Vancouver (pps) On November 4, exactly 100 days before the opening ceremony of the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada, from February 12 to 28, 2010, the world’s best luge athletes are eagerly awaiting the beginning of the Olympic winter. The official season will begin on Monday, November 9, with an International Training Week on the future Olympic track at the „Whistler Sliding Center“. Until November 14, the luge aces will have the opportunity to rehearse for the Olympic luge competitions on the world’s fastest artificially refrigerated track. A training restriction will come into effect on December 31, 2009. After this date, only athletes from the host country Canada as well as athletes from “developing nations” will be permitted to train.
During the training week, the future Olympians can get familiar with the impressive facility, where the spectator stands are currently still being constructed. Approximately 12,000 spectators will be able to watch the medal decisions in men’s singles (February 13/14, 2010), women’s singles (February 15/16, 2010) and doubles (February 17, 2010) at the track. Other temporary buildings including the International Press Center for the Games, are currently under construction as well.
The XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver will comprise 86 medal decisions in seven sports. All competitions that were staged in Turin in 2006 are still part of the program, in addition to a skicross competition in alpine skiing.
It is the second Olympic Winter Games for Canada after Calgary 1988. Besides this, Olympic Summer Games were held in Montreal in 1976.
