Vancouver Olympians to launch Melbourne Icehouse

A figure skating exhibition by 16-year-old Vancouver Olympian Cheltzie Lee will highlight tonight's launch of the new home for the Olympic Winter Institute (OWI) at the Icehouse in Melbourne's Docklands.

Lee, back in Australia after competing successfully at the World Figure Skating Championships in Torino over the weekend, will be joined at the launch by Vancouver gold medallist Lydia Lassila, aerial skiing team-mate Jacqui Cooper and the worldâs number two snowboard cross athlete, Alex Pullin. Salt Lake 2002 gold medallist Steven Bradbury will also be recognised during the evening.

Victorian Labor MP, dual Olympian and former World Champion Kirstie Marshall, and Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates, will share official duties at the gala occasion, which marks a significant step forward for Australian winter sport.

The OWI was established in mid-1998 after the Nagano 1998 Winter Games, and during the 11 plus years since then the Institute has achieved remarkable results. With the opening of the Ice House offices, the OWI will change from a purely administrative institute to a physical one for the Olympic ice skating disciplines, with immense benefits for winter sports athletes of the present and the future.

The Ice House will become the official headquarters of the Olympic Winter Institute and a recreational hub for Victorians and winter sports enthusiasts. Featuring two rinks with spectator seating and equipped to host national and international ice hockey, ice skating, curling and speed skating events, the twin ice pad Icehouse will be the first of its kind in Australia servicing national and international ice hockey, figure skating, indoor speed skating and curling,

OWI administration will take place in a series of offices on the third level of the building, overlooking the two ice rinks.

Incorporated in the building will be a medical clinic, gymnasium, and dance and multipurpose facilities with a polished floor and mirrors to assist figure skating and speed skating dry land training.

The $60 million Ice House development is the most outstanding facility of its kind in the southern hemisphere and is the largest ice sports and leisure centre in Australia.