The Olympic and Paralympic Village Whistler is located within the scenic Cheakamus Valley and less than 20 minutes from all Whistler competition venues. A short shuttle ride will take athletes to the heart of Whistler’s town centre and the Whistler Celebration Plaza.

The Village site is bordered by the Cheakamus River and forested lands and is accessed by a two-lane road and single-lane bridge from Highway 99 — the main route between Vancouver and Whistler — less than one kilometre away. The mixture of apartments, townhomes and hostel accommodation was designed to qualify as a Gold Level certification under the new LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Neighbourhood Development rating system.

Olympic Winter Games planned population: 2,850
Paralympic Winter Games planned population: 1,200
Elevation: 612 metres

Legacy to Local Communities

After the Games, the Olympic and Paralympic Village Whistler will provide much-needed affordable housing in a neighbourhood that will be a model of sustainable living for Whistler. A 19,500-squarefoot high-performance centre will provide a training facility for elite athletes in Whistler. The building consists of a 4,000-square-foot strength and conditioning gym, a 5,400-square-foot gymnastics hall, recovery and change rooms, testing room, offices and a multi-purpose meeting room. There will also be a four-story athletes’ lodge as well as 20 townhome units that will provide a total of approximately 330 beds — ideal for accommodating both winter and summer athletes. Temporary housing will be relocated to several communities in British Columbia post-Games as a social legacy of affordable housing for the province.

Sustainability Features

• Demonstrating smart site selection, the Village is being developed directly adjacent to an already disturbed area (previously a municipal landfill).
• The Village is part of a pilot project with the Canada Green Building Council to test the new LEED Neighbourhood Development green standard.
• The Village includes the development of a community/district energy system. The system’s primary heat source will be waste heat recovered from the municipal waste water treatment system.
• A wetland complex has been created on-site for storm water retention, treatment and habitat enhancement. Storm water management initiatives also include net-zero drainage impact on the local Cheakamus River.
• Aboriginal art will be installed at the Village as part of the Vancouver 2010 Venues’ Aboriginal Art Program and will include traditional and contemporary artwork by First Nations, Inuit and Métis artists from across Canada.

While providing benefits to the residents of Whistler, the centre will also provide high-performance and development athletes with an opportunity to train and reside in a sport environment beside world-class venues. The centre will include a gymnastics centre, fitness room, low-cost accommodation alternatives, multi-purpose meeting rooms and lecture space. VANOC is responsible for the design and construction of the Whistler Athletes’ Centre, while the high-performance component of the centre is made possible with the support of the RMOW, which is funding the community gymnastics facility. Post-Games, this facility will evolve into a permanent athletes’ training centre and a lasting legacy for Canadian sport and the Whistler community.

Sports served during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games:

• alpine skiing
• biathlon
• bobsleigh
• cross-country skiing
• luge
• Nordic combined
• skeleton
• ski jumping

Sports served during the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games:

• Paralympic alpine skiing
• Paralympic biathlon
• Paralympic cross-country skiing

Distances to nearby venues and facilities of the Olympic Games:

• Olympic and Paralympic Village Vancouver — 117 km
• Whistler Creekside (alpine skiing) — 4.1 km
• The Whistler Sliding Centre (bobsleigh, luge and skeleton) — 10 km
• Whistler Olympic Park/Whistler Paralympic Park (biathlon, cross-country, Nordic combined and ski jumping) — 15 km
• BC Place (Opening and Closing Ceremony for the Olympic Winter Games and Opening Ceremony for the Paralympic Winter Games) — 115 km
• Whistler Medals Plaza: (Closing Ceremony for the Paralympic Winter Games) — 8.2 km
• Vancouver International Airport (YVR) — 128 km
• Average distance to Whistler venues — 12 km