1.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
2.
Ice hockey
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Ice hockey is a contact team sport played on ice, usually in a rink, in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponents net to score points. Ice hockey teams usually consist of six each, one goaltender. A fast-paced, physical sport, ice hockey is most popular in areas of North America, Ice hockey is the official national winter sport of Canada, where the game enjoys immense popularity. In North America, the National Hockey League is the highest level for mens hockey, the Kontinental Hockey League is the highest league in Russia and much of Eastern Europe. The International Ice Hockey Federation is the governing body for international ice hockey. The IIHF manages international tournaments and maintains the IIHF World Ranking, worldwide, there are ice hockey federations in 74 countries. Ice hockey is believed to have evolved from simple stick and ball games played in the 18th and 19th century United Kingdom and these games were brought to North America and several similar winter games using informal rules were developed, such as shinny and ice polo. The contemporary sport of ice hockey was developed in Canada, most notably in Montreal, some characteristics of that game, such as the length of the ice rink and the use of a puck, have been retained to this day. Amateur ice hockey began in the 1880s, and professional ice hockey originated around 1900. The Stanley Cup, emblematic of ice hockey club supremacy, was first awarded in 1893 to recognize the Canadian amateur champion, in international competitions, the national teams of six countries predominate, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States. Of the 69 medals awarded all-time in mens competition at the Olympics, in the annual Ice Hockey World Championships,177 of 201 medals have been awarded to the six nations. In Russia and the Ukraine, where hockey can also refer to bandy, the name hockey has no clear origin. The English historian and biographer John Strype did not use the word hockey when he translated the proclamation in 1720, the 1573 Statute of Galway banned a sport called hokie—the hurling of a little ball with sticks or staves. A form of this word was thus being used in the 16th century, though much removed from its current usage. According to the Austin Hockey Association, the word derives from the Scots Gaelic puc or the Irish poc. The blow given by a hurler to the ball with his caman or hurley is always called a puck. Stick-and-ball games date back to pre-Christian times, in Europe, these games included the Irish game of hurling, the closely related Scottish game of shinty and versions of field hockey. IJscolf, a game resembling colf on a surface, was popular in the Low Countries between the Middle Ages and the Dutch Golden Age. It was played with a curved bat, a wooden or leather ball
3.
New York Rangers
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The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League, the team plays its home games at Madison Square Garden, located in the borough of Manhattan. The Rangers are one of three NHL franchises in the New York metropolitan area, along with the New Jersey Devils, the club is also one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise. They are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six, along with the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Rangers were the first NHL franchise in the United States to win the Stanley Cup, the new team was quickly nicknamed Texs Rangers. Rickards franchise began play in the 1926–27 season, the first team crest was a horse sketched in blue carrying a cowboy waving a hockey stick aloft, before being changed to the familiar R-A-N-G-E-R-S in diagonal. Rickard managed to get future legendary Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe to assemble the team. However, Smythe had a falling-out with Rickards hockey man, Col. John S. Hammond, Smythe was replaced by Pacific Coast Hockey Association co-founder Lester Patrick. The new team Smythe assembled turned out to be a winner, the Rangers won the American Division title their first year but lost to the Boston Bruins in the playoffs. The teams early success led to players becoming minor celebrities and fixtures in New York Citys Roaring Twenties nightlife and it was also during this time, playing at the Garden on 48th Street, blocks away from Times Square, that the Rangers obtained their now-famous nickname The Broadway Blueshirts. In only their season, the Rangers won the Stanley Cup. One of the most memorable stories that emerged from the Finals involved Patrick playing in goal at the age of 44, an angry Patrick lined up between the pipes for two periods in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals, allowing one goal to Maroons center Nels Stewart. Frank Boucher would eventually score the goal in overtime for New York. The Rangers would spend the rest of the 1930s playing close to 0.500 hockey until their next Cup win, Lester Patrick stepped down as head coach and was replaced by Frank Boucher. In 1939–40 season, the Rangers finished the season in second place behind Boston. The two teams would meet in the first round of the playoffs. The Bruins gained a series lead from New York, but the Rangers recovered to win three-straight games. The Rangers first round victory gave them a bye until the finals, the Detroit Red Wings defeated the New York Americans in their first round best-of-three series two games to one, and the Toronto Maple Leafs ousted the Chicago Black Hawks two games to none
4.
Pittsburgh Penguins
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The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League, the franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the leagues original expansion from six to twelve teams. The Penguins played in the Civic Arena, also known to Pittsburgh fans as The Igloo and they moved into their new arena, PPG Paints Arena, to begin the 2010–11 NHL season. They have qualified for five Stanley Cup Finals, winning the Stanley Cup four times – in 1991,1992,2009, and 2016. Before the Penguins, Pittsburgh had been the home of the NHLs Pirates from 1925 to 1930, in the spring of 1965, Jack McGregor, a state senator from Kittanning, began lobbying campaign contributors and community leaders to bring an NHL franchise back to Pittsburgh. The group focused on leveraging the NHL as an urban renewal tool for Pittsburgh. The senator formed a group of investors that included H. J. Heinz Company heir H. J. Heinz III, Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney. Norris, owner of the Chicago Black Hawks, and his brother Bruce Norris, the effort was successful, and on February 8,1966, the National Hockey League awarded an expansion team to Pittsburgh for the 1967–68 season. The Penguins paid $2.5 million for their entry and $750,000 more for start-up costs, the Civic Arenas capacity was then boosted from 10,732 to 12,500 to meet the NHL requirements for expansion. The Pens also paid a bill to settle with the Detroit Red Wings. The investor group named McGregor president and chief officer. A contest was held where 700 of 26,000 entries picked Penguins as the nickname for the team, mark Peters had the winning entry, a logo was chosen that had a penguin in front of a triangle, which symbolized the Golden Triangle of downtown Pittsburgh. The Pens, along with the rest of the teams, were hampered by restrictive rules which kept most major talent with the existing Original Six teams. Beyond aging sniper Andy Bathgate, All-Star defenseman Leo Boivin and Ranger veteran Earl Ingarfield, a number of the players had played for the Hornets the previous season, Bathgate, wingers Val Fonteyne and Ab McDonald, and goaltenders Hank Bassen and Joe Daley. George Sullivan was named the coach for the clubs first two seasons, and McDonald was named the teams first captain. On October 11,1967, league president Clarence Campbell and McGregor jointly dropped the ceremonial first puck of the Penguins opening home game against the Montreal Canadiens. On October 21,1967, they became the first team from the class to beat an Original Six team. However, the Penguins went 27–34–13 and finished in place in the West Division, missing the playoffs
5.
Dallas Stars
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The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League, the team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. Before the beginning of the 1978–79 NHL season, the merged with the Cleveland Barons after the league granted them permission due to each teams respective financial struggles. Ultimately, the relocated to Dallas for the 1993–94 NHL season. The Stars played out of Reunion Arena from their relocation until 2001, the Stars have won eight division titles in Dallas, two Presidents Trophies as the top regular season team in the NHL, the Western Conference championship twice, and in 1998–99, the Stanley Cup. Joe Nieuwendyk won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs that year, in 2000, Neal Broten was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2009, Brett Hull became the first Dallas Stars player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, followed by Ed Belfour and Joe Nieuwendyk in 2011, in 2010, brothers Derian and Kevin Hatcher were inducted to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. The Minnesota North Stars began play in 1967 as part of the NHLs six-team expansion, home games were played at the newly constructed Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. Initially successful both on the ice and at the gate, the North Stars fell victim to financial problems after several seasons in the mid-1970s. In 1978, the North Stars were purchased by the owners of the Cleveland Barons, with both teams on the verge of folding, the NHL permitted the two failing franchises to merge. The merger brought with it a number of talented players, and the North Stars were revived—they reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1981, the NHL rejected the request and instead agreed to award an expansion franchise, the San Jose Sharks, to the Gund brothers. In the following season, the Minnesota North Stars made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, after the 1991 season, the North Stars suffered through poor attendance and profitability. The teams fortunes were further impeded by the terms of the settlement with the Gund brothers, New owner Norman Green explored the possibility of moving the team to Anaheim, however the NHL decided instead to place the expansion Mighty Ducks there in 1992. In their final two seasons in Minnesota, the adopted a new logo which omitted the North from North Stars. In 1993, amid further attendance woes and bitter controversy, Green obtained permission to move the team to Dallas. Green was convinced by former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach that Dallas would be a market for an NHL team. The Stars would move into Reunion Arena, built in 1980, the Stars played their first game in Dallas on October 5,1993, a 6–4 win against the Detroit Red Wings. In that game, Neal Broten scored the first Stars goal in Dallas, Dallas was an experiment for the NHL
6.
1990 NHL Entry Draft
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The 1990 National Hockey League Entry Draft was the 28th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Vancouver Canucks at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia and it is remembered as one of the deeper drafts in NHL history, with 14 of the 21 first round picks going on to careers of at least 500 games. Nine of the 21 players drafted in the first round played 1000 games in their career, as of February 2017, one player from this draft is still active, Jaromir Jagr, who is currently playing for the Florida Panthers. The 1990 NHL Entry Draft was originally scheduled to be held at the Pacific Coliseum, however, the Canadian Union of Public Employees union representing the PNE employees—CUPE Local 1004—threatened to strike June 15, one day before the draft. Consequently, the NHL and the Canucks decided to move the draft to BC Place in order to avoid the potential strike, in addition to BC Place, the University of British Columbia, the Vancouver Convention Centre and the Hyatt Regency Vancouver were also considered as replacement venues. The Canucks had estimated that 10,000 spectators would attend the draft, however, holding the venue in a higher capacity venue allowed for that estimate to nearly double, with 19,127 spectators—a then record for attendance at an NHL Entry Draft—attending the draft. Heading into the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, Mike Ricci had spent the entire 1989–90 season ranked as the top prospect by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau, Jaromir Jagr was also considered to be one of the top prospects, but Central Scouting did not rank European players. Petr Nedved was an exception to that, as he played in North America after he defected his native Czechoslovakia,1990 NHL Supplemental Draft 1990–91 NHL season List of NHL players ^1 Although born in Northern Ireland, Owen Nolan has Canadian citizenship and represented Canada internationally. ^5 The Buffalo Sabres traded Scott Arniel, Phil Housley, Jeff Parker, and their first round selection in 1990 to the Winnipeg Jets for Dale Hawerchuk and the Jets first round selection in 1990. ^6 The St. Louis Blues traded Adrien Plavsic and Montreals first round selection in 1990 to the Vancouver Canucks for Harold Snepsts, Rich Sutter, ^7 The Calgary Flames traded Brad McCrimmon to the Detroit Red Wings for the Wings second round selection in 1990. ^8 The Calgary Flames traded Joe Mullen to the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Penguins second round selection in 1990, ^9 The Calgary Flames traded Peter Lappin to the Minnesota North Stars for the North Stars second round selection in 1990. ^10 The St. Louis Blues traded Robert Nordmark and their second selection in 1990 to the Vancouver Canucks for Dave Richter. ^11 The Buffalo Sabres traded Kevin Maguire and their second selection in 1990 to the Philadelphia Flyers for Jay Wells. ^12 The Boston Bruins traded their second selection in 1990 to the Philadelphia Flyers for Brian Propp. ^13 The Philadelphia Flyers traded Darren Jensen and Daryl Stanley to the Vancouver Canucks for Wendell Young, ^14 The Philadelphia Flyers traded Wendell Young and their seventh round selection in 1990 to the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Penguins third round selection in 1990. ^15 The Philadelphia Flyers traded Kevin Maguire and their eighth round selection in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft to the Toronto Maple Leafs for the Leafs third round selection in 1990. ^16 New Jersey Devils traded Alain Chevrier and their seventh round selection in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft to the Winnipeg Jets for Steve Rooney, ^17 The Chicago Blackhawks traded their third round selection in 1990 to the Montreal Canadiens for Jocelyn Lemieux. ^18 The Buffalo Sabres traded Tom Barrasso and their third selection in 1990 to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Doug Bodger
7.
Stanley Cup
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The Stanley Cup is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoff winner. The first Cup was awarded in 1893 to Montreal HC, and subsequent winners from 1893 to 1914 were determined by challenge games, Professional teams first became eligible to challenge for the Stanley Cup in 1906. After a series of mergers and folds, it was established as the de facto championship trophy of the NHL in 1926. There are actually three Stanley Cups, the bowl of the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, the authenticated Presentation Cup. The NHL has maintained control over both the trophy itself and its associated trademarks. Nevertheless, the NHL does not actually own the trophy, the original bowl was made of silver and is 18.5 centimetres in height and 29 centimetres in diameter. The current Stanley Cup, topped with a copy of the bowl, is made of a silver and nickel alloy, it has a height of 89.54 centimetres. Unlike the trophies awarded by the major professional sports leagues of North America. Originally, the winners kept it until a new champion was crowned, currently, winning teams get the Stanley Cup during the summer and a limited number of days during the season. It is unusual among trophies to include winning members names, every year since 1924, a select portion of the winning players, coaches, management, and club staff names are engraved on its bands. However, there is not enough room to include all the players and non-players, initially a new band added each year, though this caused the trophy to grow in size, earning the nickname Stovepipe Cup. In 1958 the modern one-piece Cup was designed with a barrel which could contain 13 winning teams per band. To prevent the Stanley Cup from growing, when the band is full, the oldest band is removed and preserved in the Hockey Hall of Fame. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanleys Cup, The Holy Grail, the Stanley Cup is surrounded by numerous legends and traditions, the oldest of which is the celebratory drinking of champagne out of the cup by the winning team. Since the 1914–15 season, the Cup has been won a combined 100 times by 18 active NHL teams, prior to that, the challenge cup was held by nine different teams. The Montreal Canadiens have won the Cup a record 24 times and are the most recent Canadian-based team to win the cup, the Stanley Cup was not awarded in 1919 because of a Spanish flu epidemic, and in 2005, as a consequence of the 2004–05 NHL lockout. After the Lord Stanley of Preston was appointed by Queen Victoria as Governor General of Canada on June 11,1888, he, Stanley was first exposed to the game at Montreals 1889 Winter Carnival, where he saw the Montreal Victorias play the Montreal Hockey Club. The Montreal Gazette reported that he expressed his delight with the game of hockey
8.
Olympic Games
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The Olympic Games are considered the worlds foremost sports competition with more than 200 nations participating. The Olympic Games are held four years, with the Summer and Winter Games alternating by occurring every four years. Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894, leading to the first modern Games in Athens in 1896. The IOC is the body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure. The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in changes to the Olympic Games. The IOC has had to adapt to a variety of economic, political, as a result, the Olympics has shifted away from pure amateurism, as envisioned by Coubertin, to allowing participation of professional athletes. The growing importance of mass media created the issue of corporate sponsorship, World wars led to the cancellation of the 1916,1940, and 1944 Games. Large boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Games, the Olympic Movement consists of international sports federations, National Olympic Committees, and organising committees for each specific Olympic Games. As the decision-making body, the IOC is responsible for choosing the host city for each Games, the IOC also determines the Olympic programme, consisting of the sports to be contested at the Games. There are several Olympic rituals and symbols, such as the Olympic flag and torch, over 13,000 athletes compete at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in 33 different sports and nearly 400 events. The first, second, and third-place finishers in each event receive Olympic medals, gold, silver, the Games have grown so much that nearly every nation is now represented. This growth has created numerous challenges and controversies, including boycotts, doping, bribery, every two years the Olympics and its media exposure provide unknown athletes with the chance to attain national and sometimes international fame. The Games also constitute an opportunity for the host city and country to themselves to the world. The Ancient Olympic Games were religious and athletic festivals held every four years at the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia, competition was among representatives of several city-states and kingdoms of Ancient Greece. These Games featured mainly athletic but also combat such as wrestling. It has been written that during the Games, all conflicts among the participating city-states were postponed until the Games were finished. This cessation of hostilities was known as the Olympic peace or truce and this idea is a modern myth because the Greeks never suspended their wars. The truce did allow those religious pilgrims who were travelling to Olympia to pass through warring territories unmolested because they were protected by Zeus
9.
Red Army
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The Workers and Peasants Red Army was the army and the air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and after 1922 the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The army was established immediately after the 1917 October Revolution, the Bolsheviks raised an army to oppose the military confederations of their adversaries during the Russian Civil War. The Red Army is credited as being the land force in the Allied victory in the European theatre of World War II. During operations on the Eastern Front, it fought 75%–80% of the German land forces deployed in the war, inflicting the vast majority of all German losses and ultimately capturing the German capital. In September 1917, Vladimir Lenin wrote, There is only one way to prevent the restoration of the police, at the time, the Imperial Russian Army had started to collapse. The Tsarist general Nikolay Dukhonin estimated that there had been 2 million deserters,1.8 million dead,5 million wounded and 2 million prisoners and he estimated the remaining troops as numbering 10 million. Therefore, the Council of Peoples Commissars decided to form the Red Army on 28 January 1918 and they envisioned a body formed from the class-conscious and best elements of the working classes. All citizens of the Russian republic aged 18 or older were eligible, in the event of an entire unit wanting to join the Red Army, a collective guarantee and the affirmative vote of all its members would be necessary. Because the Red Army was composed mainly of peasants, the families of those who served were guaranteed rations, some peasants who remained at home yearned to join the Army, men, along with some women, flooded the recruitment centres. If they were turned away they would collect scrap metal and prepare care-packages, in some cases the money they earned would go towards tanks for the Army. Nikolai Krylenko was the supreme commander-in-chief, with Aleksandr Myasnikyan as deputy, Nikolai Podvoisky became the commissar for war, Pavel Dybenko, commissar for the fleet. Proshyan, Samoisky, Steinberg were also specified as peoples commissars as well as Vladimir Bonch-Bruyevich from the Bureau of Commissars, at a joint meeting of Bolsheviks and Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, held on 22 February 1918, Krylenko remarked, We have no army. The Red Guard units are brushed aside like flies and we have no power to stay the enemy, only an immediate signing of the peace treaty will save us from destruction. This provoked the insurrection of General Alexey Maximovich Kaledins Volunteer Army in the River Don region, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk aggravated Russian internal politics. The situation encouraged direct Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War, a series of engagements resulted, involving, amongst others, the Czechoslovak Legion, the Polish 5th Rifle Division, and the pro-Bolshevik Red Latvian Riflemen. The Whites defeated the Red Army on each front, Leon Trotsky reformed and counterattacked, the Red Army repelled Admiral Kolchaks army in June, and the armies of General Denikin and General Yudenich in October. By mid-November the White armies were all almost completely exhausted, in January 1920, Budennys First Cavalry Army entered Rostov-on-Don. 1919 to 1923 At the wars start, the Red Army consisted of 299 infantry regiments, Civil war intensified after Lenin dissolved the Russian Constituent Assembly and the Soviet government signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, removing Russia from the Great War
10.
James Norris Memorial Trophy
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It is named after James E. Norris, the longtime owner of the Detroit Red Wings. The James Norris Memorial Trophy has been awarded 60 times to 25 different players since its beginnings in 1954, at the end of each season, members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association vote to determine the player who was the best defenseman during the regular season. The trophy is named in honour of James E. Norris, the trophy was first awarded at the conclusion of the 1953–54 NHL season. Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins won the award for an eight consecutive seasons. Doug Harvey and Nicklas Lidstrom have won the seven times. The Boston Bruins have had the most Norris Trophies winners with 14, six different defensemen won the Hart Trophy before the Norris Trophys establishment, Herb Gardiner, Eddie Shore, Albert Babe Siebert, Ebbie Goodfellow, Tommy Anderson and Babe Pratt. Three finalists are named and the trophy is awarded at the NHL awards ceremony after the conclusion of the playoffs
11.
2010 Winter Olympics
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Approximately 2,600 athletes from 82 nations participated in 86 events in fifteen disciplines. Both the Olympic and Paralympic Games were organized by the Vancouver Organizing Committee, the 2010 Winter Olympics were the third Olympics hosted by Canada and the first by the province of British Columbia. Previously, Canada hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Vancouver is the largest city to host the Winter Olympics. Following Olympic tradition, then-Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan received the Olympic flag during the ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. The flag was raised on February 28,2006, in a ceremony and was on display at Vancouver City Hall until the Olympic opening ceremony. The event was opened by Governor General Michaëlle Jean, who was accompanied by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. With 14, Canada broke the record for the most gold medals won at a single Winter Olympics, athletes from Slovakia and Belarus won the first Winter Olympic gold medals for their nations. The Canadian Olympic Association chose Vancouver as the Canadian candidate city over Calgary, which sought to re-host the Games and Quebec City, on the first round of voting on November 21,1998, Vancouver-Whistler had 26 votes, Quebec City had 25 and Calgary had 21. On December 3,1998, the second and final round of voting occurred between the two leading contenders, which saw Vancouver win with 40 votes compared to Quebec Citys 32 votes. Vancouver had also bid for the 1976 games, which were first awarded to Denver, then to Innsbruck and the 1980 games. After the bribery scandal over the candidacy of the Salt Lake City bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics, the International Olympic Committee created the Evaluation Commission, which was appointed on October 24,2002. Prior to the bidding for the 2008 Summer Olympics, host cities would often fly members of the IOC to their city where they toured the city and were provided with gifts, the lack of oversight and transparency often led to allegations of money for votes. Afterward, changes brought forth by the IOC bidding rules were tightened, the team analyzed the candidate city features and provided its input back to the IOC. Vancouver won the bid to host the Olympics by a vote of the International Olympic Committee on July 2,2003, at the 115th IOC Session held in Prague, the result was announced by IOC President Jacques Rogge. Vancouver faced two other finalists shortlisted that same February, Pyeongchang, South Korea, and Salzburg, Austria, Pyeongchang had the most votes of the three cities in the first round of voting, in which Salzburg was eliminated. In the run-off, all but two of the members who had voted for Salzburg voted for Vancouver and it was the closest vote by the IOC since Sydney, Australia beat Beijing for the 2000 Summer Olympics by two votes. Vancouvers victory came almost two years after Torontos 2008 Summer Olympic bid was defeated by Beijing in a landslide vote, the Vancouver Olympic Committee spent C$16.6 million on upgrading facilities at Cypress Mountain, which hosted the freestyle and snowboarding events. In 2004, the operational cost of the 2010 Winter Olympics was estimated to be Canadian $1.354 billion, as of mid-2009 it was projected to be C$1.76 billion, mostly raised from non-government sources, primarily through sponsorships and the auction of national broadcasting rights
12.
Ice hockey at the Olympic Games
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Ice hockey tournaments have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1920. The mens tournament was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics and was transferred permanently to the Winter Olympic Games program in 1924, the womens tournament was first held at the 1998 Winter Olympics. The Olympic Games were originally intended for amateur athletes until 1988, from 1924 to 1988, the tournament started with a round-robin series of games and ended with the medal round. Medals were awarded based on points accumulated during that round, the games of the tournament follow the rules of the International Ice Hockey Federation, which differ slightly from the rules used in the NHL. Several players have tested positive for banned substances since the 1972 Winter Olympics, in the mens tournament, Canada was the most successful team of the first three decades, winning six of seven gold medals. Czechoslovakia, Sweden and the United States were also competitive during this period, between 1920 and 1968, the Olympic hockey tournament was also counted as the Ice Hockey World Championship for that year. The Soviet Union first participated in 1956 and overtook Canada as the dominant international team, the United States won gold medals in 1960 and in 1980, which included their Miracle on Ice upset of the Soviet Union. Canada went 50 years without a medal, before winning one in 2002. Other nations to win gold include Great Britain in 1936, the Unified Team in 1992, Sweden in 1994 and 2006, other medal-winning nations include Switzerland, Germany, Finland and Russia. In 1986, the International Olympic Committee voted to allow all athletes to compete in Olympic Games starting in 1988, however, NHL players were allowed to compete starting in 1998. The tournament format was changed again in 2006, every team played five games with the full use of NHL players. In July 1992, the IOC voted to approve womens hockey as an Olympic event, the Canadian and American teams have dominated the event, typically losing only to each other. The United States won its first tournament in 1998, while Canada won in 2002,2006,2010 and 2014, the first Olympic ice hockey tournament took place at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. At the time, organized ice hockey was still relatively new. The International Ice Hockey Federation, the governing body, was created on May 15,1908. At the 1914 Olympic Congress in Paris, ice hockey was added to the list of sports that Olympics organizers could include. The decision to include ice hockey for the 1920 Summer Olympics was made in January, several occurrences led to the sports inclusion in the programme. The IIHF considers the 1920 tournament to be the first Ice Hockey World Championship, from then on, the two events occurred concurrently, and every Olympic tournament until 1968 is counted as the World Championship
Unified Team and
Russia
