Vancouver Olympics Archives | Research & Innovation

Four researchers to offer fresh ideas at Saturday's 91��ɫ Circle event

fmaquito — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 08:00:00 +0000

From the ‘burbs to birds and from social justice to Olympic poetry, the next installment of the 91��ɫ Circle’s popular Lecture & Lunch series returns on Saturday, April 30. It promises plenty of new ideas for inquiring minds.

As with previous 91��ɫ Circle Lecture & Lunch events, organizers have planned a full day of inspiring lectures by some of the University’s leading thinkers. For full details, download a PDF of the 91��ɫ Circle schedule.

In her lecture, “The Bird Detective: Investigating the Private Lives of Birds”, 91��ɫ Professor Bridget Stutchbury (left), Canada Research Chair in Ecology and Conservation Biology, will explain why some birds readily divorce their partners, why females sneak out to have sex with neighbouring males and why some mothers sometimes desert their babies. Based on her book (2010), this lecture promises to raise the blinds on the secret lives of birds.

On a more serious note, Stutchbury will examine whether bird behaviour can help species adapt to the drastic changes humans are making to the environment. Since the 1980s, Stutchbury has studied the ecology and conservation of migratory songbirds. In addition to The Bird Detective, she is author of the book (2007) – a finalist for a Governor General’s Literary Award.

"The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano, the African, and the Abolition of the British Slave Trade" is the intriguing title of the presentation by 91��ɫ history Professor Paul Lovejoy (right), Canada Research Chair in African Diaspora History ��Ի��director of the . In his lecture, Lovejoy will explore the pivotal role of Gustavus Vassa, better known by his African name, Olaudah Equiano (c. 1742-1797), in advancing the abolition of the British slave trade. Many scholars consider William Wilberforce (c. 1759-1833) and Thomas Clarkson (c. 1760-1846) to be the pioneers of the British abolitionist movement, but Lovejoy posits that it was Equiano who was the seminal influence in advocating the abolition of slavery and the emancipation of those in slavery.

Lovejoy is a member of the executive committee of the UNESCO “Slave Route” Project, co-edits African Economic History and Studies in the History of the African Diaspora – Documents (SHADD), and is research professor and associate fellow of the Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation at the University of Hull in the United Kingdom.

Acclaimed Canadian poet and 91��ɫ Professor (left) will discuss her experiences as Canadian Athletes Now Fund’s first poet-in-residence during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Games. In her lecture, which is aptly titled, "My Gold Medal Experience: Olympic Poetry", Uppal will describe how she celebrated with the Canadian athletes and their families by writing poetry about winter sports, the games, and the personalities and performances that captured a nation’s imagination.

How she designed and then “trained” for her position, how the athletes responded to daily poetry readings, and other initiatives she’s undertaken to bridge the sometimes separate worlds of sport and art, will all be addressed. In addition, Uppal will read a short selection of the some of the 50 poems written at the games and recently collected in the book Winter Sport: Poems (2010).

"A World of Suburbs? Finding the Heart of the Urban Century in the Periphery" with 91��ɫ environmental studies Professor Roger Keil (right) will offer 91��ɫ Circle members insights into urbanization. The 21st century has been heralded as an urban century. Indeed, urbanization is now the most tangible shared experience of humanity. Keil will explore what is behind the story of the "urban revolution". He will uncover an important and perhaps astonishing truth: Most urban dwellers now live in the periphery. From the squatter settlements of the Global South to the wealthy gated communities of North America, from the tower block peripheries of Europe or Canada to the newly sprawling cities of Asia, a common theme emerges: where cities grow, they grow at the margins.

Keil is the director of the City Institute at 91��ɫ and professor in the Faculty of Environmental Studies. Among his publications are In-Between Infrastructure: Urban Connectivity in an Age of Vulnerability (2010) and The Global Cities Reader (2006). Keil’s current research is on global suburbanism and regional governance. He is the co-editor of the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research and a co-founder of the International Network for Urban Research and Action.

This free series includes two events annually – in the spring and fall each year – and provides opportunities for learning and networking in a relaxed environment.

Lecture & Lunch events are open to members of the 91��ɫ Circle and their guests, each of whom are offered a complimentary lunch sourced from 91��ɫ Region as part of the day.

The 91��ɫ Circle receives generous support from 91��ɫ's Alumni Office (program partner) and the Toronto Community News and Metroland Media Group 91��ɫ Region (print media sponsors).

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Professor Priscila Uppal launches sports poems collection written during 2010 Vancouver Olympics

fmaquito — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Sports and poetry aren’t usually thought of as intertwining, but 91��ɫ English Professor is almost as much a sports fan as she is a poet. Given that she was the Canadian Athletes Now Fund (CANFund) poet-in-residence during the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and Paralympic Games, it’s not surprising that her poems have made their way into an forthcoming book.

, a collection of over 50 poems, will launch Tuesday, October 19, at 7:30 pm, at The Boat, 158 Augusta Ave. in Toronto’s Kensington Market. It is also the 10th anniversary launch party for Mansfield Press. All royalties from the sale of Uppal's book will go to help support athletes through , which helped fund about 80 per cent of the athletes at the Games.

The book contains haikus and other poems about the Olympic athletes and their beloved sports – whether curling, skeleton, skiing or hockey – and includes some poems Uppal wrote when she took in the Arctic Games, in between the Olympics and the Paralympics. It’s being hailed as a mingling of physical and verbal acrobatics and a dazzling competition of risky play, inventive movements and daring heights.

Left: Priscila Uppal embracing the Olympic torch as the Canadian Athletes Now Fund poet-in-residence. Photo by Chistopher Doda

“So much about poetry is having surprising language and using it in unique ways,” says (BA Hons. ’97, PhD ’04). Watching Olympic athletes compete and marvelling over the strange terms attached to each sport – what Uppal calls athletic language full of metaphors and symbols – gave her plenty of inspiration.

She says the poems are accessible and amusing, and were also fun to write. Winter Sport: Poems would be of interest to sports lovers, Olympics lovers, poetry lovers, ��Ի��English and physical education teachers, as well as young reluctant readers, she says. CBC Radio featured many of her poems over the course of the Games after fans called in requesting more, as did CAN Fund and the athletes themselves.

"While some people were skeptical about elite athletes responding to poetry," Uppal admits, "the Olympians ended up being one of my most welcoming audiences ever. Every day they asked for more copies of poems and looked forward to the performances. The summer Olympians have encouraged me to take up my post in 2012 in London to write the companion volume, Summer Sport: Poems."

Right: Priscila Uppal dons her own team shirt while watching speedskating at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. Photo by Chistopher Doda

Gil Adamson, author of The Outlander and Ashland, says “From one of Canada’s most dynamic poets come sports poems that are playful, funny, and full of trick moves. Uppal’s wordplay is as muscular as the athletes she celebrates.”

In addition to Uppal’s new book, the evening will launch Imagining Toronto by Amy Lavender Harris, a 91��ɫ geography faculty member in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies; Goodbye, Ukulele by Leigh Nash (BA Hons. ’04), a former student of Uppal’s; At the Gates of the Theme Park by Peter Norman; and Stray Dog Embassy by Natasha Nuhanovic.

Left: Priscila Uppal has a Canadian moment. Photo by Chistopher Doda

Uppal's books include which , (which was shortlisted for the $50,000 Griffin Poetry Prize), and , and of the novels and . She is the editor of ��Ի�� and the author of .

For more information or to order the book, visit the or websites.

To read a few of Uppal’s sports poems, visit the website.

Republished courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Audio: Professor speaks about Olympic poet-in-residence experience and new book

fmaquito — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Priscila , professor of English in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, spoke to Matt Galloway on CBC's March 24 about her work as poet-in-residence during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Games. Uppal about the competitions and read them to the athletes and their families, which are on the Canadian Athletes Now Fund Web site.

She also discussed her new poetry book, , which at 8pm at the Monarch Tavern, 12 Clinton St. (at Henderson Avenue) in Toronto.

The entire and runs approximately seven minutes.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer.

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91��ɫ professor launches poetry collection on health and pop culture

fmaquito — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Surreal, absurdist, satirical, playful and yet, at times, deeply serious is how 91��ɫ English Professor Priscila Uppal (BA Hons. ’97, PhD ’04) describes Traumatology, her latest collection of poetry officially launching on Wednesday.

A poet and novelist, Uppal will read from during the launch on March 24 at 8pm at the Monarch Tavern, 12 Clinton St. (at Henderson Avenue) in Toronto. Refreshments will be provided, along with a cash bar and cash book table. Everyone is welcome.

Traumatology, Uppal’s sixth major collection of poetry, is a look at today’s modern physical, mental and spiritual notions of health from the traditional to the contemporary and the sublime to the ridiculous.

Uppal says people exert a lot of physical and mental energy in the contemplation of what is healthy from the first decision of the day – what to eat for breakfast – to being mindful of getting the proper amount of sleep at day’s end. Words like protein and antioxidants bombard the senses.

“I think as a society we are incredibly obsessed with ideas of health,” says , who is just completing a stint as the Canadian Athletes Now Fund poet-in-residence during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. "First Dr. Phil was supposed to fix us, now it’s Dr. Oz and the genetic and biological, instead of the psychological." Health has become part of pop culture.

“Even how we talk about it, the language we use – can we be cured, can we be fixed, can we be healed – is interesting,” says Uppal. For that reason, “some of the poems are playful; others are very deeply serious about how we deal with the sudden loss of someone. As a poet, it is fascinating material. What is the language saying, what are the symbols and metaphors? Much of the collection is like renaissance poetry of allegory.”

Left: Priscila Uppal

Two of the poems on the lighter side are “My Stomach Files a Lawsuit”, a playful, satirical look at the sins of eating, and “The Wheel of Blame”, where there is a host of external things to blame depending on the spin of the wheel, including biochemical imbalances and unresolved oedipal conflict. And “Restraining Order” has the soul forbidden to be near the brain. But Uppal also turns a serious eye to hysteria, fear and suffering. It’s a global concern. “The real struggle is knowing what to do with suffering and whether it has any meaning,” she says.

These questions around mental, physical and spiritual health have often come to visit Uppal. Part of this fascination comes from working as a pharmaceutical assistant in a drug dispensary department, from the age of 13 to 21, where she would decipher medical prescriptions and type them into a computer. Here she witnessed drug abuse by patients, as well as a willingness of the medical profession to overprescribe rather than addressing the underlying problems. “I honestly draw from that period a lot in my writing.”

That’s not the only period in her life that Uppal pulled from in writing the poems for Traumatology. At the age of two, her father had a boating accident that left him a quadriplegic. Six years later, her mother ran off. Her father, she says, is in the collection indirectly, her mother a little more. Friends, acquaintances, people she meets on the bus, perhaps, “they all make their guest appearance or cameo, bring something to the work, an anecdote or a symbol,” she says.

In her twenties, Uppal went to find her mother in Brazil. Does the poem “My Mother is One Crazy Bitch” capture some of the electrical storm of feeling brought about by the experience? Yes. “…At the checkout desks of my subconscious I am writing postcards to all dead mothers out there, all dead daughters who never had a chance to meet in this life. I collect their tears the way I have been hoping to collect my thoughts. Unknown grief is sweeter, I write…”

The two times Uppal travelled to Brazil to meet her mother – “I think I draw from a lot in mother figures I write” – will also be part of a memoir and a play that she is currently working on.

Uppal is also the author of the poetry collections , and , and of the novels and . She is the editor of ��Ի��.

To read Uppal’s blog or poems from the Olympic and Paralympic Games, visit Web site or read the poems on the Web site.

By Sandra McLean, YFile writer

Republished courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Video: 91��ɫ study from Centre for Vision Research finds Olympic athletes may seem faster in red

fmaquito — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Wearing red at the Olympics may give an athlete an easy advantage, according to a 91��ɫ study that shows perceptions of motion are subconsciously affected by colour.

“All things being equal between two figure skaters – including their actual speed on the ice – the judges will perceive a skater in red is moving with greater speed than a skater in blue, and may reward the skater in red with higher marks,” says Mazyar Fallah, a professor in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Health.

Above: The 2010 Canadian Olympic team in their red uniforms. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The study, conducted by Fallah and co-author Illia Tchernikov in 91��ɫ’s Centre for Vision Research, was published today by the the Public Library of Science open access peer-reviewed journal .

Their research on visual processing found that people’s eyes more quickly follow a red target on a computer screen more quickly than a green, yellow or especially a blue target.

VIDEO--The Daily Planet covered . The clip runs approximately 20 seconds and begins at the 7:50 mark.

“In sports, the outcome of a competition is supposed to depend on the abilities of the players, rather than the colours they are wearing,” says Fallah. “However, our research shows it may make sense to wear red in a sport such as figure skating, in which you want to be perceived as quick. In contrast, it may be best to wear another colour in a sport in which a referee is handing out penalties.”

The finding that there is a colour hierarchy that automatically guides the selection of what someone will focus on has implications for many sports such as figure skating and gymnastics in which speed may be perceived by a judge rather than measured in milliseconds, Fallah says. It may also be important for other fields such as advertising, in which capturing attention is paramount, and in designing human-computer interfaces that are effective, he said.

Left: Canadian figure skating champion and Olympic competitor Joannie Rochette. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Five subjects took part in the study, with each completing about a thous��Ի��tests. Each participant automatically focused on targets on the screen and all produced the same colour hierarchy, choosing red targets first, followed by green, yellow and blue. This suggests, says Fallah, that the colour hierarchy is inherent, either because of evolution – red is the colour of blood, whereas blue is the colour of the sky – or as a result of experience − red stop signs and traffic signals indicate danger.

Fallah's research was covered by and .

Republished courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Schulich Dean urges Canadian businesses to go for the gold

fmaquito — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

, dean and Tanna H. Schulich Chair in Strategic Management at 91��ɫ's , published an urging Canadian firms to go for the gold on the world stage.

Here's an excerpt:

As Canadians cheer on our athletes in their quest for gold at the Winter Olympics, little focus is being given to an arena where Canadian competitors are falling behind: the global competition for markets, investment opportunities, knowledge industries and job-creating business expansion.

...

Whatever the argument, it boils down to saying: We are too small to go global. This thinking is not going to win us any gold medals in the economic Olympics. In fact, it's a disqualifier to start with. To stop us sliding on a downward trajectory, we need to put our thought-process into reverse: We are too small not to go global.

In Canada, we have traditionally focused our policy objectives on aiding large multinationals or entrepreneurial start-ups. But it is Canada's small- to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that hold the key to our future economic prosperity. We need to breed our own world-beaters — dynamic companies with unique value propositions or cutting-edge technology that grow by selling in foreign markets and by acquiring foreign assets. Our national strategy should be to identify and nurture such companies.

...

The multicultural background and global diversity of much of our SME sector provides Canada with a built-in competitive advantage, if only we make strategic use of it. We now have a rapidly growing segment of entrepreneurs with a truly global perspective, mindset and motivation. This group should be the target for new public policy initiatives from governments, financial support from banks and innovative training from our world-class business schools. Our national growth strategy needs to place emphasis not only on promoting new start-ups and aiding large companies. Instead, it should increasingly shift its focus to the thousands of small- to-medium-sized firms in cities from Kanata to Kelowna. They will be the drivers of Canada's competitiveness in the years ahead, the companies going for gold in the economic Olympics.

To read , visit the.

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91��ɫ students, faculty contribute artistry to Vancouver Olympics

fmaquito — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Research at 91��ɫ is broader than books, journal articles, scientific findings or data sets. In the Faculty of Fine Arts, research can result in a dance, piece of music, or animation fit for the world stage.

While the athletes and competitive games are the major focus of the , the 91��ɫ fine arts star is also shining brightly in Vancouver. From the opening ceremonies to national broadcasts and more, 91��ɫ artists will be in the spotlight leading up to and during the Olympic Games, which start today and run to Feb. 28.

Graduate dance student Alejandro Ronceria, who choreographed Toronto’s torch ceremony (see YFile, Dec. 7, 2009), was invited to serve as one of the choreographers on the artistic team for the official opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games. He was also commissioned by the to create a showcase performance, featuring more than 30 Yukon artists, to be presented at several venues during the Games.

Right: Alejandro Ronceria

“The opening ceremonies are beyond top secret,” says Ronceria, who is studying choreography and dance dramaturgy in 91��ɫ's new MFA Program in Dance. “But I can say what a tremendous honour it is to be selected to participate in their creation, and that it’s going to be a fantastic show.

“Working on the Yukon project is equally exhilarating, as it’s my own vision bringing it together,” Ronceria says. “The production will present the best traditional and contemporary arts and artists of the territory. Interweaving music, dance and storytelling against the landscape of the Yukon, it will be a powerful visual and sound experience.”

Lauren O'Neill White, a fourth-year student in 91��ɫ’s undergraduate dance program, is performing in the Olympics’ closing ceremonies. She is one of about a thousand dancers selected from more than 10,000 online applicants. "I'm thrilled for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," she says. "It's been a roller-coaster ride."

Left: Lauren O'Neill White

O’Neill White has been in Vancouver for rehearsals since December (with a two-week break for the Christmas holidays). The work is very intensive: rehearsals started with four-hour sessions daily, escalating to full-day rehearsals as the big day gets closer.

With her three-month stint on the West Coast, O’Neill White is completing her final semester by correspondence and an independent study on the Olympic ceremonies. Outside of rehearsal she is keeping very busy with dance classes, her studies and making friends.

“This truly is a unique and phenomenal way to meet people,” O’Neill White says. “Everybody at rehearsal comes from such different backgrounds, and we all merge in this huge space with the one common interest of performing. It's great.”

Participating in the Olympics in a very different creative capacity is alumnus Felix Lau (BDes Spec. Hons. ’09). He was hired by CTV as a junior motion designer shortly after graduation, and has been working on animated graphics for the Olympics since he started on the job in mid-August.

Right: Felix Lau

Lau has moved from strength to strength since last summer, when he picked up two Applied Arts Student Awards in the online animation category as well as the CTV Creative Agency Award for Motion Graphics Design in the Registered Graphic Design Ontario Student Member Awards (see YFile, Sept. 3, 2009).

“So far I’ve worked on two styles of segments [for the Olympics],” says Lau. “The athlete features are 30 seconds in length and use shots of the athletes in action while an announcer reads their accomplishments in a voice-over. The other segments are the mini-opens, which are only 10 seconds in length and use both video and still images to create an interesting visual break between regular programming.”

Like many Olympians, Lau is part of a team in his endeavour. “There are at least 15 people working on the massive Olympics design project at any given time, and more people are allocated when the need arises,” he says.

Some segments Lau has worked on are already being aired, but others won’t be seen until the Olympic Winter Games start.

The Olympics may also feature 91��ɫ music talent. Canadian figure skaters Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier set their short program at the national competition in London, Ontario – which placed second overall and qualified them for the Olympics – to En Malaga, a dramatic and lyrical flamenco score composed and performed by Department of Music faculty member .

Right: Roger Scannura

“I’m positive they will use the same routine for the Olympics,” says Scannura. “While I didn’t originally compose the song for them, it’s wonderful to see how they are using my music, and where it’s going.”

With six CDs to his credit, Scannura is an internationally recognized flamenco guitarist. This is not the first time his music has been connected to top-level athleticism: Nike used one of his songs for a World Cup commercial in 2006.

Alumna Jennifer Jimenez (BFA Spec. Hons & BEd ’99) is the lighting designer for the Cultural Olympiad remount of the Judith Thompson play , which debuted yesterday and will continue until Feb. 17 at Vancouver's Firehall Arts Centre.

Right: A scene from Body & Soul

An international theatre maker and facilitator, Jimenez has designed lighting for projects with numerous UK companies including Circus Space, the Bath International Puppetry Festival and Arcola Theatre. Her recent Canadian credits include lighting design for The President in the Shaw Festival’s 2008 season and working with Robert Lepage’s company, Ex Machina, on the creation of Le Projet Anderson and The Busker's Opera. She currently works as resident lighting designer for Tottering Biped Theatre.

On the stage and behind the scenes, the Olympics allow more than just athletes to demonstrate their excellence. Follow all the festivities and events on the Web site.

Republished courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Prof is poet-in-residence during Olympic and Paralympic Games

fmaquito — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Research at 91��ɫ is broader than books, journal articles, scientific findings or data sets. In the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, research can result in a piece of poetry that moves the soul.

Like the Greek poet Pindar, 91��ɫ English Professor , an internationally acclaimed poet and novelist, is penning poems for Olympians, playing with such sporting terms as “air to fakie”, “revert”, “stalefish air” and “peel”, and transforming them into accessible poetry.

She is the Canadian Athletes Now Fund – a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for Canadian athletes – poet-in-residence during the , from Feb. 12 to 28, and Paralympic Games, from March 12 to 21. In between, she plans to head to the , which run from March 6 to 13 in Grande Prairie, Alta.

Left: Priscila Uppal

“So much about poetry is having surprising language and using it in unique ways,” says Uppal (BA Hons. ’97, PhD ’04). So using snowboarding words like “crail air” and “elgeurial” will prove inspiring, challenging and fun. “The sporting language itself is so athletic, it has so many symbols and metaphors to play with. I’m really looking forward to working with the language.”

She has already written a haiku for every sporting category at the Games. That includes skeleton, luge, curling and speed skating. “I think people find it amusing when they hear them.” Her goal for the haikus is to surprise even the athletes.

“This is poetry that can be popular, can be accessible to more people,” says Uppal, who has penned six collections of poetry, including which was shortlisted for the 2007 Griffin Poetry Prize. She is also the author of two novels, (2002) and (2008). Recently, she edited the first-of-its-kind anthology (2009).

Uppal stands at the intersection where sports and poetry interact. “It’s an untapped resource, sports language,” says Uppal. And people respond to it. Sport and art touch the majority of people in some way, but you rarely see the two coming together. Uppal thinks it’s a missed opportunity to communicate.

As poet-in-residence, she sees her position as intersecting with two traditions, public poetry for heroic figures and events, and the celebration of the local and everyday. “Poetry about the ordinary and poetry about the extraordinary,” she says.

Having a poet-in-residence writing about the Olympic Games may seem novel, but it is actually in keeping with a long, almost lost, tradition. That’s where Pindar comes in. He wrote odes to Olympians. And, there was a poet at the 2000 summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. But the other way it reaches into tradition is through the games themselves. During the Olympics, from 1912 to 1948, medals were awarded for five categories of art. Two people won medals in both an art and a sporting event. Uppal would like to see art return to the Games as Olympic events, as she believes it has a place there.

“It’s incredible, the power of sport and art to transform people’s lives, but we have to make the space available. This is a great intersection of sport and poetry…and maybe it will transform more lives,” says Uppal.

Take the Paralympics, for instance. These are people who were told they couldn’t do anything in their lives because of their physical disability, and they’re top athletes in their field. “It is extremely invigorating and exciting to watch them compete,” says Uppal.

Canadian athletes and artists, writers ��Ի��poets share a commonality in their ability to transform and inspire, and they are all underfunded. Some of our Olympic contenders live with negative incomes, many rely on food banks and some have been known to live in their cars, says Uppal. At the same time, the country is having a health and obesity crisis, as well as a creative crisis. By bringing sport, art and funding together, there is potential to make a difference.

Her poems will be posted on the Web site, as well as 's own Web site, which will also list links to other places where her Olympic poetry can be found. In addition, CBC Radio One will air some of her poems.

The Canadian Athletes Now Fund has helped to fund about 80 per cent of the athletes at the Games. Donations made to the fund go directly to the athletes to help pay for such basic necessities as nutrition, training and equipment costs, and the donor gets a list of which athletes received their donation.

Uppal will read her poems directly to the athletes and their families over the course of the Games. “To me, it’s a wonderful, wonderful Canadian literary moment,” she says.

By Sandra McLean, YFile writer

Republished courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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