At the beginning of this month I was given a great opportunity, I was selected to carry the Olympic Torch in Whitehorse on November 3!The day is here! My family had driven up from Watson Lake to support me and watch this exciting event. We all went to Main Street to get breakfast and some very needed coffee. Now that I am in law school coffee has become a big part of my daily routine. As we walked through town, you could sense something exciting was about to happen. The bank was closed and there were warning signs showing street closures everywhere you looked.
After breakfast the torch bearers gathered at a local school to be briefed on the day’s event and get acquainted with each other. There were people from all over Western Canada including Vancouver Island, Fort McMurray and Teslin. I recognized a few of the people from Teslin and chatted with them. A few of the torch bearers were Canadian Veterans, who were extremely excited to be a part of the Olympic movement. One of the local business owners hired a photographer to take photos of him and his family. His children had flown in from various parts of Canada to be watch the Olympic flame.
As an athlete I am pretty use to going to big tournaments with large crowds, we are taught to shut it all out and focus in on the task at hand. This experience was to be completely different. We were told to really enjoy the moment and soak it all in. All the torchbearers boarded a yellow school bus, each of us were to be dropped off at our “insertion point”. I was fortunate to be near the end of the relay. I was able to enjoy everyone’s excitement! I boarded the second bus that was to meet the torch bearer running the torch from one of the local First Nations communities, Kwalin Dun. We all opened our windows and began hanging out of the bus cheering and watching for the flame in the distance.
The flame was heading towards us, the bus roared with excitement, “We can see the flame!” It was so exciting. There were police escorts and a big Coca-Cola vehicle that had a speaker system and megaphone attached to it. The vehicle alerted the crowds of who was approaching. My run was scheduled for 5:15 pm. The sun had set and it was starting to get cold. I feared getting off the bus at the insertion point as the uniforms were paper thin. I exited the bus, people were cheering. There was a large group of people near my insertion point. RBC and Coke had supplied everyone along the route with noise makers which they were more than happy to use. People were shouting my name and cell phone cameras were going off all around me. I looked over and saw a friend of mine that went to the Olympics for the sport of weightlifting, Jeanne Lassen. I could not contain my excitement, I was grinning from ear to ear. It was such a great feeling; words can not express the excitement I was feeling! I posed for some photos with onlookers, and let a few people hold my torch as I waited for the flame. I asked a group of people I recognized “What are you all doing here?” (They were from Watson Lake). “BINGO!” was there response. I could not have asked for a better insertion point. I was directly outside the Elks Hall where they hold nightly bingo games. You know you are in the Yukon when you have a large fan group waiting outside the Bingo Hall ready and willing to cheer for you. The organizers were fast approaching. One of the flame attendants turned my torch on to allow the kerosene to seep from its canister. The flame was getting close; Tippy was really enjoying his moment as he walked towards me.
Our torches kissed and I was holding the Olympic Flame which in its essence represents peace. It’s a flame that brings countries together in one place. It was so exhilarating! I waved to people on the street as I turned to run my leg. I was holding the flame as high as I could. The torch was actually a little bit heavy. As I was running down the street I was waiving to everyone on the sidelines. I saw my parents and my little nephew with his head sticking out of the back of their vehicle. I chatted with my flame attendant; he was chosen as a “fire keeper” and was from Nunavut. He said to me, “You must be a pretty good wrestler!” The Inuit have a traditional style of wrestling that they use to do in their igloos and now it is apart of the Arctic Winter Games, I am certain my flame attendant was a good wrestler as well, seeing as he is from Nunavut. I started to slow down as I reached the next torch bearer. I shook his hand, wished him luck and held my torch to his. I watched the flame for a few seconds before my little nephew appeared. He was so excited and out of breath with his noise maker in hand. My nephew and I took a picture together with the torch and then I was whisked away back onto the yellow bus. Everything went down without a hitch. I will cherish this memory forever. It was truly a great and grand experience!
I recently received word that I was selected to participate in an Aboriginal Youth Gathering in Vancouver in February. There were 150 Aboriginal Youth aged 19-29 asked to participate. I have no details yet but I am excited!
Vancouver 2010 Olympics is going to be something special and magnificent! Thank you to Boughton for your continuous support!
To read more, please see http://boughton.ca/More_Info/Whats_New/Olympic_Torch.
1 comments:
Hi, Brittanee! Please contact Rollie Comeau at Watson Lake Secondary School at your earliest convenience. You have been nominated as the first female inductee in the school's Wall of Fame. We would like your permission to post a photograph (a very large one!) and accomplishments. We are very proud of you and looking forward seeing you again soon. Cheers!
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