Closing Ceremonies -- Feb 28th

Neil Young performs at the Closing Ceremonies.



The gold medal men's hockey match at Plaza of Nations.



Me at BC Place prior to the closing ceremony.



My fellow team leaders at UBC Thunderbird after our last shift!



Our last team leader/supervisor meeting the morning of our last shift at UBC.


Saturday (Feb 27th) was a great day, as just Katrina and I headed downtown all afternoon to take in Olympic stuff...Emma had a playdate and Kirk was at work. It was nice for Kat to get to do what she wanted! She doesn't mind the lines, so off we went to check out the Northern Canada Pavilion...we also went to HBC downtown again so that she could pin swap. It was amazing how many people on the street noticed all the pins on her lanyard and gave her free pins. She was pretty stoked! Then inside the Bay, you should have seen her wheel and deal with the pin traders there! She must have 25 or 30 pins now...mostly of the mascots. She got everything she wanted...then we went to the Mint (still a 6 hour line to see the medals, so no chance there)...and ate dinner out.

Sunday I worked the closing ceremonies and unfortunately got stuck outside AGAIN! I was super disappointed. At least it wasn't raining this time. I only had 16 volunteers in our section, even though we were meant to have 35. And two people in my group, as soon as they found out we were outside, ditched us and went home! So, morale wasn't the best to start out the day...but I promised my team I'd get them inside to watch for a little while...and that I did! We went inside at 6pm and were there until almost 7:15pm before having to go back outside to our post prior to egress (when the spectators leave the venue). It was great...we saw Sochi's performance...also were there for the speeches and the standing ovations for the gold medal hockey game and also for the Georgian athlete. Very emotional! We saw Neil Young perform...the flame go out...William Shatner...and had to leave just before Michael Buble (too bad!). I have it all taped, but haven't found time to watch it on TV yet...

Luckily I was able to see the gold medal hockey game with 2 minutes to go (saw the US tie it up) on the big tv screens at Plaza of Nations...was just going for my dinner break then, so watched us score our game winning goal too. Was great! The screaming crowd outside was unbelievable!

Hard to believe the games are over...it is an experience I will never forget and I feel SO incredibly lucky to have been part of it. I met and worked with so many great people from all over Canada and beyond; to be the "face of the Games" was a wonderful experience and I think the 2010 Olympics were a huge success. Volunteering for the Games is something I will always remember, and in fact...I bet I will do it again in my life...who knows, maybe London 2012? Ha ha! At least I still have the paralympics to look forward to. I'll be a "Team Leader" back at UBC again for sledgehockey...

Fireworks video from closing ceremony:

The men's games

February 22nd I worked outside all day. Luckily I knew this ahead of time so dressed for the weather! My team was in charge of the ticketing (they were ticket-takers outside the main entrance) and we were also in charge of giving directions from the lifeguard chairs outside the main entrance. It was a pretty smooth day...I had a GREAT team working for me...I made sure to give them plenty of breaks and we brought them hot chocolate, etc. to keep them warm. It was sunny out and the fans were excited for the games...a good day it was!

February 23 and 24th were probably my best days yet! The men were coming to our stadium to play a qualifying match and a quarterfinal match. Other men's teams (like Team Sweden) came to our arena to practice too. Everyone was pretty excited to see the stars...although we weren't allowed to take pictures!

My area for these two days was the media section and the VIP section. In my opinion, these are the plum positions in the entire arena and I was THRILLED to be working here. My team each day was THRILLED to be working here too, which made it easy to be their "boss." Everyone was happy, everyone got to watch LOTS of hockey...we met broadcasters and members of the media and a few VIPs along the way.

Our games were exciting to watch and even went into overtime. When Team Finland was playing, the President of Finland was there and it was really interesting dealing with her security detail and working with them to make sure she was safe at all times. She almost got hit by a puck, which was pretty funny actually! There was just one game each evening (we are used to two games per day)...so it seemed like easier days all around.

At the end of the 24th, it was a bit sad. Our last game at UBC...we had a farewell volunteer party and lots of pictures were taken and our farewells were said. Many of us were going to be working the closing ceremony and some of us will be back at UBC for the paralympics...but at the end of the day, although we are truly tired and worn out from very long days...it's an experience I will never forget and I am truly lucky to have been part of the 2010 Olympics!

Enjoying the Olympic experience with the family

Kirk and the kids pose at a photo poster near UBC Thunderbird.



Here we all are outside UBC Thunderbird Arena.



Highlight of the game for Katrina was getting an autograph from an athlete after the game.

This is how crowded the bus is!

The Schulz family in our "Go Canada" gear

I'm not sure how I managed to get the entire weekend off of volunteering -- everyone else seems to be working! I realized very quickly to keep this on the down-low...since the first few people I told seemed to be ticked that I didn't have shifts! Ha ha!

So, on Saturday we actually had tickets to the women's game at 2:30...my mom and I took Kat and Emma and Kirk met us there straight from work. It was neat knowing the venue (and where the hidden bathrooms were at intermission)...also cool to know all the workers on our way into the venue. I've made some great friends and they all wanted to meet my girls. It was neat being a spectator at my venue and seeing the high level of service that the "smurfs" (as we are called) gave to the public...we arrived over an hour early for the game and made it through security in plenty of time. Even saw the mascots as we made our way into the building.

After the game we ventured downtown and went to see the Olympic cauldron. It is AMAZING how many people are wandering the streets of Vancouver. The Olympic spirit and pride is something else...I've never seen Vancouver so crowded or so patriotic. We ate dinner after seeing the flame, even ran into some people we knew (including Kat's best friend -- what are the chances of seeing friends from Langley in the thousands of people downtown??). We went to the Royal Canadian Mint -- hoping to see the medals. Unfortunately it was a 6 hour wait...so we went in the shorter line and saw the million dollar coin and held the half a million dollar brick of gold instead. I am hoping we can go back to the mint and see the medals during the paralympics? We'll see I guess.

Then we went to the Bay (HBC) to see the Olympic store (Kat really wanted to shop!). The worker said it was at least an hour wait and the line looked long. It was already 10pm, so Mom and I decided to take Emma home (she had HAD it) and Kirk stayed in line with Katrina. Turns out they got into the store in 10 minutes! Can you believe it? Too bad we didn't stay...but since then I have been back a few times. Amazing how much stuff is there!