Olympic flame visits Bay St. George

Hundreds of people in Bay St. George braved cold temperatures and rainy skies on Nov. 15 to witness a piece of sports history.

The Olympic flame passed through Port au Port, Kippens and Stephenville as part of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay.

Among those chosen to carry the flame was Kippens resident Heather Alexander. She waited at the corner of Oceanview Dr. and Kippens Rd. to be passed the flame.

"I'm so nervous," she said, while jumping up and down and waving her arms in the air.

The Olympic flame made its way through Kippens and at the appointed spot, Ms. Alexander touched her torch from the previous torchbearer, Ashley Bishop of Mt. Pearl.

With that, Ms. Alexander held her alighted torch in the air and made her way through her leg of the relay.

On hand to watch both Ms. Alexander and Ms. Bishop carry the flame was Cavelle and Trent White, and their two children, six-year-old Katie and four-year-old Samuel.

"We're so excited," said Ms. White. "It's not everyday that something like this happens."

The family was decked out in red and white outfits, and waved flags and streamers as the torchbearers passed by.

Also standing along the side of Kippens Rd. to watch the flame pass was Diane Reid.

"I'm just here to support the torchbearers and the Olympics," she said.

The visit to Bay St. George occurred on day 17 of the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay's 45,000 km journey across Canada. The relay is over 100 days long, and will visit more than 1,000 communities and places of interest.

The torch relay started on Oct. 30 and will complete the cross-country journey in Vancouver on Feb. 12, 2010, as it lights the Olympic Cauldron, marking the beginning of the Vancouver Winter Olympics.