Going the Distance for 2010

By Ben Meisner

-by Ben Meisner

Team Torino just doesn’t get it. 

Torre Pellice is just over 43 kilometers from Turin, 27 miles away; Hixon is 53 kilometers as the crow flies or 32 miles from Prince George,  while Prince George is 323 miles, or 520 kilometers as the crow flies, (by road 786 kilometers or 488 miles) from Vancouver.  Going the Whistler way is a little longer and  in case they have missed it, that’s where the 2010 Games are being held. 

Let’s put this whole thing into proper context. 

It would be shorter for an Olympic team to train in Paris France, at 480 miles by road, Belgium at 445 miles, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Bosnia, Slovakia, Croatia, and even Munich Germany is 283 miles or 456 kilometers away from Turin. 

How, in God's name, a comparison can be made between Prince George and Torre Pellice leaves one wondering whether, 
(a) the team doesn’t know much about distances or (b) thinks we are stupid. 

Torre Pollice is to Turin,  what Langley is to Vancouver.

Before we go further, would someone give me the tab for last weekend at the CN center?  What did it cost the city taxpayers per head?
 
Yes, there is a possibility we could attract a team from Kenya to train here, training in what, is another matter.  Kenya doesn't  normally get snow.  According to the latest World Vision report  Kenya does have 11 million people who are starving. It would be fair to assume that anyone who could get a free ride out of the country would be more than happy to take it.  

Now a couple of facts for team Torino and the Kenya pitch. The only snow in Kenya is on Mount Kenya at the 17,000 foot level , the majority of the population has never been on the mountain, much less the top . There is, on the other, hand lots of sand where obviously our Torino team have their heads buried. 

There are more than enough skating rinks operating within 100 kilometers of Whistler and Vancouver to more than cover the needs of the skaters. If you don't count Whistler,  there are  61 arenas in the Vancouver area, including Langley, Abbotsford, and White Rock.

To be sure, if we build a multi million dollar oval, they might come and train here, but it begs the question, at what cost to the taxpayers? 

 Would you, for example, stay in Prince George and hop a plane every day to attend the games?

 Well you might if you’ve been convinced by team Torino that the distance between here and Whistler is about the same as Turin and Torre Pellice. 

Before we spend yet more money by way of picking up the tab, lets stake out our priorities.

I’m Meisner and that is one man's opinion.

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