VANOC

Below is an article (that I wrote) about my encounter with VANOC, Vancouver's Olympic Committee, up on Cypress Bowl Mountain. The Vancouver Sun (our local newspaper) was initially interested in doing a write-up about it, but seeming as there have been no follow-ups, I feel it's okay now to post it up on my blog. Enjoy!

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On January 18, 2010, I accompanied a busload of BCIT’s Architectural and Building Engineering students on an organized fieldtrip to Cypress Bowl Mountain. The educational purpose was to have the students visit the newly constructed Cypress Creek Lodge and sketch detailed renderings of the heavy timber construction. Instead of receiving a warm welcoming, VANOC and Cypress Bowl Mountain’s on-site staff treated us like a security threat.

The idea of going to Cypress Creek Lodge was initiated by the students’ professor, Mr. Mineo Tanaka. Mr. Tanaka has been teaching at BCIT for 20 years and is known for taking his students to view various sites in the Greater Vancouver area (i.e. Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, Burnaby, and Burnaby 8 Rinks Arena, Surrey). In his opinion, not only do these fieldtrips raise his students’ spirits, but they also give the perfect opportunity for them to apply what they have learned in class to existing structures. He states, “Cypress Creek Lodge would have been a great example to show, especially with the Winter Olympics just around the corner.”

The BCIT instructor made arrangements with Cypress Bowl Mountain’s Administration weeks prior to Monday, and double-checked confirmation last Thursday. With the go-ahead from Administration, he arrived with his students Monday morning. The first line of VANOC security was unaware that three fieldtrips were to take place that week, with the exception of one Cypress Bowl Mountain employee, who came up and said that he knew about these fieldtrips, but had wished that more people were informed by those in the ‘know’.

With his seal of approval, the students settled into the lodge and were about to start sketching when VANOC security came to take the professor aside for a chat. According to VANOC, Cypress Bowl Mountain’s Administration did not inform them of BCIT’s fieldtrips and that subsequent fieldtrips would be cancelled because Cypress Creek Lodge would be closed from henceforth. At this change in events, the instructor decided to take his students and leave.

BCIT students were supposed to sketch these timber structures,
but instead got the good ol' boot from VANOC!

While the students waited for the bus in the lodge, an on-site employee came to evacuate the students off the premises and gave patronizing orders to the Teaching Assistant. He stated, “What I need you to do is to gather all the students and leave as a group. Do you know what I mean by ‘leave as a group’? It means you must leave as a group.” What this young employee did not realize is that the students were about to leave anyway, and that the instructor had left only moments earlier to retrieve the bus, parked 20 minutes away by foot, in hopes that the students would not have to wait in the cold. Instead, the students were forced to wait outside in the cold until the bus arrived, during which, the same employee continued his power tripping, which was completely unnecessary. Perhaps this would be the highlight of his entire day.

Thank you, Mr. Bus Driver!

I asked all the students to gather around for a group picture in front of the waterfalls (i.e. melting snow). Instead of saying “Cheese”, the group chorused “VANOC sucks”, hence the thumbs-down.

Click on picture to enlarge

It was undoubtedly miscommunication between Cypress Bowl Mountain’s Administration and VANOC that resulted in the cancellation of the fieldtrip, but it was both VANOC’s and on-site employee’s discourteous behaviour and uncalled-for power tripping that left a bitter impression. What happened to being polite in this city? All of this could have been avoided had there been proper communication. In the end, it was the students who lost out. On a lighter note, it looks like the students’ presence gave VANOC the perfect opportunity to test out their emergency security threat procedures for the upcoming Olympics free-of-charge!

Some unofficial Olympic photographs!


The only run on the mountain that has snow
due to the 50 truckloads of snow per day
generously being donated by Whistler!

I can't believe this guy actually gets paid
to stand around and do nothing...

Good luck getting some snow!

Gotta love VANOC's lastest antics: 1) closing the seawall; and 2) asking the public to refrain from using umbrellas and rain coats, and instead, wearing "heavy winter clothing" as soon as the cameras start rolling to make it appear "cold" in Vancouver. Good one!

Thanks VANOC!!