Venues
Whistler Olympic Park
Last Updated: Monday, January 18, 2010 | 12:22 PM ET
New York Times, for CBC Sports
Whistler Olympic/Paralympic Park is a competition venue that includes three separate stadiums (cross-country skiing, biathlon, ski jumping) for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. being held February 12-28, 2010. (Kim Stallknecht/Getty Images)About 20 kilometers southwest of Whistler, Whistler Olympic Park will host 28 medal events in cross-country skiing, biathlon, Nordic combined and ski jumping.
The Whistler Olympic Park, which opened in 2008 and was built at a cost of nearly $120 million Canadian, features three separate stadiums for cross-country skiing, biathlon and ski jumping and 14 kilometers of biathlon and cross-country competition trails. At the center is an 11,000-square-foot lodge that will serve as the venue’s hub. The park can accommodate as many as 12,000 people per day.
The Whistler Olympic Park has generally been praised by athletes who have tested its facilities at World Cup events in 2009. The park is nestled in the Callaghan Valley, sheltered from the wind, and spectators at the Nordic combined events will benefit from the proximity of the ski jumps to the cross-country course. At previous Olympic Games, the two venues were sometimes miles apart, diminishing the sport’s appeal to fans.
Some athletes have complained about the cross-country course, which features rolling hills, but they disagree over what they don’t like: some say the course is too easy, and others say some of the turns are too sharp.
After the Olympics, the park will be used by recreational skiers. The site features 55 kilometers of trails for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, roller skiing. There are also trails designed for skiers with dogs.
