B.C. 2030 Olympic, Paralympic bid group unveils venues, dates planned for Games

The 2030 Olympics and Paralympics are still eight years away, but Canada's vision for the Winter Games is already coming into place.

The group leading a potential bid to host the events include four host First Nations in the region along with the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committees and the municipalities of Vancouver and Whistler. On Tuesday it announced new details, including dates and venues, about what the Indigenous-led Games in B.C. could look like.

The Olympics would be held from Feb. 8-24 and include 109 medal events across 15 disciplines. The Paralympics would run from March 8-17.

One strength of the B.C. bid is the ability to reuse nearly all of the facilities from Vancouver 2010, which bid officials say remain in good condition. Hockey, for example, will remain at Rogers Arena — the site of Sidney Crosby's golden goal and the home of the Vancouver Canucks.

One key change would see freestyle skiing and snowboarding move from Cypress, which turned to slush amid mild conditions in 2010, to Sun Peaks resort near Kamloops, about five hours northeast of Vancouver.

The Kamloops venue is on the traditional unceded territories of the Adams Lake, Little Shuswap Lake and Neskonlith Indian Bands. Tewanee Joseph, the COC's head of Indigenous inclusion and partnerships, said dialogue has already begun with those groups about staging the events on their land, and that "respecting protocols is paramount."

"Those nations will be respected by the four First Nations and asked if they would like to participate," Joseph said.

A pair of events introduced to the Olympic program since 2010 — big air snowboard and ski — would take place at Hastings Park Racecourse, complete with a backdrop of downtown Vancouver. Curling would be