Winter Olympics Torch Relay

As customary, the Olympic torch will soon take off on a 106-day journey through Canada in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics. What starts in Victoria, British Columbia, on Friday will end Feb. 12 in Vancouver to mark the start of the Games.

The Olympic Torch Relay, which symbolizes “peace, friendship and brotherhood,” began in its modern-day form in 1936, traveling form Olympia, Greece, to Berlin, Germany. However, the first Winter Olympic Torch Relay didn’t start until 1952 in Oslo, Norway.

This year, the torch will travel about 45,000 kilometers (28,000 miles) through more than 1,000 communities and places of interest. It will be carried by more than 12,000 people in 106 days.

New this year, about 100 teams of up to 20 people each will have a chance to carry the torch. The already-determined teams are said to exemplify “the power of a group and the difference a team can make.” That difference being more profound than what an individual can do, the message connotes.

The 2010 Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place Feb. 12-28. www.vancouver2010.com

—Ryan Dionne