CANADA WINS 14th GOLD - NEW OLYMPIC RECORD

VANCOUVER – A record 14 golds. And the biggest one of all. The win secured Canada's record as the nation with the most gold medals ever during an Olympic Games.

Canada today edged the United States 3-2 in overtime on a Sidney Crosby shot in overtime in the gold medal men’s hockey game, sending an entire nation into a huge celebration.

The win gave Canada a record 14 gold medals; double the previous high by a Canadian winter Olympic team (seven in Turin in 2006 and also in Salt Lake City in 2002) and the most-ever by any country at a single Winter Olympics.

Canada finished with 26 medals overall; 14 gold, seven silver and five bronze. That’s two more than the previous high of 24, collected in Turin four years ago.

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games closing ceremony was fantastic !!!!!

ARC Celebrates Canada's 13th Olympic Gold Medal

ARC's Olympic 'Live Site' has 3 huge TV screens, arts and crafts, night market, pickleball, karate and square dancing demo etc. Its Olympic medal board shows Canada won 13 gold, 7 silvers and 5 bronze medals, with a total of 25 medals - a new Winter Olympic benchmark for the country.

VANCOUVER, B.C. - Canada won three golds in one day. The host country at the Vancouver Games jumped into the record books Saturday with a total of 13 gold medals - the most top-tier podium finishes by any nation in a Winter Olympics.

The three gold medals on Saturday gave Canada the record for a host nation at a Winter Games - previously 10, won by the U.S. in Salt Lake City in 2002 and by Norway in Lillehammer in 1994. Ten was also Canada's own benchmark for most golds claimed at an Olympics, summer or winter, established in Los Angeles in 1984.

Canada now shares the all-time biggest crop of gold medals for any country in a Winter Olympics with Norway in 2002 and the Soviet Union in 1976, and has a chance to outstrip it Sunday in the men's hockey final versus the United States.

Canada now finds itself leading the gold rush in Vancouver, followed by Germany with 10 and the U.S. with nine.

Hi from sunny Arizona

Thanks for the great updates on the Abby PB Blog, you guys are doing a great job of keeping we "sunny birds" informed and updated. We are playing Pickleball just about every day on our 6 outdoor courts at Venture Out Resort Park in Mesa, just outside Phoenix. We have about 350 members in the VO PB club. We have scambles for A & B players each saturday and mixed doubles play on sunday. During the week Mandy and I play in separate Ladder PB games. Each ladder consist of 3 games with the same people but rotate partners for each game. We then record how many games each person has won out of the three.
Other than PB we are involved in many different clubs and activities, including silversmithing, hiking, electronics club, dancing, sewing, potluck dinners, golfing and of course happy hours and pool time. We love being busy and making new friends and cheering our Olympic Canuck teams. About 30% of the roughly 3000 people in the park are from Canada, primarily the western provences. Check our Blog at http://ken-arizona.blogspot.com/ for pictures and more info. Ken & Mandy Witt

Pickleball Fun after Canada Wins 8th Gold Medal

Pickleball was fun after watching Canada wins 8th gold medal in 2010 Olympic, beating USA 2-0 in women's hockey. While we were playing pickleball, we heard the loud music from ARC 'Live Site' TV broadcasting Canada winning a bronze for women's figure skating. We also enjoyed watching Olympic ski jumping, cross country skiing, bobsleigh, speedskating, curling, ice dancing etc. We had fun playing with our regular pickleball friends Jerry, Richard, Annettte, Catherine and Grant of course. Many younger players like Nathan and Mike come to play Thursday nights regularly and a lot of new beginners are learning how to play pickleball.

ARC 2010 Olympic 'Live Site' Ukrainian Dancers

ARC 'Live Site' has Scottish Highland dancers and high school band performing yesterday. Today we watched fantastic performances by Ukrainian dancers and the Hannah & the Inukshuks acrobatic dancers !!!! Canada won a fourth 2010 Olympic gold medal !!!!

Thursday Night full of Younger Pickleball Players

All four courts were full of younger pickleball players on Thursday night with people waiting to play. The other gym was full of 'Live Site' entertainment for kids. Everyone was having fun !!!!
Canada won three gold medals, three silvers and one bronze at the 2010 Olympic Games !!!!

Olympic 'Live Site' Pickleball Demo to Teens

Many young adults and teens came to play pickleball at the 'free pickleball demo' and it looks like they were having a lot of fun !!!!
Olympic 'Live Site' at ARC draws thousands of people watching the 2010 Olympic games 'live' on two huge TV screens. Canada captured a silver, a bronze and finally a gold medal.

Pickleball Canada Features Shirley's Inspirational Story

Pickleball Canada February Newsletter wrote: An inspirational Story - Last month Shirley Shepherd wrote an excellent article on the Abbey Pickleball Club. She also related an interesting and touching story of how she, her husband and son got involved in Pickleball. Her personal story is unique in that out of adversity, in her case a car accident, comes an inspirational story for all of us. Shirley’s story proves that Pickleball can be a great source of rehabilitation for serious injuries and a great family activity. Read more: http://pickleballcanada.org/news/E-newsletter_01_01_10.pdf

20,000 People See Olympic Torch in Abbotsford

ARC was packed with thousands of people for the Live Site festivities, including a free community barbecue. Dave and I drove behind the 2010 Olympic Torch on its way to ARC and we saw over 10,000 people lined up the streets cheering the Olympic Torch, incredible Olympic spirit!!!! The Olympic Torch continues its way to Abbotsford Exhibition Park. http://www.vancouversun.com/ Premier Gordon Campbell spoke to an estimated crowd of 20,000 people gathered at Abbotsford's Exhibition Park Sunday evening, leading them in a rousing cheer of 'Go Canada Go'.

Russian Figure Skaters Autographs at ARC

Mike and I got the autographs of two Russian Figure Skaters at ARC yesterday, Yuri Larionov and Vera Bazarova. It was exciting to meet two Olympic figure skaters up close in person and to speak to them!!!

Hundreds of spectators lined up outside in the cold to get a chance to see the Russian figure skaters at ARC. Yesterday the wait was half an hour, people are only allowed to view for 20 minutes if more people are waiting. They allow 150 people into the viewing room above the arena. Admission is free Feb 1 -Feb 17.

Courts All Full Thursday Night Pickleball

All four courts were full on Thursday night again with people waiting to play. There were about 35 people there. I waited for 20 minutes so I have time to shoot some videos and chat with people until Grant opened up four more courts. Two young women told me it was their first time to play pickleball. Many people stopped by to enquire about how to play this game with Grant. It was so nice to see many kids and teens having fun. Their parents told me they really enjoy it and it is better for them to play sports than to play video games which make kids overweight as statistics said 'The number of overweight children in Canada nearly tripled between 1981 and 1996. Health studies that have monitored the wellbeing of large groups of people over many years clearly show that inactivity significantly increases the risk of overweight, obesity and chronic diseases.' So playing pickleball provides enormous health benefits for seniors and children as well.

Last Chance to get Free 2010 Olympic Flags

Come to see the Japanese speed skaters and the Russian Figure skaters practising at ARC and get their autographs Feb 1 - Feb 17!!! The Olympic Torch will be passing by ARC on Feb 7 at about 4:30pm!!! Join the fun at ARC Olympic LiveSite (free pickleball demo) on Feb 12 - 28, 2010!!!