You've had to scout around the Lakewood Dental Arena stands to find a seat, since the speed skating events started.
Short track speed skating is one of the hottest commodities among winter sports enthusiasts. It ranks up with figure skating and hockey for attracting crowds, who come to see the breathtaking speeds and bone-crunching crashes.
Prince George has had a strong speed skating community for decades, with some of Canada's top skaters flashing their blades on the national stage wearing the Blizzard Speed Skating Club uniform. Watching the arena full to capacity these last few days has been a fantasy come true for those volunteers who have built and maintained the local squad.
"We had to announce that there was no more room inside. We had to hold people back in a lineup, or we would have been in trouble with the fire marshal," said board member Dennis Young.
"We have never seen this many people," added Kathy Lewis, the Outdoor Ice Oval Society president and one of the busiest Games volunteers. "It is so great to have everybody here. It creates an amazing atmosphere for the athletes and it is a kind of thanks for the local volunteers and the Games organizers who worked so hard."
Sandra Ingle has been involved in the Blizzard club since she was eight years old. Her son James, now 22, grew up skating in the P.G. uniform, her husband Adam is one of the region's top coaches, and they are all involved in volunteering for these Games. Even their two European exchange students from the Shecana International Schools exchange program - Jacob Prins from Denmark and Jan Lukowsky from Germany - have eagerly seized the sport while on frozen Canadian soil.
"Ariadne (Holness de Hiller, another mainstay Blizzard volunteer) and I stood in that corner over there yesterday, in tears," Ingle said. "We couldn't believe how it felt to see so many people in this building for speed skating."
Today at Lakewood Dental Arena is a training day for the athletes, getting in some mid-competition test runs and final coaching instructions. Competitions resume on Thursday.
