Day 1 - 02/15/2010

Well I started out being dropped at the Windsor Airport headed to my connection in Toronto. Always an interesting flight seeing all the familiar landmarks high in the sky. There was not many on the flight which surprised me as I just assumed everyone was going to Vancouver. From Toronto I flew direct to Vancouver where I was picked up in our "official" Olympic car, and was brought to the accreditation's building to check in. It was very well organized and did not take long at all before we were at our first stop which was the figure skate venue. For each venue there are separate entrances that the people go through who have credentials. This means quite a lot of security as you are with the athletes. It is kind of like playing Russian Roulette as they scan your pass and you either get a green light or a red light. Getting a red light is not so good as you have to go through extra security as a "random" selection. The figure skate venue was well run the people who were doing the sharpening were happy with the equipment so we went to find some coaches to talk to, however we did not come by any.
We were now off to the Women's hockey rink where Canada was playing the Swiss. As most of you know it was pretty much a blow out however the Swiss did score a goal and for the most part the girls were very happy about this. I was speaking with one of them after the game and tried my best German out (they speak German primarily in Switzerland) which received quite a few laughs. Turns out she was looking for some type of Rubber Cement to fix her shoes which we have at the men's rink and will be able to help her out tomorrow. At this rink we had some very famous equipment managers from the St. Louis Blues Bert Godin and Ray Halle. Bert has been an equipment manager for years and has become a very good friend. Ray has been his Assistant manager for a few years and also has become a good friend. I also was able to catch up with former NHL equipment manager Mark O'Niel who was also in good form and up for the games. These guys can handle anything and do it with a smile on there faces it was as if they were born to have this job of service.
After catching up on life and sharpening some of the players skates we watched the Scandinavian and Sweden Game. It was much more exciting than the Canadian game as it was not as big of blow out. After the game was over we packed it in and had dinner to return back to our rooms. Its about midnight now on the west coast so I am ready to get some rest as the men's tournament is starting up tomorrow. I will be able to let you know what that is like than. Below are some of the snaps that were taken. Thanks for reading!