Travis Cross named Vancouver 2010 community torchbearer for Port Alberni

Submitted by it.staff on October 13, 2009 - 9:05am.

Travis Cross named Vancouver 2010 community torchbearer for Port Alberni
Olympic Flame to arrive in Port Alberni on November 1st, 2009
Port Alberni, British Columbia – When the Olympic Flame arrives in Port Alberni in just 24 days time, it will be proudly carried by Travis Cross, nominated as our community torchbearer to light the celebration cauldron for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay.
Travis is a firefighter with the City of Port Alberni Fire Department and is a world class wrestler who achieved his dream of representing Canada at the Summer Olympics in Beijing in 2008. Travis truly embodies the Olympic Spirit as someone who continues to excel, inspire and achieve.
“We are proud to announce Travis Cross as Port Alberni’s torchbearer for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games,” said Mayor Ken McRae. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Travis, who is one of 12,000 Canadians chosen to carry the Olympic Flame on the longest domestic torch relay in Olympic history! On November 1st, we want everyone in our community to join together with other Canadians and show the world how inspired we feel by the Olympic Flame and its message of peace, brotherhood and friendship.”
To celebrate the arrival of the flame, the community is planning a spectacular show which will include singers, dancers and school choirs.
Midway through the two-hour celebration program, Travis will carry the Olympic Torch on its final 300 metres to the stage where he will light the 1.3-metre high celebration cauldron, in a move similar to the dramatic highlight of what will occur during the Opening Ceremony for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
Following the excitement there will be free family events at the Alberni Valley Multiplex and Echo Pool.
The 106-day Olympic Torch Relay, which is presented by Coca-Cola and RBC and supported by the Government of Canada, will visit more than 1,030 communities and places of interest in every province and territory. On February 12, 2010, the Olympic Flame will make its way to downtown Vancouver to light the Olympic Cauldron in a magical and awe-inspiring moment before a television audience of three billion people worldwide, signalling the kick off to the start of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
For more information on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, visit www.vancouver2010.com/torchrelay.
About VANOC
VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com.
For more information:
Donna Brett
Olympic Torch Relay Committee Chair
(250) 724-4073