“For an athlete, competing at the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games marks the pinnacle of a life’s work. The weight of an Olympic and Paralympic medal around their neck symbolizes the dreams not only of the athlete, but also their families and their communities and their achievement inspires so many. Standing on the podium to accept an Olympic or Paralympic medal is truly a moment without measure,” said Cathy Priestner Allinger, VANOC’s Executive Vice President of Sport, Paralympic Games and Venue Management, herself a Canadian silver medallist in speed skating at the Innsbruck 1976 Olympic Winter Games.

Vancouver 2010 is looking for an artist, designer or creative teams to work with VANOC to design inspiring, timeless medals for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games – medals that reflect the determination and heart of the athletes who will win those medals in 2010. An Evaluation Team will review submissions and successful applicants will be asked to provide concept designs. The design concepts will then be reviewed by VANOC and approved by the Board of Directors. VANOC will present the medal design to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for review and final approval.

The Royal Canadian Mint , a Vancouver 2010 Official Supporter, will manufacture the medals. The Mint will be involved in the design process, providing production expertise and ensuring the medals can be produced at the highest level of quality. Teck Cominco , also an Official Supporter of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, will supply the gold, silver, bronze and other metals used in the production of the Olympic and Paralympic medals.

The design process will involve five phases and is expected to take up to eight months. In addition to the medals, designs are also required for the accompanying ribbon and medal containers.

The Mint will produce a total of 867 competition medals for the 2010 Winter Games. Of these, 549 competition medals will be produced for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, 183 each of gold, silver and bronze. For the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, 318 competition medals will be produced, 106 each of gold, silver and bronze.

The closing date for the submission of proposals is 30 January 2008. The design contract(s) are expected to be awarded in late February 2008.

The official Request for Proposals (RFP) and more inforamtion about the Vancouver 2010 Games is available at www.vancouver2010.com.