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Welcome
to the Utah Travel Center
information page for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games,
which occurred February 8 - 24, 2002 in Salt Lake City,
Utah.
Utah's Olympic Facilities Keep
The Dream Alive
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Photo
Courtesy of the Utah Athletic Foundation
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The
Utah Athletic Foundation is the caretaker of the Utah
Olympic Park, Soldier Hollow and Utah Olympic Oval, the
legacy facilities from the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
The afterglow of the Games can be found in the array of
programming for novice, recreational and high-performance
athletes.
"These
facilities are living and breathing legacies of the Olympic
Games," said Mark Lewis, UAF president and CEO. "Our
mission is to maintain the commitment that Utah citizens
made to sport by building these facilities. We aim to
operate them in perpetuity and make them a viable part
of the community with activities for athletes of all ages
and abilities."
The
Utah Athletic Foundation, a nonprofit organization, inherited
the facilities in May 2002 after being designated by the
State of Utah to manage their post-Games operations. The
Utah Olympic Park near Park City was the venue for ski
jumping, Nordic combined and the sliding sports of bobsled,
skeleton and luge. The Utah Olympic Oval hosted world
and Olympic record-breaking performances in speed skating.
Soldier Hollow in Wasatch Mountain State Park served as
the busiest venue during the Games, hosting 23 events
in biathlon, cross-country skiing and Nordic combined.
These
venues have been transformed into community facilities
that are open to the public for post-Games usage. There
are learning programs in the Olympic winter sports, public
skating opportunities on the "Fastest Ice On Earth,"
tours of the facilities, bobsled public passenger ride
programs, ski jumping and freestyle aerial shows, Olympic
photo gallery and the Joe Quinney Winter Sports Center/Alf
Engen Ski Museum. All these activities complement each
other for an incredible Olympic experience.
All
three venues were built and operated by the Salt Lake
Organizing Committee to provide a world-class venue for
sport during the 2002 Games. International athletes, officials
and visitors dubbed the sites among the best facilities
in the world with rave reviews. The Utah Olympic Park
is known for the world's highest altitude ski jumps and
fastest sliding track. The Utah Olympic Oval is recognized
for its record-breaking ice surface. Soldier Hollow is
admired for its spectator-friendly sightlines and challenging
terrain for skiers. Together, the three legacy venues
enhance the UAF's mission of providing first-rate training
and competition sites for high-performance athletes as
well as recreational opportunities for the local community.
The
Utah Olympic Park and Utah Olympic Oval maintain their
world-class status as the facilities continue to host
major international competitions. Soldier Hollow, with
its 31-kilometer network of trails and shooting range
for biathlon, hosted three World Cup events in 2001 with
one each in biathlon, cross country and Nordic combined.
Utah
Olympic Oval
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Photo
Courtesy of the Utah Athletic Foundation
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The
Oval, which was completed in March 2001, has been recognized
as the premier speed skating facility in the world after
10 Olympic records and eight world records were set during
the 2002 Games. Because of its altitude at 4,675 feet
and the quality of the ice-making, it is truly known as
the "Fastest Ice On Earth."
The
$30 million facility consists of five acres under a clear
span suspension roof and houses a 400-meter speed skating
oval, two international size ice sheets, a four-lane 442-meter
running track, eight 110-meter sprint lanes, spacious
locker facilities and team rooms, World Record Lounge
and meeting rooms, concession stands, Oval Gifts and Gear
Pro Shop, skate rental and skate sharpening services.
For
recreational users, "Learn To" programs are
available for adults and children in skating, speed skating,
figure skating, hockey and curling. Top instructors lead
camps and classes for people of all ages and abilities.
Skate and helmet rentals are free during "Learn To"
lessons. Leagues have begun in different sports. Utah's
first All Girls Hockey League has been started as well
as adult recreational hockey leagues. Other activities
include running on an indoor mondo surface track around
the oval and the aerial bungee jumping system, which lifts
people 25 feet in the air.
There
is open ice for public skating five days a week. The cost
is $4 for adults, $3 for children and $2 for skate rental.
There are also open drop-in sessions for ice hockey, sledge
hockey and curling. Call (801) 968-OVAL for the complete
schedule.
For
high-performance athletes, the Oval is the home training
facility for USA Olympic medalist Derek Parra and German
medalist Monique Garbrecht-Enfeldt. They are part of the
FAST (Facilitated Athlete Sport Training) program under
the direction of head coach Bart Schouten. For up-and-coming
athletes, certified coaches provide guidance through the
STEP (Skate, Technique, Endurance and Power) program that
matches their development.
The
Utah Olympic Oval is located in Kearns at 5662 South 4800
West. For more information, call (801) 968-OVAL (6825)
or visit the website at www.utaholympicoval.com.
Utah
Olympic Park
Cradled by the Wasatch Mountains, the 389-acre Utah Olympic
Park is a unique setting as the site for Nordic jumping
and the sliding sports of bobsleigh, luge and skeleton.
The state-of-the-art park is used for national and international
competitions and serves as a year-round training ground
for novice, development and high-performance athletes.
The
facility includes six Nordic ski jumps (K10, K20, K40,
K65, K90, K120), a 1,335-meter sliding track with five
start areas, freestyle aerials winter training and competition
hill, 750,000-gallon freestyle aerials summer training
pool, a 15,000-square foot day lodge, Joe Quinney Winter
Sports Center and Alf Engen Ski Museum. The jumping hills-at
an elevation of 7,310 feet above sea level-are the world's
highest. The track is one of just 14 competition-certified
tracks in the world.
Visitors
are treated to a guided tour of the park, athlete training
sessions, 70 mile-per-hour bobsled rides in summer and
winter, an Olympic photo gallery, an interactive museum
with the history of skiing in Utah, freestyle aerial and
ski jumping shows on summer weekends and a variety of
camps for skiers and snowboarders of all ages.
From
beginners to young and aspiring athletes, the Utah Olympic
Park conducts one to six-day camps in freestyle aerials
and ski jumping each summer. A 750,000-gallon training
"splash" pool is the landing area for the aerialists
who practice their twists and turns and develop their
techniques. Ski jumpers learn how to get airborne on the
smaller jumps before graduating to the Olympic jumps which
feature plastic runways and landing zones. In the winter,
coaching and learning programs are offered in ski jumping,
freestyle aerials and luge for athletes of all abilities
and ages.
At
the Joe Quinney Winter Sports Center, the Alf Engen Ski
Museum was built to preserve the rich history of skiing
in the Intermountain region by providing a world-class
facility, which highlights the many contributions made
in ski area development, athletic competition, snow safety,
ski innovation and ski teaching methods.
The
Utah Olympic Park is located near Park City off Highway
224 at Kimball Junction. The street address is 3000 Bear
Hollow Drive. The Park is open daily. Admission fees,
which include the guided tour and museum, are $7 for adults
age 18 and older, $5 for youth (13-17) and seniors (65+)
and $3 for children (3-12). Those age 2 and under are
free. For more information, call the Utah Olympic Park
at (435) 658-4200 or visit the website at www.utaholympicpark.com.
Soldier
Hollow
Soldier Hollow in Wasatch Mountain State Park hosted 23
events during the Olympic Winter Games and 15 events during
the Paralympic Winter Games in February and March 2002.
With Mt. Timpanogos as a spectacular backdrop, Soldier
Hollow was the busiest venue during the Games with Olympic
competition in cross-country skiing, biathlon and the
skiing portion of Nordic combined. During the Games, the
venue showcased the Western Experience with American West
music and entertainment, mountain rendezvous, pioneer
reenactments, cowboy camps and a wild mustang exhibit.
The
600-acre facility features 31 kilometers of trails, target
and shooting range for biathlon, competition management
building, utility upgrades and access roads. Soldier Hollow
offers year-round recreational opportunities in mountain
biking, hiking, camping, snow-shoeing, biathlon and cross-country
skiing. It features one of world's highest-altitude courses,
ranging in elevation from 5,528 to 5,742 feet.
Soldier
Hollow has become the third jewel in the Utah Athletic
Foundation's crown of legacy facilities. The UAF is operating
Soldier Hollow for a 21-month period, beginning in October
2002. Due to its late selection as an Olympic venue in
October 1997, Soldier Hollow was not originally part of
the legacy package that had been established to fund and
operate the Utah Olympic Park and Utah Olympic Oval after
the Games.
Athletes
and officials proclaimed Soldier Hollow as one of the
best-designed Nordic ski courses in the world because
spectators rarely lost sight of competitors. Soldier Hollow
hosted three World Cup events in 2001 with one each in
biathlon, cross-country skiing and Nordic combined. While
the venue continues to be recognized as a world-class
facility, it is also a paradise for recreational athletes
in a variety of summer and winter sports.
Winter
programming includes the Olympic winter sports as well
as a new tubing hill. Additional links in the cross-country
trail system have been added so the course is easier for
recreational skiers; but the Olympic loops are still in
place for athletes desiring the most challenging terrain.
A fully-equipped rental shop is available for equipment.
Summer experiences include biathlon, a two-sport activity
that mixes either running and shooting or mountain biking
and shooting. Coaching and a safety session with the air
rifle are all part of the biathlon session.
Soldier
Hollow is a 600-acre in a corner of the 23,000-acre Wasatch
Mountain State Park, a Heber Valley landmark on the east
side of the Wasatch Mountains. The park is about 20 minutes
from Park City and 55 minutes from Salt Lake City. For
more information, contact Soldier Hollow at (435) 654-2002.
(Visit
the Official Utah 2002 Olympic Site)
For
more information, contact:
Salt Lake Organizing Committee
for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002
257 East 200 South, 6th Floor
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Phone: 801-212-2002
Fax: 801-364-7644
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