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Ewart standing among Team Finland hockey sticks at UBC Thunderbird Arena, touching the stick used by Teemu Selanne, the highest scoring men's player in Olympic history. |
One of TRIUMF's founding members spent the past two weeks contributing to an international success - not at CERN or J-PARC, but steps away from our own backyard. Dr. Ewart Blackmore, former head of the Engineering Division and current Technology Transfer consultant, spent his time volunteering as an Olympic Field of Play supervisor at the UBC Thunderbird Arena during the games.
As a team player for the Vancouver Flames Hockey Club since 1967 at UBC, Ewart has long been a hockey fanatic. On his Olympic experience, Ewart commented, "It was fun chatting with the players and coaches from all countries and seeing some of the NHL stars up close - and peeking at many of the games".
In his capacity as a Field of Play supervisor, Ewart managed a crew of three volunteers during each shift, looking after the hockey players in the area between the dressing rooms and the ice rinks. His main duties involved making sure everyone in the area had proper accreditation, that teams went on to the ice in an organized manner and at the right time, and that the teams left the ice through the media mix zone for interviews after a game or practice.
"Sometimes it was a busy place and at other times there was a chance to talk with the many volunteers and learn more about them and their reasons for volunteering," said Ewart.
Most of the Women's Ice Hockey games were played at the UBC Thunderbird Arena as well as two of the final qualification Men's games. For the Olympics, the arena increased its seating capacity to accommodate 6,800 spectators.
According to Ewart, "it was a fun experience, very well organized, and everything was great... except the meals got boring after a few shifts".
-- Melissa M. Baluk, TRIUMF Communications Assistant