On June 8th this past summer, my Olympic Outsider podcast (podcast feed) co-pilot Dan and I took a trip to reconnoiter some the venues under construction for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

You can see all the snapshots at the Whistler 2010 Olympic Venues photo set - here are some previews:

First, we checked out the sliding track near Whistler Village where the luge, bobsleigh and skeleton athletes will compete.

Then headed up Callahan Valley. passed security to the massive 90K and 120K Ski Jumps, and observed the jumper's view, and an Inukshuk.

Thanks to Jeff Lee's blog post "London 2012 gets social media while Vancouver 2010 falters", I saw this slide deck by Alex Balfour, the Head of New Media for London 2012 where he sets the table and drafts a plan of action for encouraging crowd coverage of the Games.

I can't help but feeling that Vancouver is missing a huge opportunity by not planning and evangelizing new media - with a diverse creative and info tech sector, it's a shame.

Anyhow, i saw this great twitter from @stuartgh in London who saw Mr. Balfour's presentation:

I love tasty biscuits! Later he puts forth his vision, thusly:

For the record, i am not personally an Olympic resister, i am a documentarian & an enthusiast of stories, international relations and winter sports. I am disheartened and flummoxed by some of the practices of the IOC and VANOC but feel engaging in respectful dialouge is key to finding common ground.

I am also an advocate of media democracy and also enjoy helping people who have a heard time finding coverage in the mainstream media find outlet for their concerns.

On November 20, 2008, I recorded the Olympic Resistance Network press conference including separate clips for remarks by Chris Shaw and Joan Morelli, at the Anti-Poverty Committee office in the Vancouver's downtown eastside.

Olympic Resistance Network Press Conference - most speakers (54:27, .mp3, 26MB)

Outside of the VANOC worldwide press briefing, independent media maker Dave Thorvald Olson answers questions about the Olympics, protests, and tension between social concerns and international events.

He spiels forth about peace, pacifism, understanding, love of winter sports, copyright, rumoured riots, the importance of dialouge and respect and conversation. Also he briefly recounts his experiences covering Olympic Games from a grassroots point of view.

Filmed by Manfred Becker - thanks!

See Dave Thorvald on Daily Vancouver for more: http://2010.dailyvancouver.com/blog/davethorvald