The plan was to send this metal out to be coated with a water repellant surface, but a strange thing happened: the metal blades coated themselves. “What I initially did was just leave my samples lying around in the lab, not really paying attention to them for three weeks and all of a sudden they were hydrophobic, which we didn’t expect” says Kietzig. The treated blades bonded with carbon from the air, creating an ultra-water repellant surface, one that can reduce drag on ice by as much as 30-60 per cent.

So far, the governing bodies for bobsled, luge and skeleton won’t allow the treated runners to be used in competition. The break-through also came too late to be incorporated by Canada’s speed skaters at the 2010 Winter Games. But insiders say treated blades are likely to be used by Canadian skaters in the future. Meantime, Kietzig is happily slipping out of the lab in February to volunteer at the Olympic speed skating oval in Richmond.

Source: macleans.ca

The sun has always been an important (if not the most importance) aspect of life. Without it the planet would just be another cold chunk floating through space, void of all living creatures as we know them. It is not surprising then, that man has used the sun as a symbol of extreme power for ages.

The indigenous people of Canada, known to locals as people from the First Nations, also regarded the sun as a giver of life and placed images of the sun on their masks and their totem poles. In continuing the tradition of symbolically portraying the sun, the Royal Canadian Mint issued the 2010 Silver Proof Ultra-High Relief Sun Coin with a mintage of only 5,000. Interested collectors will now have to turn to the secondary market, where samples are difficult to find.

Struck from 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper, and with a weight of 30 grams and a diameter of 36.15, the silver coin features an ultra-high relief that has only been used once before on a proof coin from the Mint. With such a unique design, it is not uncommon for the surface to show slight inconsistencies, and this should be expected from a coin requiring the level of hand-crafting and polishing that this one does.

“This sterling silver masterpiece is the product of hours of handcrafting and polishing, which gives each coin some minute distinctions,” the Royal Canadian Mint said in a press statement about the coin.

The obverse, designed by Susanna Blunt, features a profile of Queen Elizabeth II of England as well as the inscriptions ‘Elizabeth II’ and ‘2010.’ As the coin is issued as part of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games series, the Vancouver Olympic logo is also featured.

Xwa lack tun (Rick Harry) designed the obverse of this one dollar coin. It features a sun with facial characteristics such as two eyes and a mouth. The sun is protruding from the face of the coin in a high relief. Around the sun are the inscriptions ‘Canada Dollar’ and ‘Vancouver 2010.’

For silver coins available by the Royal Canadian Mint, visit their website at www.mint.ca.

Source: www.silvercoinstoday.com

“The toughest thing about ski racing is all the variables involved in our sport,” said Vonn during a conference call. “I haven’t given any thought to the possibility of winning more than one medal at the Olympics because it’s going to be really, really tough. I still want to do all five events.”

The speculation that Vonn could be the first athlete to win medals in every alpine event was bolstered this weekend when Vonn won gold medals in two downhill and one super-G race in Haus Im Ennstal, Austria.

Vonn won her 26th, 27th wand 28th victories, becoming the first American to do so, and the first woman to accomplish the feat since Germany’s Katja Seizinger in 1997. Vonn is now the second most successful skier in American history, behind teammate Bode Miller who has 31 World Cup victories.

“All along I’ve just had the mindset to try to ski the best I can every single day,” said Vonn. “Hopefully I can execute well on each day and hopefully I get a little luck as well.”

Vonn suffered a minor injury to her hand earlier this season, impacting her skiing. The injury causes the most difficulty in the technical events of slalom and giant slalom where athletes clip the gates as they ski down the course.

“Not planning on skipping GS, hoping my hand will feel better by the time Whistler comes around. I feel things are getting better, it’s definitely not as bad in downhill or super-G as it is in slalom,” said Vonn. “Slalom for me is the toughest event right now. I am still getting therapy and hope it gets better.”

At the slalom event in Zagreb, Croatia, Vonn failed to finish the second run. The next slalom event takes place on Jan. 12, 2010 in Flachau, Austria.

Vonn holds back-to-back overall World Cup titles as well as two gold medals from the 2009 Alpine World Ski Championships.

Source: www.ctvolympics.ca

Coca-Cola Canada is the latest organization to offer the speed and convenience of Visa payWave, allowing customers to simply “wave and go” when buying a thirst-quenching Coca-Cola product from a convenient vending machine.

“Spectators at the Games will definitely appreciate the speed of Visa payWave when they can grab their Coke with a quick wave of the card, leaving enough time to get back to their seats for the next event,” said Mike Bradley, Head of Products, Visa Canada. “As the only card accepted at the 2010 Winter Games, we’re thrilled to join forces with Coca-Cola Canada and help make the Games experience quicker and easier for fans and athletes.”

“Equipping our vending machines with Visa payWave(TM) will provide our customers with an increased level of convenience and enhance their overall Games experience,” said Jeff Kirkland, Vice-President, On-Premise Sales, Coca-Cola Bottling Company.

The use of Visa payWave-enabled Visa cards and point-of-sale terminals in Canada is closely aligned with Visa Canada’s migration to chip card technology. Visa employs a layered approach to its fraud prevention efforts, meaning both the Visa payWave card and the Visa payWave terminal have built-in measures to help heighten security efforts.

About Visa

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world’s most advanced processing networks-VisaNet-that is capable of handling more than 10,000 transactions a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank, and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: Pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.

Coca-Cola in Canada

The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest beverage company. In Canada, the Company is represented by its subsidiary, Coca-Cola Ltd. (Coca-Cola in Canada). Coca-Cola is Canada’s largest beverage company. Coca-Cola in Canada markets three of Canada’s top nonalcoholic sparkling beverage brands, Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Sprite, and the leading ready-to-drink tea: Nestea. In addition, our subsidiary is the largest juice and juice drinks company with Minute Maid, Five Alive and Fruitopia. The Company also markets DASANI, PowerAde and other hot and cold beverages.

For more information about Coca-Cola in Canada, please visit our website at www.cocacola.ca or our parent company’s website at www.thecoca-colacompany.com.

Source: rttnews.com

OAK BROOK, Ill.–(EON: Enhanced Online News)–McDonald’s USA announced today the winners of the McDonald’s Champion Kids® (MCK) contest, providing 11-14 year-olds with the unique opportunity to experience the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games in February as hometown correspondents. Olympian and MCK program Ambassador, Shawn Johnson, served as a contest judge and was on-hand to surprise some of the winners in their hometowns with the exciting news they were selected. All of the MCKs will meet Johnson in Vancouver during the Games.

“Reviewing all the students’ essays was a great honor and an enjoyable experience. It was a tough decision to narrow down the many qualified entries, but each of these ten students stood out in an extraordinary way”

The McDonald’s Champion Kid winners for the U.S. are: Amanda Fahey (13) of Cincinnati, Ohio; Cindy Lim (12) of Grand Forks, N.D.; Chisu Edwards (13) of Morristown, N.J.; Erin Young (12) of Huntsville, Ala.; Jalena Keane-Lee (14) of Berkeley, Calif.; Jordan Crouch (11) of Brighton, Colo.; Maggie Rosén (12) of Glenwood Springs, Colo.; Raven Morris (14) of Keene, Va.; Sam Boling (14) of St. Simons Island, Ga.; and Serena George (13) of Oregon City, Ore.

“We congratulate all of the Champion Kids contest winners and wish them an exciting and rewarding trip to Vancouver,” said Neil Golden, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, McDonald’s USA. “Not only will each Champion Kid experience the Olympic Winter Games firsthand, but they will be able to share their unique perspective with local communities across the country.”

The McDonald’s Champion Kids contest was open to kids in the U.S. between the ages of 11-14 (with parental/guardian approval) from September 30 through October 30, 2009. An esteemed panel of judges selected the top applicants from hundreds of contest entries who submitted an essay online about the meaning of the Olympic Values of friendship, excellence and respect, along with a video or photo.

In addition to Johnson, judges included Alpine snowboarder Graham Watanabe, freestyle mogul skier Patrick Deneen, and speed skaters Jennifer Rodriguez and J.R. Celski. Lynn Barry, named the National Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year, by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) also helped select the final winners.

“Reviewing all the students’ essays was a great honor and an enjoyable experience. It was a tough decision to narrow down the many qualified entries, but each of these ten students stood out in an extraordinary way,” said Lynn Barry, MCK contest judge and National Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. “I was impressed to read how the students’ personal interests and passions helped shape their thoughts about the Olympic Values. I know their trip to Vancouver will be a part of their lives for a lifetime.”

As an MCK, each winner will have the opportunity to attend Olympic Winter Games sporting events, meet athletes and other McDonald’s Champion Kids from around the world, explore Vancouver and the city’s cultural sites, and report their personal experiences to their hometown community, school and media.

For more information about the 2009 McDonald’s Champion Kids contest and to follow them in Vancouver, please visit www.mcdonalds.com/championkids.

McDonald’s Olympic Games History

McDonald’s became an Official Sponsor of the Olympic Games in 1976 and has a long-standing commitment to the Olympic Movement, which first began more than 40 years ago. At the 1968 Olympic Winter Games, McDonald’s airlifted hamburgers to U.S. athletes competing in Grenoble, France, after they reported being homesick for McDonald’s food. Since then, the company has served its menu of choice and variety to millions of athletes, coaches, their families and fans. The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games mark McDonald’s seventh Olympic Games as a Worldwide Partner and eighth as the Official Restaurant of the Olympic Games. McDonald’s current sponsorship will continue through the 2012 Games in London.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s USA, LLC, is the leading foodservice provider in the United States serving a variety of wholesome foods made from quality ingredients to more than 26 million customers every day. Nearly 90 percent of McDonald’s 14,000 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by local business men and women. Customers can now log online at any of the 11,000 participating Wi-Fi enabled McDonald’s U.S. restaurants. For more information, visit www.mcdonalds.com, or follow us on Twitter (@McDonalds) and Facebook (Facebook.com/McDonalds) for updates on our business, promotions and products.

Source: eon.businesswire.com

Christine Nesbitt of Canada skates to win in the women's 1,500 metres race at the World Cup speed skating competitions in Berlin, November 8, 2009.

VANCOUVER — Top-secret discoveries made by University of B.C. engineers are expected to boost Canada’s medal count at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.

The secret: new, super-slick, friction-reducing metal and plastic surfaces for skates, skis and snowboards.

“Canada in the previous Olympic Games won a lot of fourth places. It’s the kind of thing that I would imagine would be very bothersome for these athletes. We thought that slightly improving the times we could push them to the podium positions,” said Savvas Hatzikiriakos, a chemical and biological engineering professor who spearheaded the project.

The team spent nearly $400,000 and more than three years developing two different surfaces ideal for competition in B.C.’s warm and wet conditions. One is a metal for speedskate blades that features a microscopic pattern shaped like a lotus-leaf in order to repel speed-impeding water.

The other is a water and snow-resistant plastic base for skis and snowboards. The plastic can reduce friction by up to 20 per cent, which could mean a one per cent reduction in time for an athlete, Hatzikiriakos said.

“It might sound low but one per cent might push you all the way from fifth or sixth place to the podium position,” he said. “We are talking about a split second between third and fourth place, so one per cent is a huge time.”

Hatzikiriakos’ team has been doing this work as part of a top-secret plan to snag as many medals as possible for Canada in 2010. The plan is the brainchild of Own the Podium, an organization that supports sport funding and research in Canada.

“That was a very significant finding. Specific to drier conditions (athletes) would use a different board, but if it’s a wet, warmer condition, like we expect here, they would use this new base,” said Own the Podium’s Todd Allinger.

The group has invested $8 million in priority funding to 55 top secret projects meant to give Canadian athletes a competitive edge. The funding is used to improve tools, technology and knowledge in four areas including air suits, ice sports, snow sports and human performance.

Allinger said that in 2002 Canadian athletes were put at a disadvantage because of their outdated equipment.

“Athletes were saying we can’t beat the U.S. They have faster speedskating suits,” he said. “We have skiers saying the Austrians are getting the best skis.”

“Obviously the athlete has to do the training. Just giving them better equipment isn’t going to make you or me win,” Allinger said.

But once an athlete reaches the top, Allinger said having the best equipment can push them to the podium. And now the Canadian equipment meets or surpasses the quality of other teams, according to Allinger.

While athletes and researchers have remained tight-lipped about most of the projects, a few are already being used publicly.

Alpine skiers tested the course in Whistler using a ultra-light wireless timing device on their helmets. The device, masterminded by the Schulich School of Engineering in Calgary, helped record which type of skis preformed better on different parts of the course and in different weather conditions.

The top-secret program also helped outfit the Whistler sliding track with video analysis equipment to boost the chances of Canada’s luge, skeleton and bobsled teams.

The UBC team was finally allowed to spill the beans last month when it published its results.

“There’s not enough time for anybody to copy us,” Hatzikiriakos said. “Maybe in the next Olympic Games but by then we should try to discover something else.”

While the patterned metal won’t be mass-produced in time for the 2010 Games, Canadian nordic ski and snowboard athletes will be sporting the new plastic bases next month.

The advantage doesn’t end with equipment. A separate Own the Podium project has a team of UBC engineers matching equipment to weather and course conditions.

Skiing in old, crystal-like snow, for example? The engineers suggest conditioning your skis with hard wax, which will combat the speed-crushing abrasiveness of the snow.

“Snow is an incredibly complex substance whose structure is dependent on temperature, relative humidity, stresses and a host of other factors. It is amazing how little was, and still is, known about the fundamental science of snow friction,” said project lead and mechanical engineering professor Sheldon Green.

Source: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/engineers+hope+help+Canadian+athletes+podium/2426876/story.html

Premier Robert Ghiz said the province is taking full advantage of the opportunity the Olympics have provided to show the rest of the world what the Island has to offer.

“This is the first time in over two decades that P.E.I. has been able to capitalize on the Olympic opportunity,” Ghiz said. “In addition to P.E.I.’s two-week presence at Atlantic Canada House during the Olympics, beginning on February 17 and 18th, we get to promote the province to the world as we host P.E.I. Days. Our Island’s culture, tourism, talent, culinary, business and hospitality will be showcased to visitors and media worldwide.”

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The skills Lise Leveille required as an Olympic gymnast — hand-eye coordination, flexibility, limb dexterity–will serve her well in the next phase of her professional life: orthopedic surgeon.

Such doctors, after all, make their living hammering, sawing, chiselling and drilling. It’s why they’re known in medical circles as the “carpenters” of the profession. Their work in the operating room is physically demanding, often exhausting and always precise.

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