You still have time to be a torchbearer

City of North Bay
News Release

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Imagine holding aloft the gleaming white torch carrying the Olympic Flame, running with it as the flame unfurls in the wind and passing by friends, family and community members of North Bay as they look on with pride and awe.

Anyone can be a torchbearer in the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay from high school athletes to grandmothers, from regular folk to community activists and thousands more Canadians, including people from North Bay, are needed to apply as soon as possible. The relay, which starts October 30 in Victoria, BC, is presented by Coca-Cola and RBC and supported by the Government of Canada.

“Seeing and holding that magnificent Olympic Flame is a transformational and emotional experience,” said John Furlong, VANOC’s Chief Executive Officer. “This is a very special opportunity for Canada’s communities from coast to coast to coast to participate in the Olympic Torch Relay so I encourage everyone to apply. The Olympic Flame truly symbolizes the best in all of us.”

Interested torchbearer candidates from North Bay may apply at www.iCoke.ca or www.rbc.com/carrythetorch. Both programs invite Canadians to share a brief story about how they plan to make themselves, their community or their country a better place.

The Olympic Flame will visit North Bay on December 30th, 2009 as one of approximately 1,020 communities during its 106-day journey across the country. The torch relay will visit every province and territory, including Canada’s most northern, southern and eastern points, before arriving back in the host province of British Columbia for the start of the Games on February 12, 2010.

Each of the 12,000 torchbearers selected for the relay will receive a brand-new torch to carry the Olympic Flame for their part of the journey. The individual torches, manufactured by Bombardier, may be purchased by the torchbearer after their run to pass down as a family heirloom. The torchbearers will also receive a complete torchbearer uniform, designed by the Hudson’s Bay Company, consisting of a jacket, pullover pants, toque and knitted red mittens. The winter white uniforms with bright bursts of blue and green feature the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay emblem on the chest and the universally recognizable Olympic Rings on the back. The uniforms are a commemorative keepsake for the torchbearers to remind them of their part in the historic journey.

Already, several torchbearers have been announced by Coke and RBC, including: Caleb Taylor, 35, of Regina, who teaches hockey to inner-city youth; environmental activist Sue McLennan of Quebec; 16-year-old soccer enthusiast Catherine Charron-Delage of Longueuil, Que., and Katie Willoughby, 14, of Port Williams, NS., who plays soccer and volleyball.

North Bay Mayor Victor Fedeli urges everyone who wants to be part of this exciting day to apply now. “What a thrill this will be for any North Bay citizen who signs up. This is something they will remember for decades,” said Mayor Vic.

Further information on the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay is available online at www.vancouver2010.com/torchrelay.

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