Breakthrough Technology and Training Will Propel Canadian Athletes to the Podium at the 2010 Winter Games – See How When DAILY PLANET GOES TO VANCOUVER, Feb. 5 and Feb. 8-12 on Discovery Channel
(January 13, 2010)

	Discovery Channel goes for gold when DAILY PLANET GOES TO VANCOUVER with hosts Jay Ingram and Ziya Tong, Feb. 5 and Feb. 8-12 at 7 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT.

– Bowing first on discoverychannel.ca/dailyplanet, DAILY PLANET’s multi-platform content highlights the science revolutionizing the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games –

Toronto, ON (January 13, 2009) – A sling shot as a training tool? A GPS tracking device… for skis? See how leading-edge technology, engineering and training will impact the performance and presentation of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games with DAILY PLANET GOES TO VANCOUVER, premiering Fri., Feb., 5 and Mon, Feb. 7 to Fri., Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT on Discovery Channel. Discovery Channel’s prime-time science and technology magazine show DAILY PLANET has made its reputation by taking viewers places they never usually get to see. Now, in this a six-part exclusive behind-the-scenes theme week, DAILY PLANET gets unprecedented access to the engineers, scientists, coaches and trainers who are charged with making Canada’s athletes the best they can be. And for the first time ever, DAILY PLANET will unveil these new stories online at discoverychannel.ca/dailyplanet as much as 24 hours before their broadcast presentation.

In the lead-up to DAILY PLANET GOES TO VANCOUVER, producers will offer online audiences an advance preview of stories slated for the broadcast theme week, including hits from hosts Jay Ingram and Ziya Tong’s Olympic Games torch relay experiences (Tong runs with the torch on Jan., 17 in Medicine Hat, AB; Ingram runs with the torch in Oliver, BC, on Jan. 25); along with updates from the field on platforms including Twitter and PlanetYou.ca. Then, with Jay Ingram and Ziya Tong on location in Vancouver and Whistler, join DAILY PLANET for the inside track on the stories what will make these Games so extraordinary: Watch Canadian goaltender Kim St. Pierre use virtual reality to train her mind and reflexes to be as quick as a cat; see how a top-secret training weapon inspired by a sling shot will give Canada’s long track speed skating team an edge on the competition; break down the physics behind a slap shot with Canadian hockey captain Hayley Wickenheiser; discover the science of the perfect ski tuck with double medallist Karen Percy Lowe; and get maximum speed on a bobsleigh training run.

Who says the Olympic Games are just spectator sports? DAILY PLANET contributor Alan Nursall explores the science of the Games from the inside, teaming up with elite Canadian athletes throughout the week for a taste of the Olympic Games experience:

• Bobsleigh: The kinetics of sliding – Newton goes sliding! What are the forces at work on a bobsleigh? With top speeds reaching 200 km/h, how do the sliders achieve this rate by gravity alone and maintain control? And do heavier or lighter racers carry the advantage? Nursall acts as the brakeman in a two-man sled to experience the science first hand.

• Figure skating: Mechanics of jumping – Jumping in figure skating requires perfect timing, strength, skate-edge control and great spatial awareness. DAILY PLANET laces up to examine the mechanics of executing a jump while sliding backwards (a loop or a lutz) or sliding forwards (an axel); and the added challenge of using the toe to push off, or jumping directly off an edge. Backward toe jumps are easiest; forward edge jumps are hardest. Watch as Olympic Games medallist and world champion, Jeffrey Buttle brings the style – and Nursall brings the science – of figure skating.

• Downhill skiing: The science of the tuck – An essential technique in downhill skiing is the tuck: the aerodynamic position skiers must adopt to reduce wind resistance. And when ski racers clock speeds in excess of 100 km/h, wind resistance is a major factor. Two-time Olympic Games medallist Karen Percy Lowe teaches Nursall the right way to do a tuck and improve his odds of a podium finish.

• Ski jumping: The ballistics of ski jumping – With the right technique, a ski jumper can soar like a bird and – for a few breathtaking moments – overcome the pull of gravity. Nursall pits the talents of ski jumpers against a soft ball pitching machine – which will land further? The ski jumper or the soft ball? Stay tuned for the surprising results.

• Snowboarding: Rotation in the air – A staple of snowboarding acrobatics, rotation has its own set of rules. Where does the angular momentum come from to initiate and maintain rotation in the air? What gets the body turning with enough momentum to execute 360, 720 – or even 1440 – degrees of rotation? Nursall works with some snowboarders to look at the science of the moves they make in the air. And he even straps on a board to try it out…

• The Slap Shot: Kinesiology of a great shot – Canadian women’s hockey captain Hayley Wickenheiser teaches Nursall how to shoot like a champion hockey player, revealing the kinesiology of a slap shot and the dynamics of a composite hockey stick in the process.

Other exclusive story highlights from the six-hour DAILY PLANET GOES TO VANCOUVER theme week include:

• DAILY PLANET heads to Montreal to see how a new 3D virtual world is sharpening Canadian women’s hockey goalie Kim St. Pierre’s mind so her reaction time is as fast as a cat.

• Designed by Gerard Lachapelle and his students at the University of Calgary for the Canadian alpine ski team, see how a specialized GPS system tracks skiers as they navigate their way down the slopes helps the skiers and coaches analyze and refine the choices the skiers are making from gate to gate, travelling 100km/h.

• Speed skating is the fastest human-powered sport on the planet. But getting up to speed takes massive energy. When an athlete is trying to focus on race-winning form and technique, just getting up to speed can drain their energy. Now Canadian long track speed skaters can employ a secret training weapon to train: the Speed Cable. Developed by national team coach Robert Tremblay, it’s like a sling shot for skaters that gets them up to speed and allows them to train at a record-setting pace.

• At age 11, blind biathlete Robbie Weldon started losing her sight to a genetic disorder. Left with only peripheral vision, see how a specially designed laser rifle helps to make her a strong contender in the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.

• Think you’ve got what it takes to compete? DAILY PLANET travels to London, U.K., where a team of trainers are working to get a British primary school teacher to qualify for the 2012 Summer Games. Eight months ago, she had virtually no athletic experience. Now she must master shooting, fencing, swimming, running and equestrian to compete in the pentathlon. This experiment is based on the idea that anyone with athletic ability can compete if they have the right coaching and training.

• Go behind the scenes with a doping control officer to see how athletes are forced to produce samples based on a major element of surprise. Then, visit the lab where they test for banned substances using state-of-the-art technology that will detect more illegal agents than any previous Olympic Games. Also, meet a researcher who is developing a test for genetic doping, a potentially dangerous form of doping that may represent the high-stakes future of cheating.

For more exclusive science stories that will revolutionize the Games, audiences will be able to screen web-exclusive featurettes and behind-the-scenes content at discoverychannel.ca/dailyplanet , coming in February. For DAILY PLANET GOES TO VANCOUVER access on-the-go, DAILY PLANET’s iPhone app will feature a special section dedicated to the theme week.

About Discovery Channel
Bold and leading edge, while informing and entertaining, Discovery Channel is Canada’s leading source for factual programming, as it puts a new spin on exploring adventure, science and technology. This award-winning channel covers the scientific beat, from animals to the animalistic side of humanity, from the sea to space, and the latest in innovation. TV Trends and Quality (TVQ) Survey consistently ranks Discovery Channel Canada first among all English-language Canadian specialty networks for overall quality of programming. Discovery Channel is one of the first Canadian specialty channels to offer programs in HDTV and its production house, Exploration Production Inc. (EPI), continues to be internationally recognized as a producer of cutting-edge programming with distribution to more than 150 countries. The channel's website may be found at DiscoveryChannel.ca.

-DISCOVERY-

For more information:
Jodi Cook, Discovery Channel, 416.384.4603 or jodi.cook@ctv.ca
Shannon Hall, Discovery Channel, 416.384.5903 or shannon.hall@ctv.ca

> Print friendly version