Petro-Canada welcomes our athletes' greatest fans - their families - to the
2010 Winter Games

--Athlete Family Program provides approximately 500 Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes the ultimate onsite support system--

VANCOUVER , Feb. 11 /CNW/ - For Canadian athletes and their families, the Olympic and Paralympic Games is a dream come true. Thanks to Petro-Canada's Canadian Athlete Family Program, approximately 500 family members of Canada's athletes will have the opportunity to experience the emotion of watching their loved ones achieve their dreams live from the sidelines.

"Family support can be crucial to an athlete's success, yet the cost of accommodations and the availability of event tickets often means family members have to support their loved ones from miles away," said Steven Keith , Director, Olympic Activation, Petro-Canada. "This program allows athletes to focus on their performance without the distraction and stress of worrying about their families during the Games".

Parents, siblings and significant others from British Columbia to Nova Scotia will be participating in Petro-Canada's Athlete Family Program, which provides each family member with four nights accommodation, meals in a private hospitality suite, ground transportation and most importantly event tickets to watch their loved ones compete.

Outfitted in red and white jackets, toques, scarves and backpacks provided by the Petro-Canada Athlete Family Program, family members will join the rest of the country in supporting our athletes in making their Olympic and Paralympic dreams come true. Petro-Canada is proud to recognize the contributions these family members have made to help bring Canada's greatest athletes to Vancouver .

Lewis Chan knows firsthand how hard it is to not be able to cheer his son, Canadian Figure Skater, Patrick Chan , on live at important competitions. Unable to watch Patrick compete at his first World Championship, which at the time was the biggest competition of his career, Lewis was determined to make sure it didn't happen again.

"Competing in the Olympic Winter Games has always been our son's biggest dream. It is such a relief to know that my wife and I will be able to go to Vancouver to watch Patrick compete without having to worry about accommodations and making sure we secure tickets to his events," said Lewis Chan . "Petro-Canada's Athlete Family Program is giving our family the chance to watch Patrick's dream come true, and we couldn't be more grateful."

ABOUT PETRO-CANADA

Petro-Canada has a proud 22-year history of supporting Canadian athletes and is a National Partner and the Official Oil and Gas Sponsor of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. In addition to fuelling all Vancouver 2010 fleet and motor coach vehicles, Petro-Canada is fuelling the dreams of hundreds of Canadian athletes through a number of grassroots initiatives. These initiatives include the Petro-Canada Athlete Family Program where the company will host approximately 500 family members in Vancouver so families can watch their loved ones compete live at the Games. Petro-Canada also provides funding for 50 pre-carded athlete and coach pairs through a program called 'Fuelling Athlete and Coaching Excellence' (FACE).

For further information: Andrea Flanders, Edelman, [phone] ext. 301, [email protected]