Hockey Canada Announces 2010 Roster

With some 44 days remaining until the 2010 Opening Ceremonies Hockey Canada has released the line-up for the 2010 Team Canada Ice Hockey Team.

Click here for the complete list.

2010 Theme Song "One Dream" by Sarah McLachlan

Classic Canadiana - Petro Canada Olympic Glasses

In 1988 Petro Canada sold Olympic Glasses to help raise support for Canada's Olympic athletes.  They're at it again and here's their new commercial:

Vancouver 2010 Torch Route Announced

It will take 100 days and travel nearly 45,000 kilometers as it criss-crosses across Canada. The relay will start in Victoria, travel through the Queen Charlotte Islands before visiting each and every territory and province of Canada.

Read more here.

VSO Records National Anthems

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) has brought together the entire 78-piece orchestra to record some 200 National anthems over the course of three days for the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.

Here are two samples: Canada & Algeria.

Visit our FREE forums for more info.

Torch Relay Update

BEIJING - The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics will not stage an international torch relay to avoid any potential worldwide protests, Vanoc CEO John Furlong said on Wednesday.

"The torch relay will be announced at the end of this year. It will only be in Canada," Furlong said of the 35,000 kilometre domestic relay that will last 106 days.

"We see this as a way for every Canadian to come face to face with the Games," he told an IOC session.

The IOC have decided to review the torch relay after the Beijing 2008 Games international leg turned into a weeks-long demonstration by activists against China's human rights record and its policies in Sudan's Darfur region and Tibet.

Major violent demonstrations marred the London and Paris legs of the relay while protests were also held in several other cities.

Source: Reuters.com

Granville Island to Host 2010 French Quarter

Plans for a $4M 'French Quarter' on Granville Island are gaining momentum. The concept has been submitted to Granville Island's owner, Canadian Mortgage and Housing Company (CMHC) and was discussed at a recent Senate hearing.

Scorned for their bilingual efforts 2 years ago, VANOC is a strong supporter of this aspect of the Cultural Olympiad. The French Quarter is part of an overall budget of approx. $7M to promote francophone culture.

Upsetting to some, a portion of the $4M Federal government support pledge will be taken from other British Columbian francophone causes already committed to.

More on the French Quarter and other francophone initiatives for the 2010 Olympics here.

$14.7M Shows Off BC in Beijing

British Columbia is spending nearly $15M to show off at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Orca Creative Group was hired to transform the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall into a little piece of BC and Canada away from home. The same group also designed the exhibit.

The pavilion will open next Saturday, April 26th, 2008 for a soft launch and will be officially opened by British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell and David Emerson, the federal Olympics minister on May 22.

The Turino log cabin saw 100,000 visitors through it's ornately carved doors during and after the 2006 Winter Olympics. This new iteration of the British Columbia Pavilion is bigger and flashier, a token to it's new locale, and is merely a stone's throw away from Tienanmen Square in the heart of Beijing.

[Photo by A tea but no e]

13 steel rings covered in BC made waste-wood product Silva Panel frame the entrance to the building. Once inside a 4.5 tonne jade centrepiece called The Emperor's Sunrise carved by Vancouver's George Pratt and Syd Belzberg. The gem-quality stone was mined from Dease Lake.

The traditional Chinese elements of metal, wood, water, earth, and fire will guide the exhibit.

A 225 year old "Spirit Tree" will be a centrepiece, as in Turin, this one used to grace Prospect Point in Stanley Park before being blown down in 2006.

More from Jeff Lee.

Possible First Nations Protests During 2010

Phil Fontaine, the national chief of First Nations peoples in Canada, acknowledged today at a press conference unveiling May 29 as the second annual National Day of Action for First Nations, that there has been some discussion among chiefs to use the Vancouver 2010 Olympics as an opportunity to gain international recognition of the plight that many First Nation's Communities face.

This revelation that protests may occur is "a bit odd" according to Chuck Strahl, the federal minister in charge of Indian Affairs. This especially true since the four bands who's homeland will host the games has been extensively consulted with throughout the Olympic process, ensured a positive economic impact, and given a significant role in planning the opening and closing ceremonies of the games.

But the fact remains that many of Canada's poorest residents are members of the First Nations. The poverty that some of these bands deal with is simply inhumane. Some reserves are without basic medical or education facilities. Other bands who have economic optimism are often bogged down in years of legal bureaucracy when trying to develop 'their' lands because the properties no longer fall under city or municipal planning rules but under separate, vague guidelines.

Canada has work to do, but the potential protesting at the Olympics, in a province trying very hard to settle native land claims in good faith, is quite interesting.

More from Canada.com.

Canada Wins World Curling Title

Kevin Martin and his teammates clinched the men's world championship curling title in Grand Forks, North Dakota over the weekend. The team from Canada beat out skip David Murdoch and his team from Scotland 6-3 on Sunday to secure the title.

Martin, 41, has seen several world championships and Brier's. One of his most notable accomplishments would be winning the silver medal for Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. The gold medal was won by Norway.

The win here at the 2008 World Championships gives Martin and his team the first birth in the 2009 Olympic qualifier.

Martin's team includes Marc Kennedy, John Morris, and Ben Herbert all of the Edmonton-Calgary area.

New Canadian Alpine Ski Coach Named

Just a day after the resignation of Marjan Cernigoj, the Canadian Alpine Ski Team has named a new coach, Patrick Riml. Most recently Riml has worked with the US Ski Team. Having ties to canada, his wife is from Alberta, he is very excited to join the Canadian team on their drive for top finishes in 2010.

The Canadian women's team is coming off it's best World Cup in 20 years!

More from Canada.com.

Canadian Snowboard Team Coach Fired

On the eve of the Canadian National Snowboard Championships to be held at Cypress Mountain the well liked Snow-Cross coach has been let go.

Rene Brunner, an Austrian, is already being missed by some of the top riders on the team. Both Maelle Ricker, the current World Champion, and Drew Nielson (2006-07 World Champion) have spoken out about their frustration with the snowboard federation's decision.

The specific reasons for the firing have not been revealed. What we do know is that Brunner still had one year on his current contract. He had been running the SBX team basically as a one-man-show until very recently when an assistant, Tim Milne, was hired with one month left on this years World Cup.

Some talks between Snowboard Canada and influential SBX team members have taken place since the canning. The SBX members want to dialogue about bringing Brunner back. It's not been ruled out.

More from the Vancouver Sun.

Canadian Alpine Ski Coach Resigns

Marjan Cernigoj who has coached the Canadian National Women's Alpine Ski Team for the last two seasons has resigned from his position. Under his tenure the team has had 7 World Cup podium finishes including two wins. The team has definitely made some progress in the goal to be the best ski racing nation by 2010.

A new coach is expected to be named soon.

More from Canada.com.