Get to know K-points and the Gundersen method
A YEAR IN A CAREER: 2010
I was watching ski jumping ... and people were sunbathing.
Welcome to Whistler, B.C., and the 2010 Winter Olympics.
So many memories. So little space in which to recount even a fraction of them.
As a member of the Canwest News Service delegation, I was principally responsible for covering ski jumping and Nordic combined. I was informed of this assignment in 2009 by a great person named Dale Oviatt, who was then Canwest's sports editor.
“Any questions?” Dale asked me after outlining the breadth of my second consecutive Olympic gig, following Beijing 2008.
“Uh, yeah,” I responded, eloquently. “What is Nordic combined?”
A combination of ski jumping and cross-country skiing.
Oh.
Expert analysis to follow. I spent the next few months familiarizing myself with the intricacies of ski jumping and — what was that sport called again? — Nordic combined.
The “K-point,” I discovered, is the (cut and paste from Wikipedia) “line across a ski-jumping hill which indicates the hill's steepest point in metres.”
Then there was the Gundersen method, which is a ... ummmm
... you know ... method ... yeah, a method ... named after somebody named Gundersen ... who developed a method that is used in Nordic combined ... called the Gundersen method.
Got it? Good.
Adding to the intrigue, I was as likely to win a gold medal as any Canadian involved in ski jumping or Nordic combined.
Regardless, I had a grand old time.
The chili in the media tent was delectable. Outside, on most days, it was anything but chilly. One fine day, the temperature soared into the double digits.
So there I stood, watching the likes of Swiss sensation Simon Ammann demonstrate mastery of ski jumping, surrounded by people who were in shorts and T-shirts, soaking in the sun.
Naturally, I had dressed for The Great Blizzard of 2010, which never materialized: Boots, thermal underwear, two pairs of socks, thick jacket, thicker skull, scarf, toque, et cetera.
That may have been the day then-united States Vice-president Joe Biden showed up to watch ski jumping.
He was surrounded by security personnel, all of whom dressed up as fans. When he got up to leave, the entire security detail shuffled along with him.
Most memorably, Biden joined in with the fans when they did The Wave.
I was perhaps 20 metres away from Biden. For a moment, I wondered whether I should try to shout a question at him.
For example: “Mr. Vice-president ... what is the Gundersen method?”
Some other memories ...
■ My digital recorder died on a Saturday. I searched the Greater
Whistler Area for a replacement and finally, two minutes before closing time, stumbled into a shop that had one. Not two. Just one. I bought it and hoped it would work. It worked. In fact, I still use it today.
■ Concurrent with the Olympics, the Luther Invitational Tournament was being played in Regina. My all-world godson, Eric Anderson, was in Grade 12 and playing for the host Luther Lions. So there I was, seated in the Main Press Center, following the LIT website. (Eric shot 3-for-5 from the floor, by the way. Turning to Nordic combined ...)
■ Anyone owning media credentials was able to ride the gondola, which travelled up and down Whistler Mountain, free of charge. Bargain! Many a time, after my work was done, I would ride the gondola and marvel at the scenery. Most memorably, I disembarked from the gondola while Canada's Jon Montgomery was sharing his gold medal in men's skeleton with virtually everyone in Whistler. It was an amazing Olympic moment and I was blessed to witness it firsthand.
■ I was in the Main Press
Center, typing merrily away, while keeping an eye on the men's hockey gold-medal game between Canada and the United States. Naturally, everyone was glued to the TV. There was also a TV in an adjacent room. For whatever reason, the other TV was two or three seconds ahead of the one I was watching. This was not a big deal until Sidney Crosby scored “the golden goal,” as described by Chris Cuthbert, in overtime. A massive cheer erupted in the next room. Then I saw Crosby score the goal, which didn't surprise me due to the aforementioned celebration. It did detract from the moment.
Then I resumed writing — perhaps about the Gundersen method, whatever that is.