Vancouver Shows Olympic Ice Venue
A colorful entourage for the Olympic torch as it enters Calgary, the 1988 Olympic host city.
Its final destination is Vancouver, host of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games due to kick-off in February.
Reporters got a sneak preview of the Richmond Skating Oval on Tuesday.
It's the showcase venue that will host speed skating during the games.
The oval features a massive 100 x 200 meters ceiling made of wood.
It was recovered from local trees that had been destroyed by a pine beetle infestation.
The Vancouver Olympic Committee's CEO says it's an architectural feat.
[John Furlong, CEO, Vancouver Olympic Committee]:
"The roof, in our view, is one of the strokes of genius in the venue program, where the architects working with the government came up with the idea that we would rescue this wood from the pine beetle devastation in the interior of the province that we've been dealing with, harvest it properly and use it to build this roof. It's a magnificent architectural achievement."
With the roof completed, the focus is now on the surfaces.
Ice makers are concentrating on getting the ice texture and thickness right and hoping for a magnificent Olympic display.
Its final destination is Vancouver, host of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games due to kick-off in February.
Reporters got a sneak preview of the Richmond Skating Oval on Tuesday.
It's the showcase venue that will host speed skating during the games.
The oval features a massive 100 x 200 meters ceiling made of wood.
It was recovered from local trees that had been destroyed by a pine beetle infestation.
The Vancouver Olympic Committee's CEO says it's an architectural feat.
[John Furlong, CEO, Vancouver Olympic Committee]:
"The roof, in our view, is one of the strokes of genius in the venue program, where the architects working with the government came up with the idea that we would rescue this wood from the pine beetle devastation in the interior of the province that we've been dealing with, harvest it properly and use it to build this roof. It's a magnificent architectural achievement."
With the roof completed, the focus is now on the surfaces.
Ice makers are concentrating on getting the ice texture and thickness right and hoping for a magnificent Olympic display.