La Flamme Olympique | North Vancouver Photographer
The torch relay came by our school today, rainy day that it was, but the school was on fire with excitement. All of North Vancouver was, it seems. We had the torch relay team come into the school for a briefing and preparation, and there were some songs, some cheers, and the bubbling sense of excitement, threatening to spill over as we waited for the flame to arrive.
I will admit, I have not been one of the Olympic supporters. For a multitude of reasons, the least of which is the inconvenience. That said however, I do support the hard work the athletes put into getting there, and for that reason, and that reason alone, was I even remotely supportive. As the days draw nearer however, and despite the fact that we cannot afford to go to any of the events, the excitement is sort of contagious. Especially when you see the kids lined up on the street dressed in red and white, and cheering.
Then the police cars come, next, other sponsors (RBC and Coke), and the excitement builds and builds. The kids were screaming and singing. It was great.
Suddenly the flame rounded the corner and I admit it, I cheered with the rest of them, as I madly tried to capture the passing torch with my camera. Despite the pouring rain, and a camera that seemed to want to overexpose, I managed to get a few. Here are some of the ones I shot.
My kids go to a Francophone school, which I think was one of the reasons we were selected, but I could be wrong.
This may sound silly, but I sort of thought that it was one torch that carried the flame and that it was passed on, but in fact each relay person has their own torch (which they get to keep). To me it seems to take away from the significance of the history a little, but either way, the torches were cool. I expect they cost a lot though….
Some of the kids got to hold them and see how it feels. They were pretty pleased…
Last minute instructions.
Listening while some of our kids sang the national anthem (en français of course), and our school song.
Outside in the rain we go…
My boy! 
Checking out the excitement.
Even the preschool kids came out.
My other boy. Waving his francophone and Canadian flags.
Along came the sponsors..
And here it comes!
I missed the pass off, as I was down the street further away. But I did get the after.
Now that we’ve seen the torch, I suppose the kids and I will have to go downtown to Vancouver and take in some of the free events I keep hearing about. I hate crowds, but I think it could be fun to see some of the sites, and take in the excitement and emotion.
4:12 pm on February 11th, 2010
I wasn’t that enthusiastic either but the torch was going right down 200th, and J’s whole school was going to be there. I could see everything from the balcony but once I saw those kids chanting and cheering and waving flags, I decided to cross the street and stand with them. The excitement was infectious. I could have done without the free Coke Zero hand-outs, though.
4:14 pm on February 11th, 2010
Oh and your pictures are wonderful at capturing the spirit of the event. My camera ran out of batteries 5 minutes before the torch went by, and pilfering every remote control in the house did not net me batteries that worked.