Team Torino Files Final Report Before Heading Home

Sunday, February 26, 2006 08:48 PM

-submitted by Rob Van Adrichem
The City of Prince George has completed its mission to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. The seven-member delegation was working to build relationships for sport training and business, as well as identify opportunities where Prince George will be able to enhance its profile in Vancouver-Whistler in 2010.

Hosting Teams in Advance of 2010: Learning from Italy "The little community of Torre Pellice probably realized the benefits of the 2006 Olympics as much as anybody," said City Leisure Services Director Tom Madden after visiting the community during a tour conducted as part of the Prince George delegation to Torino. Located in the Alps to the northwest of Torino, the community hosted six hockey teams and figure skaters in advance of the start of the 2006 Games.

"What sticks out most for me is the relationship that the community developed with the visiting athletes," says Madden. "The torch came through the town when the teams were there and everyone - athletes and citizens - participated in the event together. In addition, the exhibition games that the teams put on were sell-outs. That community definitely got their piece of the games. It wasn't only Torino that benefited." The tour of the pre-Games Olympic training arena - built by the Torino Olympic Committee - was led by Claudio Bertalot, the President of the Comunita Montana Val Pellice.

Just over 4000 people live in Torre Pellice and about 23,000 live in the valley. The Prince George delegation was represented on the visit by Madden and Tom Berekoff, who is Chair of GoPG, the Prince George committee that is working to identify and strengthen sport training opportunities in northern BC.

"Even though the region sent delegates to the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002, Mr. Bertalot still says that the region was late in its preparations for how to capitalize on the 2006 Games," says Berekoff, who also works as Director of Development for UNBC. "The biggest lesson from what we saw in Val Pellice is that we're on the right track, and even ahead of the pack in British Columbia. We can still, however, get more targeted in our marketing and identify
those countries and sports that will provide the most opportunity. TOROC recognized that there are valuable regional training opportunities and that's where we have to continue to work with VANOC. The new Northern Sport Centre will add to our capacity in sport training. We had a very successful reception at BC- Canada Place in Torino, but we now have to make sure that we follow up effectively to realize opportunities."

(Above, the Olympic Flame, to the right, a rink built in Tore Pellice to host training events)

One opportunity was presented to Mayor Colin Kinsley during Premier Gordon Campbell's reception on the weekend. During the event, he was approached by Hugh Peter Barclay, an official with the Kenyan Olympic Committee. While Kenya is not known as a Winter Olympic power - only one athlete attended the 2006 Games, for example - the country is hoping to expand its team to 20 athletes by 2010. Barclay had heard of Prince George's desire to host teams and
spoke with Mayor Kinsley about training in the City before traveling to Vancouver- Whistler. The Governor-General also attended the reception, at which the Premier commended Prince George and its vision for how to capitalize on the 2010 Games.

A Good Samaritan Gets Rewarded

It isn't everyday that you go for lunch and find seven tickets to the bronze medal game in hockey. That's exactly what happened to City Leisure Services
Director Tom Madden, when he went for lunch at a restaurant in Milan.

It seems that the table Madden was seated at had just been vacated by a group of Canadians, who Madden had met on his way into the restaurant. At the table where they were sitting, Madden found the envelope containing the seven tickets, which each had a value of 140 Euros (about $200 Canadian). "I realized that no hockey-loving Canadian would throw away tickets to a game like that and that they must have left them behind accidentally. The right thing to do was to try and get the tickets back to them," says Madden.

After waiting for a short time at the restaurant for the group to return, he guessed that they were on their way to Milan's Central Station for the two-hour train ride to Torino. Madden also made his way there. He found them on a platform at the station, and casually asked one of them if they had their tickets. He obviously didn't and had started to panic when Madden presented the envelope.

For his good deed, Madden was given two of the two tickets back and took
Tom Berekoff to the game between Russia and the Czech Republic.

Rob Van Adrichem is a media specialist and part of Team Torino. The team will hold a news conference Tuesday morning.

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Posted on Sunday, February 26, 2006 08:48 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: diplomat on February 27 2006 8:30 AM

"One opportunity was presented to Mayor Colin Kinsley...he was approached by Hugh Peter Barclay, an official with the Kenyan Olympic Committee...only one (Kenyan) athlete attended the 2006 Games... - the country is hoping to expand its team to 20 athletes by 2010. Barclay had heard of Prince George's desire to host teams and
spoke with Mayor Kinsley about training in the City before traveling to Vancouver- Whistler."

Well, all you naysayers! What do you say to THAT now ???

Posted by: northerngal on February 27 2006 8:59 AM

Oh yes, 20 atheletes from Kenya will for sure bring more than $38,000 to PG! I am so sure that the economic windfall will be phenomenal! NOT!

Posted by: diplomat on February 27 2006 11:49 AM

As soon as Kelowna, Vernon or Penticton finds out that Kenya is looking for a training facility this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Prince George will be snatched away from us!

Rats, Ed! What next???

Posted by: giterdun on February 27 2006 12:23 PM

TEAM TORINO A BIG WASTE OF MONEY.GIVEN THE CHOICE TO FOREIGN ATHELETES----KELOWNA-PENTICTON-KAMLOOPS-NELSON-JASPER OR PRINCE GEORGE. NO CONTEST. WE LIVE IN A GREAT CITY BUT WE DO NOT HAVE THE CLASS OF FACILITIES THAT THESE OTHER CENTERS DO.SORRY FOLKS BUT IT IS TRUE.TEAM TORINO FORGOT THAT PRINCE IS A WORKING MANS TOWN. WHAT WE NEED IS INDUSTRY AND JOBS. DON'T THINK 2010 WILL SUPPLY THIS. THE MAYOR AND INITIATIVES PG SHOULD BE IN PRINCE RUPERT PROMOTING AN INLAND CONTAINER PORT WHICH WOULD CREATE THE BIGGEST BOOM THIS TOWN HAS SEEN IN DECADES.IF WE DON'T GET ON THE BALL EDMONTON JUST MIGHT BEAT US OUT. COME ON COLIN ORGANIZE YOUR TEAM AND START PROMOTING OUR AIRPORT/INLAND BONDED CONTAINER PORT. EDMONTON HAS BEEN ON THIS MISSION FOR ALMOST A MONTH.PG SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR GOLD NOT BRONZE.

Posted by: diplomat on February 27 2006 2:41 PM

" Learning from Italy "The little community of Torre Pellice probably realized the benefits of the 2006 Olympics as much as anybody," said City Leisure Services Director Tom Madden."

My Encarta Interactive Worldmap shows Torre Pellice as being located approximately 55km to the southwest of Turin.

Access to it was (during the Winter Olympic Games) only by train or buses with no private vehicles allowed at all,
according to info on its website.

Given its conveniently close location to the Turin Olympics site it was a natural choice for team training.

Posted by: Palopu on February 27 2006 5:47 PM

Well we should start to get some of the **Spin** from the Mayor and his co-horts later this week as to how successful this trip was, and how we can expect to reap some benefits. All we can do now is **wait and see**. It will be a few years before we know for sure that this was a complete **bust**.,

Something to keep in mind for the next election.

The City of Richmond sent an 8 man delegation to Torino at a cost of $117,000.00. Would it be fair to say that our 7 man delegation will cost us somewhere in the area of $110,000.00 most of which will be hidden somewhere in the budget of Initiave Prince George, as the City only okayed $38,000.00.

Time will (or should) tell.

Posted by: Palopu on February 27 2006 7:36 PM

Two things that were very well received at Turin.
(1) BC/Canada House, was visited by thousands of people. A huge success.

(2) The log house that was built by Sitka Forest Products in 100 Mile house, loaded onto 20 Containers and railed to Montreal then sent to Italy and set up. This was a huge promotion by the builder and the Government and I would suggest that they will reap some benefits from this for years to come.

The Mayor of Prince George and his co-horts were riding on the shirt tails of BC/Canada house, and the Sitka log house, and everything else that was set up ahead of time. They were like the poor cousins waiting by the door to be invited into the party. The best they could do was show some videos, and make some vague promises of facilities that may or may not be available for training by the year 2010. Nothing to specific along with some vague mention of Grizzly Bear watching, and Mountain Climbing. Not a very good presentation over all, however time will tell. The chances of making huge dollars from Olympic atheletes training here are pretty slim. Most I expect will want to train in the greater Vancouver area close to the action, and their competition. I doubt if much training was taking place around Turin in the last few years, as it seems that all the atheletes trained before they got there.

As far as the Container Terminal goes, that will depend on the amount of money that Private Investors want to put into it. As far as Im concerned it will only be for stuffing empty containers on their way back to Prince Rupert and will not really be a big deal over all. Most of what I have heard to date it **Hype**.

As I mentioned previously the Alberta Government will contribute $2.75 million worth of land for a Container Terminal in Grande Prairie, this was announced in July 2005. So the idea of an Inland Terminal has been around for some time. Edmonton, Saskatoon, already have smaller terminals, that have been there for years and load Containers to the Port of Vancouver. There is nothing new about inland terminals, it is only new to this area.

Posted by: diplomat on February 28 2006 8:12 AM

Ed:"The two issues are completely unconnected, in every sense."

Not quite, imho.

You didn't notice how these two issues ended up in the same corral?

They were posted by 'admin' on the opinion250.com blog as issues for discussion in the same context: Are the present City administration, mayor and councilors acting in the best interests of the future of this city and its citizens?

They both deal with events that are happening as we speak and they both present opportunities for our city which needs to re-invent itself in order to cope with the potential turn-down of the economy after the denim wood harvest.

If the officials whose actions are being moaned and groaned about can't take the proverbial heat they should get out of the kitchen.

I for one don't feel that they are being unfairly treated when legitimate questions are being asked.

Posted by: diplomat on February 28 2006 11:04 AM

Ed:"Ever hear of 'post hoc ergo propter hoc' (after that, therefore because of that)...?"

Ever hear of " Ceterum censeo: Haec olim meminisse juvabit!"
(in conclusion I think: Perhaps we will look back at all this and smile!)

Colon. Colon??? Mmmmh.

Posted by: Palopu on March 1 2006 9:52 PM

It seems that the City paid $38,000.00 to cover the cost of 4 people to go to Turin. The other 3 were covered by the IPG budget. Simple math would indicate that the total cost would be $66,500.00 unless there were other expenses covered by the IPG budget which we havent heard of yet. Not a big piece of change,however Im sure that we could have accomplished the same thing with half the people.