International Olympic Committee : News

Richmond mayor hails legacies of Vancouver 2010

7/17/2012 9:05:00 AM

In particular, Mayor Malcolm Brodie highlighted the benefits that Richmond has enjoyed as a result of the 2010 Winter Games, such as the Richmond Olympic Oval, which was built especially for the long-track speed skating events and has since become a highly successful community facility that includes an indoor track, two ice rinks, badminton courts, volleyball courts and a 23,000-square-foot fitness centre.

“The Richmond Olympic Oval met long-standing community needs for expanded and enhanced indoor sport and recreation facilities,” Brodie told Olympic.org. “The Oval has become the destination of choice for our community for sports, recreation, fitness, wellness and special events. It provides world class facilities that are used every day by a wide spectrum of our community. More than two million users have already visited the Oval. Dozens of summer and winter sports occur within the Oval. We have approximately three dozen sport users groups that are regular tenants of the Oval, including four sport leagues which account for more than 100,000 visits annually alone. Membership in the Oval has already surpassed 2013 targets and members account for about 20,000 visits monthly.”

Brodie also recognised the economic benefits that Richmond has enjoyed as a result of the Games.

“Hosting the Games spurred an initial $2 billion of new investment in Richmond for new public infrastructure and private development and was the catalyst for the creation of a new urban waterfront community that is growing around the Oval,” he said. “Since the Games, there has been a renewed interest in development within our City Centre, where the Oval is located, and currently more than $4 billion in new development is underway or moving through the approval process just within our City Centre.”

But Brodie was also keen to stress the importance of proper legacy planning when preparing for the Games.

“Pre-planning was extremely important to our success,” he said. “City staff and members of our City Council visited several Olympic speed skating ovals and other Olympic venues. They also met with numerous local government, facility and other representatives before we even confirmed going forward with our bid to build the Oval. This due diligence was extremely important in confirming the importance of building a venue that was designed not just to meet the needs of the Olympic Games, but which had a strong, viable business plan for its use post-Games. In the end, our plans for the Oval were always focused on maximising its post-Games viability and legacy potential, while also ensuring it met the shorter term needs of the Olympic Games.”

Brodie also emphasised the benefits gained from liaising with previous Olympic host cities to learn from their experiences.

“Our meetings with representatives from other Olympic cities helped us understand the transformative benefits that were available from hosting the Games,” he said. “Thus, we developed our comprehensive 2010 plan well in advance of the Games that sought to take advantage of as many of the opportunities presented by the Games as possible and use them to create long-term legacies for our city. ”

And Brodie was also keen to highlight the role played by the IOC in helping plan for a post-Games legacy.

“We also committed to working closely with the IOC, Vancouver and other members of the Olympic family as we recognised that collaboration would be essential for all of us achieve our mutual goals and collectively be seen as outstanding hosts and presenters of the Games,” he said.

Vancouver 2010 legacy lives on

6/27/2012 9:40:00 AM

More than two years after it hosted the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Vancouver is still benefitting from being an Olympic city thanks to the legacy plans that were put in place by the Vancouver 2010 Organising Committee (VANOC), local stakeholders, and with the support of the IOC.

From new sporting venues and infrastructure improvements to environmental and economic benefits, the city used the Winter Games as a catalyst to create a number of lasting legacies.

Perhaps the most evident is the sporting legacy that the Games provided. As well as the construction of new facilities – such as the Richmond Olympic Oval – Vancouver 2010 also helped get more young people involved in sport, thanks, in part, to the successful performance of the Canadian Olympic team.

“After the Games, kids were on their way to skating rinks the next day and signing up for curling and skiing and ski jumping, and this is what the Olympics can do,” said John Furlong, VANOC CEO, in an interview in February 2011. “Ultimately you hope that, as a result of the Games, every child will get a chance to experience sports.”

Numerous recreational and high performance sports programmes

Thanks to the Games, numerous recreational and high performance sports programmes were created for young people through the not-for-profit organisation 2010 Legacies Now, which has worked with more than 2,000 organisations in the host region to ensure this legacy lives on. An Aboriginal Youth Sports Legacy Fund was also created, supporting high school students, elite athletes and community groups.

The Richmond Olympic Oval skating track, meanwhile, has since been transformed into a community facility that includes an indoor track, two ice rinks, badminton courts, volleyball courts and a 2,300-square-foot fitness centre.

Benefits for the local community

Other venues have also been adapted to further benefit the local community following the Games. These include the Vancouver Olympic Centre – used for curling during the Games – which is part of a complex that includes a community centre, an ice rink, a curling club, a pre-school, and indoor and outdoor swimming pools.

The Games have also delivered benefits to Vancouver from an economic viewpoint. According to the Conference Board of Canada, approximately CAD 600 million was injected into the Vancouver economy as a result of the Games, lifting economic growth by 0.8 per cent.

2,500 full-time jobs as a result

A coalition of Metro Vancouver municipal governments also announced in February 2011 that the Vancouver Games had so far helped to spur more than CAD 300 million in economic development benefits, which had resulted in 2,500 full-time jobs.

The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC)’s media and public relations activities around the Games also generated about CAD 1 billion in ‘Advertising Value Equivalency’ in 2010, while global audiences were reached 12 billion times in 2010 by Olympic coverage with Canadian tourism messages.

Indeed, FutureBrand ranked Canada as the number one country brand in 2010, crediting the positive effects of hosting the Games, and noting CTC’s Olympic Games tourism strategy and its strong tourism brand as a key influence.

A better transport infrastructure

Vancouver’s transport infrastructure has also been improved as a result of the Games. TransLink, Vancouver’s transit agency, launched an ambitious expansion plan before the Games that included 48 new SkyTrain cars, a new SeaBus and 180 diesel-electric hybrid buses. The new Canada Line, built in time for the Games, now speeds travellers between Vancouver’s airport and downtown areas, while improvements to the Sea-to-Sky highway have made travel from Vancouver to Whistler safer and faster.

While hosting the Games can act as a catalyst for cities to deliver lasting benefits such as these, host cities must have a strong vision and clear objectives in place in order to take full advantage of the opportunities that the Games can provide.

With that in mind, the IOC works closely with Games organisers to look at what they believe planning for and hosting the Games can do for their citizens, cities, and countries.

A long-term strategy and vision from the beginning of the bid process

As every host city is different and has different priorities, the IOC encourages each one to define its own objectives, long-term strategy and vision from the beginning of the bid process and to look at how the Games can be a catalyst for development. It does so by asking the cities in both the applicant city and candidate city questionnaires to formulate what they want the Games to create as a legacy – this subsequently provides the Games organisers with clear objectives to aim for during the seven years of Olympic preparation and beyond.

The legacy benefits enjoyed by Vancouver – from investments in tangible infrastructure and venues to the intangible benefits of great memories and inspiring stories – were highlighted by a VANOC report, released in 2010.

"A lasting and positive impact"

"Our sense is that people who experienced the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games instinctively know they will have a lasting and positive impact," said Furlong. "This report, however, documents the many hard and soft legacies of the Games, and it's quite stunning to see them all gathered in one place. It's a great testament to all of the work put into the Games and a source of pride for the many people and organisations who contributed to their success. We hope it will also serve the Sochi 2014 Winter Games organisers – and all future Games organisers – as a valuable reference that demonstrates the many kinds of legacies that can come from staging the Games."

Vancouver 2010 legacy felt across Canada

11/1/2011 9:27:00 AM

The Olympic Games has the capacity to be a major catalyst for a host city, region, and country, and adapting sports facilities to suit the needs of the local community is just one way in which the legacy of the event lives on after the Closing Ceremony has ended. A shining example of this is Richmond Olympic Oval in Vancouver, which was recognised as the most successful sports facility 2011 during last week’s 22nd IAKS (International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities) Congress, when it was awarded the IOC/IAKS Gold Medal as well as the IPC/IAKS Distinction for Accessibility.

Judged by IAKS, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) respectively, the IOC/IAKS Award is the only international architecture competition for sports and leisure facilities, while the IPC/IAKS Distinction for Accessibility is aimed at increasing the accessibility of all sports facilities and architectural projects.

And the effects of the Games have also created new opportunities within the city. Since Vancouver 2010, local interest in winter sports, such as curling, has risen significantly meaning that new facilities are being well used. The Vancouver Curling Club recently celebrated the opening of its new home, the Hillcrest Centre, which includes a library, a fitness centre, a gymnasium, a hockey arena, plus an indoor and outdoor swimming pool. Hillcrest was the Olympic curling venue in 2010 but was built with its post-Games legacy as a community centre and rink already in mind.

In addition to the local sporting benefits created by the Games, reports have revealed that hosting the event can provide a significant boost to the local economy. A study by the University of British Columbia, as part of the IOC’s Olympic Games Impact (OGI) programme, measuring the impact of the 2010 Winter Olympics found that the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games played a key role in attracting new businesses, creating jobs and encouraging an increase in visitor spending.

Other notable outcomes included the development of sport and culture across Canada, the inclusion and participation of Aboriginal groups and minorities and a heightened recognition of persons with disabilities.

Canadian Olympic Committee President Marcel Aubut explained: “This study confirms what we all saw during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The sense of pride that swept up our nation was a turning point in our nation’s history. The Games injected millions into the local economy and great strides have been made in making these events more environmentally sound.”

The report is the third in a series of four of the Olympic Games Impact reports required by the International Olympic Committee. The UBC studies are designed to measure the overall impact of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and use 126 indicators to assess the social, economic and environmental impacts of the Olympics on Vancouver, Whistler, British Columbia and Canada.

Olympic gold medallist Vincent Defrasne donates rifle to The Olympic Museum

9/27/2011 2:31:00 PM

Vincent Defrasne, the French biathlete who won a gold medal at the Turin Olympic Games in 2006 and a bronze medal at Salt Lake City Olympic Games in 2002, has donated the rifle he used at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games in 2010 to the Olympic Museum.

Defrasne, whose career in biathlon saw him win five world biathlon championship medals, including two world championship titles, recently completed an internship at the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The 33 year-old, who has two young children, retired from competition in 2010, four years after becoming a household name in France as its first-ever Olympic biathlon champion. Defrasne's also served as the official flagbearer for the French team at the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Defrasne's spent his internship at the IOC in the very department responsible for running the Athlete Career Programme, a scheme set up to help Olympic athletes in their transition from elite sport to a normal working life.

Now that his rifle from the Olympic Games is displayed in a case in The Olympic Museum, it would seem that the champion is all set for a successful career change!

Vancouver 2010 makes final presentation to the IOC Session

7/7/2011 3:33:00 PM

It has been almost 500 days since the Olympic flame was extinguished in Vancouver, thus bringing an end to an unforgettable XXI Olympic Winter Games. Today in Durban, Vancouver Organising Committee Chairman John Furlong and IOC Coordination Commission Chairman René Fasel closed another chapter of the Games by delivering the final presentation for Vancouver 2010 to the 123rd IOC Session.

Lasting legacies

By all measures, the Vancouver Games were a great success. The local Organising Committee set out to “touch the soul of the nation and inspire the world by creating and delivering an extraordinary Olympic and Paralympic experience with lasting legacies,” Furlong told the Session. Mission accomplished: The Games united Canada from coast to coast, brought greater global awareness and respect for Canada’s aboriginal community, and left many lasting sports, social, human and infrastructure legacies.

One of the greatest legacies from the Games was a renewed interest in volunteerism thanks to the 50,000 “blue jackets”, who donated their time and effort to help make the Games a remarkable experience for everyone involved.

The Games also brought much in the way of infrastructure to Vancouver. From the Canada Line metro to the Sea to Sky highway, and from the Convention Centre to renovations at the airport, the area continues to benefit from the work undertaken to stage the Games.

Canada’s Own the Podium programme was a clear success, resulting in the most gold medals (14) ever won by a single country at an Olympic Winter Games. This not only inspired a new generation of athletes in Canada, but also led to an increase in funding for sport in the country.

Waste-free and carbon-neutral, Vancouver 2010 set a new standard for environmental sustainability, while Legacies Now (renamed LIFT) created a great number of social legacies, including affordable housing and an acceleration in the growth of not-for-profit organisations.

A great catalyst

“Rarely in my many years within the Olympic Movement, have I ever seen such passion, such energy, such willingness to come together around such a unifying project as the Games,” said Fasel. “Canadians joined forces to welcome the world and show the best that Canada could offer. I am sincerely convinced that this renewed pride and confidence that Canadians have in themselves is undoubtedly one of the greatest legacies that the Games have left to Vancouver, British Columbia and the whole of Canada.

“The Olympic Games have once again shown their tremendous catalysing effect and their potential to produce long-lasting change when they support a clear vision that is shared by all the partners involved in their organisation.”

Vancouver 2010: The Games Are Over But The Legacy Lives On

2/28/2011 3:37:00 PM

A year ago today, the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games came to a close and the Olympic flame was extinguished at BC Place stadium. Canada had just won hockey gold, sending the nation into raptures, and the Closing Ceremony had been an opportunity for Canada to poke a little fun at itself and celebrate 16 days of fantastic sporting competition. Yet, when the flame went out, the catalytic effect of the Olympic Games on Vancouver, British Columbia, and Canada, did not come to an end. The legacy of these Games will live on for many, many years to come.

Athletic Achievement

At their core, the Vancouver Games were a stage for remarkable athletic achievement and cultural celebrations. The world was welcomed by the magnificent “blue jacket” volunteers, the warm wave of red mittens, and the glowing hearts of deep Canadian pride. Global television ratings were unparalleled, a record number of National Olympic Committees participated in the Games, and Canadian athletes won the most gold medals ever at an Olympic Winter Games. But for Canadians, the Olympic Games were much more than just about “owning the podium”. Vancouver 2010 left a great legacy for the city, region, country and Olympic Movement. Legacy planning is an integral part of the preparations for all Olympic Games, and Vancouver set a new benchmark in many areas.

Pre-Games Legacies

The sport venues in Vancouver and the nearby mountain resort of Whistler were finished well in advance of the Games. Most were completed two full winter seasons before February 2010, providing unprecedented time for athletes to train and compete in the lead-up to the Games. Indeed, some, such as Whistler Olympic Park and the Olympic Oval, were available so early that legacies were realizsed before the Games even began, with public and amateur athletes able to use the venues that would soon welcome the world’s finest sportsmen and women. There is no doubt that these venues will leave a substantial legacy for both amateur and elite sport in Canada. But just as important, each venue was designed responsibly and with a view to the future. Each one met the highest environmental standards and featured numerous sustainability highlights such as energy-saving features that captured and reused waste heat and rainwater. One year on, the venues continue to be well used and will remain valuable parts of the community long into the future.

More Than Just Green Games

The 2010 Winter Games were more than just green Games. Vancouver was the first host city to create a not-for-profit organisation specifically designed to develop community legacies — in sport, the arts, literacy, environment, accessibility, and volunteerism — before, during and after the 2010 Games. The work of the Vancouver 2010 Organising Committee set a new bar for future international events in the field of sustainability. Environmentally, the 2010 Games showed us how future events can reduce their carbon footprints and how partnerships can result in more responsible Games. They also showed us how the Olympic Games can be a catalyst for socially and economically disadvantaged groups that might not have otherwise had the opportunity to benefit.

Aboriginal Participation

The 2010 Olympic Games also created greater awareness of Aboriginal people and Canada’s cultural diversity. An Aboriginal Participation department was integrated within the Organising Committee ensuring significant economic, cultural and sporting opportunities and legacies for First Nations, Inuit and Métis people. The partnership with the First Nations on whose traditional territories the Games were held — known collectively as the Four Host First Nations (FHFN) — was a Games’ first. The unprecedented participation by the Aboriginal people of Canada made the 2010 Games stronger and was another example of Vancouver’s commitment to inclusion.

National Pride

Canadians will not soon forget the snowballing sense of national pride that united them from coast to coast, while international visitors will likewise long remember the welcoming feeling of camaraderie that greeted them at the Games. The result was an unforgettable atmosphere that symbolised the true spirit of the Olympic Games. A year ago Vancouver hosted excellent and very friendly Games, providing future organizsers with an ideal example of what’s possible when a vision is achieved and when legacy is a priority. By heeding the lessons of their predecessors, future hosts – London (Great Britain), Sochi (Russia), and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) – can set their own benchmarks and deliver unforgettable events that will produce lasting legacies that will benefit their communities for many years to come.

VANCOUVER 2010

Vancouver and Whistler hosted the XXI Olympic Winter Games from 12 to 28 February 2010 and the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games from 12 to 21 March 2010. The seven winter Olympic sports that were on show in Vancouver were luge, skiing, skating, ice hockey, biathlon, bobsleigh and curling.

Vancouver celebrates one year on

2/11/2011 3:51:00 PM

12 February 2011 will mark one year to the day of the Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The Ceremony, which was dedicated to the memory of the Georgian luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili, who had tragically died in a training accident that morning, introduced the world to a city and a country ready to open their arms and welcome the world and the best winter athletes for 16 days of top-level sporting competition and a party that would go down in the annals of Canadian history. This weekend, events will be held across the country to commemorate the start of those Games, including a special breakfast event for the fabulous “blue jacket” volunteers.

Sporting Exploits

With a record 82 National Olympic Committees (NOC) taking part in the Vancouver Games, the 16 days of sport that followed the Opening Ceremony were always going to be competitive and draw world-wide interest. So it was no surprise that 26 different NOCs ended-up winning medals and that the Games drew in record-breaking audience numbers. Perhaps for the home crowd, the greatest exploit of the Games was Team Canada’s record 14 gold medals, including Canada’s first on home soil and in ice hockey. This had been made possible in part thanks to the “Own The Podium” programme, which provided funding to Canadian athletes striving for victory and is being continued and expanded due to its success last year.

Looking After The Environment

The Vancouver Games were about more than just great sport, however. They were also about leaving a sustainable legacy to the city, region and country. Environmental sustainability was a key element of the Vancouver 2010 Organising Committee’s (VANOC) strategy, with an ambitious carbon management programme put in place; sporting venues that were all built to according to Canada’s green-building standards; new public transport infrastructure created to take people out of their cars; and a successful Games-time drive to get people onto public transport that continues to bear its fruits even now. From its award-winning venues to its effect on people’s transport habits, the Vancouver Games undoubtedly set new global standards for environmental sustainability at a sporting event.

Creating Better Futures

The Games also played an inspirational role for more than just those watching on TV or who were in the stadium. VANOC worked with their partners to ensure that disadvantaged sectors of society also profited from the Games, with initiatives like the Vancouver 2010 Fabrication Shop providing carpentry training and work experience for disadvantaged young people, indigenous people, single mothers and immigrants. A separate programme saw local philanthropic florists June Strandberg and Margitta Schulz lead a group of 23 women in producing the 1,750 Victory Ceremony bouquets for the Games. Many of the women had experienced violence in their lives, were single parents, or were recovering from drug and alcohol abuse. Today, these trainees have a stronger skill set, greater confidence and the opportunity to gain further employment as a result of their experience while working on the Games. But the social legacy of the Games was more than just training: the temporary accommodation from the Whistler Olympic Village was sent to six communities in British Columbia to provide 156 permanent, affordable homes for elderly, homeless, and low-income residents.

Investments For Today And Tomorrow

As a catalyst for development, the Games have also played a role in the Canadian economy, with Games venues that will be used by local communities and elite sport for years to come, and a new notoriety that has allowed greater investment in the region. The Metro Vancouver Commerce Olympic Business Program, for example, has generated CAD 306 million in economic impacts in under a year, well over the CAD 50 million that was expected by February 2012. This initiative has also led to the creation of 2,500 jobs in the lower mainland of British Columbia. On the back of the Games, Canada has also moved to the number one spot in the FutureBrands’ Country Brand Index and seen a 10 percent jump in visitors to the country. With even just these few points in mind, there is no doubt that the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games were a great success both on and off the field of play.

VANCOUVER 2010

VANOC Releases Final Sustainability Report

12/20/2010 4:10:00 PM

On the same day that the Vancouver 2010 Organising Committee (VANOC) announced that it had achieved a balanced budget, it also released its final sustainability report, which shows that the 2010 Winter Games were more than just “green”. Indeed, VANOC decided to look at areas beyond the environment pillar in order to deliver many other legacies from its Games, both locally and globally. VANOC’s work covered not just the environment but also social and economic opportunities that have produced lasting benefits for the host region.

Raised The Bar

IOC Executive Director for the Olympic Games Gilbert Felli commented on VANOC’s work by saying, “For nearly two decades, the IOC has been encouraging and working with the Olympic Movement to improve the sustainability of sport. With each edition of the Games, we take new strides forward, and VANOC has undoubtedly raised the bar once again. Vancouver 2010 showed that the Games and sport can be truly sustainable and leave great legacies to the host community. We are confident that VANOC’s work will leave a solid foundation from which future Organising Committees can build upon. Congratulations to the whole VANOC team for a job well done.”

Legacy for the Future

As part of its legacy for future organising committees, VANOC created a new sustainability governance model for large sports event organisations, reporting frameworks and a sustainable sports event tool kit for mega sports events. It also demonstrated how a venue programme can be designed for legacy use and built to minimise environmental impact; how partnerships with aboriginal people can make a Games stronger; how socially and economically disadvantaged groups can participate in and benefit from the Games; and how greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced.

Corporate Sustainability Objectives

The sustainability report outlines legacies that relate to each of VANOC’s six corporate sustainability objectives. For example, under accountability, VANOC developed a sustainable sports event toolkit for mega sports events in partnership with the IOC and the International Academy for Sport Science and Technology; in the area of the environment, VANOC received the Excellence for Green Building award from the Globe Foundation and the World Green Building Council; socially, inner-city businesses benefited from $5.7 million in Games-related procurement opportunities; there was unprecedented aboriginal participation in the Vancouver Games, thanks to agreements signed between the Four Host First Nations and VANOC; economically, 528 Buysmart contracts were issued for a total value of $277 million, ensuring that sustainability attributes were considered in VANOC’s procurement and licensing activities; and finally, in the area of sport for sustainable living, VANOC leveraged the interest in sport to raise awareness and inspire action on local and global sustainability solutions for businesses, communities and individuals.

VANCOUVER 2010

Read the full report

A lovely, moving donation to The Olympic Museum

8/30/2010 4:32:00 PM

Recently, at The Olympic Museum, we welcomed two lovely champions: Stéphane Lambiel, the Swiss skater with an impressive record (twice world champion, twice European runner-up, silver medallist in Turin in 2006, and bronze medallist in the world championships); and Joannie Rochette, the talented Canadian skater who won a bronze medal in Vancouver last February, and who courageously competed in the events only two days after the sudden death of her mother.

These two young athletes came to make a donation to The Olympic Museum: Lambiel donated the zebra-striped suit he wore when he won the Olympic silver medal, and Rochette donated the first dress she wore in her Olympic short programme.

Olympic Museum Curator Frédérique Jamolli welcomed the young athletes and recalled how their performances, be it in Turin or Vancouver, had enthused and excited the general public, whom they had both won over.

Stéphane Lambiel and Joannie Rochette then received the Olympic Museum’s traditional donor’s certificate and signed the guest book. They both said that it was both a pleasure and an honour to make their donations, in the hope that these two outfits would provoke the same emotions in the visitors as they had felt themselves.

Three Olympian brothers at The Olympic Museum for a donation

8/23/2010 3:02:00 PM

They already made names for themselves at the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver last February. Three brothers from one family present at the Olympic Games is something quite exceptional, and it is for this reason that the people responsible for the Museum collections approached them when they were asking for donations in Vancouver.

On Thursday 20 August at The Olympic Museum, the three Ligocki brothers, Luckasz, Michal and Mateusz, accompanied by their parents, donated to The Olympic Museum the full set of equipment they wore in Vancouver, either as athletes or as an official: snowboard, bindings, boots, helmet, gloves, mask, bodysuits, delegation clothing, etc. The donations also included accreditation cards, bibs and some photographs.

The donation was made in the presence of Francis Gabet and Frédérique Jamolli, Director and Curator of The Olympic Museum respectively. All three athletes received a donor’s diploma signed by the IOC President, acknowledging their donation.

In the book signed successively by the three brothers, Michal wrote: “I’m feeling so special, to give my Olympic equipment to this Museum. From now on I’ll feel that the memory of me and my family will live 4 ever!”

A bit of background…

Mateusz Ligocki (born 1982) participated in the Turin Games in 2006 in snowboard and snowboard cross. He was the only athlete to compete in the two disciplines. In Vancouver, he participated in the snowboard cross events.

Michal Ligocki (born 1985) also participated in the Turin and Vancouver Games, but in half-pipe.

The two brothers really want to participate in a third edition of the Games and are seriously preparing themselves for the 2014 Games in Sochi.

As for the oldest Lukasz brother (born 1980), he is FIS snowboard A license judge and technical delegate for snowboard. He was the Deputy Chef de Mission for the Polish team in Whistler.