YouTube 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games Channel

You can now watch my 2010 Winter Olympic videos on the new YouTube Playlist.

NOTE: It will take over an hour and a half to see them all.

Interview with Devon Soltendieck MusicMatter DJ and Whistler Live Host

On my one and only day at Whistler, I walked into the Whistler Live production tent and talked with their host Devon Soltendieck.

Fire and Ice Report

After running around all day (February 19) with two NBC Today Show video crews, we produced this short report in the front of the Fire and Ice Torch.

Dueling Interviews

I met Kimiya Shokoohi, International Olympic Committee Youth Reporter, while in Vancouver covering the Winter Games. We spoke about her background as a journalist as well as the upcoming Youth Olympics being held in Singapore this coming August. This is the first year for this new Olympics, which will feature athletes ages 14 to 18. And this Olympics also includes workshops for the young athletes such as social responsibility, well-being and teamwork.


Kimiya reserved our roles, picked up the mic and interviewed me.

Whistler Native Becomes Ski Cross’s First Gold Medalist

Ashleigh McIvor took home the gold medal in the women’s ski-cross competition on Cypress Mountain in West Vancouver yesterday, becoming the sport’s first female gold medalist.

McIvor stopped by the British Columbia Media Center in Vancouver B.C. today for a press conference proudly wearing her gold medal.

”It’s been amazing,” McIvor said. “I’ve barely had time to sit back and go, ‘Wow! I just won the Olympics!’ ”

She adds that she’s not usually superstitious but a friend gave her a small Buddha she kept in her pocket while things were going well for her – and she was afraid to take it out just in case it was acting as her good luck charm.

Her advice to other members of Team Canada as they approach their own big moments in the quest for gold is good advice for all: “Have fun! This is the Olympic Games! It’s all about having fun!”

McIvor said she knew she was going to be “100% ready” because of the tremendous support of the Canadian government in their “Own the Podium” program, which gave financial and other support to its athletes this year.

“And even standing at the top of the course I had this crazy feeling that it was all coming together perfectly,” she grinned.

The weather conditions of snow and fog that she faced at the event didn’t faze her, she said. She is from Whistler and had been skiing with friends in similar conditions.

This is the first year that the ski cross event is part of the Olympic Games. McIvor feels it is a perfect fit.

“It’s an amazing spectator sport. Four of us racing head-to-head, downhill, big jumps, huge turns, lots of terrain – it doesn’t get much more exciting than that.”

An Interview with Olympic Bronze Medaist Speedskater JR Celski

I sat down with Olympic bronze medalist JR Celski in a little coffee shop on a rainy day in Vancouver, BC.

This video is also available on the KING5 Olympic Zone

Canadian Ice Dancing Gold Medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir Press Conference

After asking Canadian Ice Dancing Gold Medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir a couple of questions at their February 23, 2010 BCMC Press Conference, I then interviewed Scott's dad, Joe.

The video is also on the KING5 Olympic Zone

GOOD FRIENDS WIN GOLD AT HOME
By Brennan LaBrie

Earlier this month I wrote a blog for the News-Tribune and mentioned that I did not know what to expect while covering the Olympics, but that the unexpected was half of the fun. Well, yesterday morning something unexpected popped up – and it certainly was fun.

Scott Boir and Tessa Virtue, the Canadian ice–dance couple who won gold Monday night, did a press conference at the British Columbia Media Center(BCMC) just hours after taking home the gold. The couple are very popular in Canada and people love the stories about how close they are and how they have skated together for most of their lives, having met when they were just seven and nine.

Both were very excited and proud, along with thousands of Canadians, but also credit American ice–dance couple Meryl Davis and Charlie White for helping in their win.

“We wouldn’t be sitting here now with gold medals without Meryl and Charlie. They’re an incredible team, they work so hard, not to mention that they’re just fabulous people,“ Virtue said. “We’re lucky to call them friends, and I think that we will be friends for a lifetime."

I grabbed the chance to ask a few questions of Virtue and Boir, and here they are:

There were some great performances last night – do you honestly enjoy close competition?

“Absolutely. We always want everybody at their best,” Virtue replied.” I think that’s just how you want a event. Entertaining for the crowd, exciting for everyone watching. And it’s great to come out on top. So we want everyone at their best. We want everyone to deliver a great performance, it’s just the sweeter for us!”

And how do you sleep when the next day is going to be the biggest day of your life?

“It is tough to sleep,” Boir replied, “and time ticks by so slowly. Yesterday was probably one of the longest days of my life. Actually, we’re still kinda living it! But you have to rely on your training. We really just trust our training when we get up there and believe in ourselves. We did our work before we went up there and we were going to be satisfied with ourselves no matter what happened, and that’s the best thing in the world.”

Fun (and Games!), Too!

By TFK Kid Reporter Brennan LaBrie
February 19, 2010

TFK Kid Reporter Brennan LaBrie reports from the 2010 Olympic Winter Games

I arrived in Vancouver, Canada, on Wednesday, February 17, and found lots of activity on the streets. Everywhere I looked there were signs of national pride. The Olympic rings and the Canadian flag were splashed across everything from T-shirts to skyscrapers. Many messages on billboards showed a sense of humor. One billboard for an insurance company read: Speed skaters can't avoid tail-gaiting, but YOU can!

I'm enjoying myself in Vancouver. The city is surrounded by beautiful snow-capped mountains, and bridges over waterways. Its downtown district is fun to walk and has a great variety of cool shops and underground malls. Every few blocks there are musicians or art displays. Banners fill the city, and light shows fill the sky. (Read More)

A Birthday to Remember

By TFK Kid Reporter Brennan LaBrie
February 19, 2010

Canadian speed skater Marianne St-Gelais snags a silver medal on her birthday

Marianne St-Gelais skated into second place on her 20th birthday. The Canadian won the silver medal in the women's 500-meter short-track speed skating on February 17, at the Winter Games in Vancouver.


COURTESY LABRIE FAMILY

TFK Kid Reporter Brennan LaBrie met with Canadian speed skater Marian St-Gelais.

Her boyfriend and fellow short-track speed skater, Charles Hamelin of Team Canada, hugged her at the finish line. St-Gelais says she will be at the finish line to cheer Hamelin on when he races later this week.

St-Gelais, who grew up in the French-speaking province of Quebec, also speaks English. The friendly and energetic athlete beamed as she spoke to the press at the British Columbia International Media Center in Vancouver on Thursday morning. Many members of the Canadian press appeared proud to congratulate one of their own.

So what is it like to win on home turf?

"It's a really good thing," Saint-Gelais told TFK. "You're in front of your crowd, your Canadian crowd. It's amazing! It gives you wings. But it is really, really loud. It is great positive energy!"

Catching up with Shaun White

By TFK Kid Reporter Brennan LaBrie
February 22, 2010

TIME For Kids talks to Shaun White, snowboarder and Olympic gold-medal winner

TFK:
What goes through your mind before a competition?

WHITE:
I usually think about the trick that gives me trouble. I try to get into the zone, into a good state where I feel confident. I really feel that succeeding in the sport mostly depends on your mindset. If you tell yourself that you're going to do all of your tricks perfectly, your chances of winning are much better.

TFK:
Do you have any rituals that you do for good luck before you compete?

WHITE:
One year I bought an awesome T-shirt at an Ozzy Osborne concert. It was my favorite. I wore it under my jacket and started winning competition after competition. I had to have that shirt on for every competition that whole year, and it turned out to be the best season of my career. This year, I ate steak before each competition.

TFK:
What do you love best about your sport?

WHITE:
I think my favorite part is that I'm not told what to practice—it's all up to me. I'm really only as good as I want to be. I have the opportunity to be the best snowboarder in the world or just an alright one. I love that about the sport. You're able to dig deep and see what you can do.

(Read More)

A Chat with Rachael Flatt

Our kid reporter caught up with the champion figure skater at the Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada
By TFK Kid Reporter Brennan LaBrie
February 24, 2010

TFK:
What has been the most exciting moment for you so far?

FLATT:
I would have to say it was the opening ceremonies. Everyone was ecstatic and chanting "U.S.A.!" The sense of [friendship ] was incredible. I had a great time and I knew that everyone else was just as excited as I was.

TFK:
How do you deal with the stress of the Games?

FLATT:
I'm having a great time. I'm not worrying about all the stress and pressure or anything. I'm just trying to enjoy myself and skate a great performance.

TFK:
Do you have any rituals that you do before competing?

FLATT:
Not really. I don't really have any superstitions. Before a competition, I just try to prepare myself both physically and mentally.

(Read More)

SNAPSHOTS: Moments from a Kid Reporter's Trip to the Winter Games

by Brennan LaBrie

Spending a week in Vancouver, B.C, is fun in itself, and even more so during the Olympics. And being there as a reporter is better yet!

As a spectator, I got to see so many wild and interesting things. The town was splashed with the Canadian colors red and white -- groups of guys even wore flags as capes. Sides of buildings were used as giant TV screens to show games and broadcasts. Cheers echoed through the streets when gold was won by a Canadian.

People wore wild hats and painted faces, and high-fived strangers. Streets were closed off and filled with art and performers. The sky train rolled past on tracks above us.

Jugglers and music -- and even fireworks --filled the center of town. Seaplanes landed on the water. People traded collector pins. Sausages roasted on roadside carts.

From a bridge that spanned a waterway I could see two giant ball-shaped buildings reflected in the water, and hundreds of small stone inukshuks lined the shore.

As a reporter, I got to see things in a very different way. I got to see inside massive media centers, go through security checks, walk straight into venues without waiting in line, ask questions of famous athletes at press conferences and spend time with them afterwards, and meet crews from the big news stations, which was just as fun.

My home base while there was the British Columbia Media Center in Robson Square. Rows of steps lead down to a public square where events and activities surrounded an ice rink where skating was free. Overhead were glass domes, roads and a zipline suspended four stories above the square. People waited in line 5 to 9 hours to shoot through the sky for a 12-second ride they will remember forever.

As part of the media, I got up close to the Olympic flame sculpture, Fire and Ice, which was kept at a distance from the public. My interviews lead to being interviewed myself, and I got to be on TV in places as far away as Russia, Australia and Mongolia. I got to see professional newsrooms and hold giant TV cameras. I worked alongside journalists from all over the world as we typed out our stories at night.

I enjoyed special moments that are like snapshots in my mind: meeting JR Celski (short-track speed-skater) in a coffee house on a rainy day, and talking with snowboarder Hannah Teter on a very sunny balcony and holding the silver medal she had just won. Dashing to a press conference with my credential tags flying. Boarding a luxury train at sunset after a great day in Whistler.

And some of the best moments were with my mom, Colleen, who made me laugh so much at the end of a long and busy day. That -- and of course watching her cling to the zipline harness in terror as she shot through the sky holding my video camera like I'd talked her into!

NBC TODAY Show: Kid Reporter Gets Snowboarding Scoop

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

A young reporter lands the interview of a lifetime with snowboard gold medalist Shaun White.

Vancouver meets 10-year-old reporter

By Kimiya Shokoohi

How do you picture a typical reporter? Middle-aged, a little weathered, potentially balding? How about a 10-year-old with a James Dean hairdo, a pocket full of calling cards, and who is dressed to kill, or at least, gets down to the story.

Time Magazine's kid reporter Brennan LaBrie is painting a new picture of the criteria many expect reporters to fit.

“I was into writing in first grade. Our teacher showed us that we could just make our own books,” LaBrie said about how it all began. “And one day on the swings I thought I could start my own newspaper.” (Read More)

Brennan, the boy journalist, has story of his own at Games

By SEBASTIAN FEST | DPA

VANCOUVER : Brennan LaBrie is no sportsman, but he holds one of the most curious records of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver: he is the most precocious journalist in Olympic history.

"Brennan, stop reading the papers!"

The boy, aged 10, attributes the sentence to his mother, overwhelmed by the mountains of newspapers her son reads.

"I was always curious. My mum says that one of the first things I ever learnt to say was, 'why?'" the young American tells the German Press Agency DPA.

Even as his friends were at school, Brennan spent a week-and-a-half covering the Winter Olympics. LaBrie is disconcerting, because he talks with the fluency, the speed and the vocabulary of an adult.

He was chosen for Time For Kids - the children's edition of Time magazine, which has 3.5 million subscribers - in September from among 12 candidates who had previously been shortlisted among 400 children.

LaBrie could hardly believe he was going to the Olympics.

"But they told me the prize was just to go there for one day. 'No way!' I told them. If I go to the Games it is to be with the sportspeople, to see them, to talk to them, not to visit." (Read More)

Article in Spanish
Un niño que pone la nota

CNET: Olympic notebook: Meet the Games' Youngest Reporter

by Ina Fried

VANCOUVER--Working in the unofficial press center at Robson Square, Brennan LaBrie stands out a bit.
It's not just that he's blogging, doing podcasts, and posting to Twitter. It's that he's 10 years old. LaBrie was one of a dozen winners of a Time magazine "kid reporter" contest.

But LaBrie was already an experienced reporter before landing the Time gig. He runs a handwritten neighborhood weekly that has roughly 250 subscribers paying 25 cents an issue. (Read More)

Meet Brennan LaBrie, Youngest Reporter Covering Olympic Games

FanHouse spoke to LaBrie, who is in BC covering the games for Time for Kids, about how he became a journalist at such a young age and his experience at the games thus far.

Ariel Helwani
Ariel Helwani is a Video Reporter and Writer for FanHouse
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Brennan LaBrie is a 10-year-old from Port Townsend, Wash. He's also the youngest accredited reporter covering the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Olympics: 10-Year-Old Boy To Blog For News Tribune

Olympics: 10-year-old boy to blog for News Tribune

CRAIG HILL; Staff writer
Published: 02/12/1012:05 am

While stressed veteran journalists at the Winter Olympics look for bars to blow of steam during their down time, Brennan LaBrie will be looking for a swing set.

Brennan is a writer, an editor and a newspaper publisher.

He’ll cover the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C., for his newspaper, Time for Kids and The News Tribune’s Olympics blog.

Not a bad start to a journalism career, especially considering Brennan is just a 10-year-old kid from Port Townsend.

“I work really hard,” Brennan said. “But sometimes I just want to go outside and play in the mud.”

(Read More)

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games