The ThunderBlogs

Michael Bowring wore a plain shirt, slacks and a straw hat as he sat on a bench in front of Britannia Community Centre.  His hat shaded his eyes from the bright Saturday afternoon sun as he rolled a cigarette and put it between his lips for a puff.

“We don’t live in a democracy,” the 60 year-old man said.  “The Olympic committee is a private corporation, and governments and corporations are intertwined like the State and the Church.”

Talk to a Vancouverite about the Olympics and you are sure to get a reaction.  Talk to someone about the Olympics who lives on Commercial Drive and you are sure to get an opinion.  And asking whether the $320,000 the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games pumped into the Britannia ice rink was a good thing or not definitely elicits an opinion.

The Britannia ice rink is one of the dozens of buildings that make up the well-used, well-respected Britannia Community Centre complex.  The rink resides on the northern end of Commercial Drive in Mount Pleasant, an area, according to Statistic Canada, where over one of three households are low-income.

Inside the rink, dozens of children of all ages prepared to hit the ice, their legs stretched out as they tugged on the laces of their rented skates.  Above, photos of the professional ice hockey teams that came to practice here during the Olympics proudly hung, taped against pillars in front of the canteen.  The photos showed national heroes like Jerome Iginla, Henrik Sedin, and players from other teams, resting on their sticks, shooting, laughing – all in this very rink.

“I might be biased but the kids got new equipment, got to watch teams like Sweden and Canada, and we got new boards, new glass and new lights and money for new programs,” said James Smith, 21, community centre staff, hockey coach and lifetime resident of the area.

Just as a referee’s whistle signals for the game to start, Shania Twain suddenly boomed from the speakers above and echoed throughout the frosty rink.  Dozens of skaters moved onto the ice – 37 people to be exact.  27 others, remained on the benches.  Although not the “200 a day” the rink often gets, considering the nice weather today, Smith said the turn out was pretty good.

Meanwhile, back outside, Bowring continued to sit on his bench.  “With the Olympics we got a new ice rink, but is that what we needed?  Or does it make more sense to address the issue of children living in poverty in the area?”