team, and the average age is only 23.5 years. "We need to shake things up," defender Caitlin Cahow said. How's this for shaking things up? Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux (twins) were in second grade when the US won that only Olympic Gold back in 1998 and Hilary Knight skates in at the tender age of 20. Don't let that fool you though. She leads the team in goal scoring and penalty minutes. They will be facing a tough home team though, eh?
Over 250 U.S. athletes will compete...get ready to cheer them on!
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