by Colaine Swaby

Created on: February 12, 2010

The Winter Olympics are here again. Yes folks, the XXI Winter Olympics are to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada this year from Feb 12-28. This is where the best skaters, skiers, lugers, snow boarders and other top winter sport athletes come together to display their prowess in friendly or not so friendly competition on snow and ice. There will be more than eighty nations participating. It will no doubt be a grand spectacle that winter sports fans everywhere are guaranteed to enjoy. 

 Of course no Olympic games would be complete without the ubiquitous Olympic mascot. This year there is not just one, but three adorable mascots, Miga, Quatchi and Sumi, all created by the Vancouver and Los Angeles-based Meomi Design Company. According to the Vancouver Olympic Organising Committee (VANOC) each mascot has a unique personality and physical appearance. The selection process for mascot design included a three bid process and full payment to the winning designers. The designers have gone to great lengths to develop back stories and videos for each mascot.

Miga, the sea bear is part killer whale and part Kermode or “spirit” Bear, a sub-species of the American Black Bear, which is indigenous to the central West Coast of British Columbia.  Miga and her family live in the sea near Vancouver Island, British Columbia. She loves to surf and in the summer she has fun playing games with the locals in and around her community. But when winter arrives Miga’s favourite activity is snowboarding. She also loves the colour Forest green.

Quatchi is the big, fuzzy, adorable but shy Sasquatch who lives in Canada’s mysterious forests. Even though he’s shy he loves to meet new people and explore new places. He also loves to explore the countryside and often encourages his friends to accompany him on his cross-country treks. Quatchi also loves hockey and even dreams of becoming a world famous hockey goalie some day. This dream may take a while to come true however because his huge size makes him a little clumsy in the hockey rink. Quatchi’s favourite colour is chill blue.

Sumi is a combination of orca, black bear and thunderbird. He is an animal spirit who lives in Whistler, in the mountains of British Columbia. His name originates from the “Salish” word “Sumesh” meaning guardian spirit. This fuzzy little mascot endeavours to protect and preserve his surrounding environment and also encourages others to

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