How to watch local athletes as they get set to compete at Milano-Cortina Olympics | CBC News
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The opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics are on Friday but women’s hockey action begins Thursday with a local connection.
University of Guelph animal biology student Martina Fedel will lace up her skates as a goalie for Italy.
Fedel, 23, also plays in net for the Guelph Gryphons and was named University of Guelph Women’s Athlete of the Year in 2023-24.
Italy faces France at 8:40 a.m. ET Thursday while the Canadian team will hit the ice against Finland at 3 p.m.
Another local connection at the Olympics is freestyle skier Rachael Karker, who was born in Guelph and grew up in Erin.
Karker won Bronze in the women’s halfpipe event at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and told CBC K-W’s The Morning Edition host Craig Norris she would like to medal again and feels some pressure to do well.
“Our funding is almost directly tied to the amount of medals that we get — the Olympics and world championships are the two that they kind of care about a lot,” she said in an interview.
Rachael Karker of Erin, Ont., claimed bronze in the women’s freeski halfpipe on Friday. She joined CBC K-W’s ‘The Morning Edition’ hours later to show off her medal.
“I do feel like there is pressure from my fellow teammates, obviously myself and people have sort of grown in expectation that I tend to medal at events. So there’s that pressure as well.”
Unlike 2022, which still saw some restrictions in fans being able to watch the Games due to COVID-19 protocols, Karker says she’s thrilled more friendly faces will be on the sidelines watching and cheering her on.
“I’m really looking forward to my family being there. I’m so excited that they can all make it. Obviously the COVID games were a completely different experience,” she said. “I’m just mostly excited to have a bunch of people there.”
The women’s halfpipe event begins with qualifiers on Feb. 19.
Watch parties
Libraries across the country are teaming up with CBC to host watch parties.
Kitchener Public Library’s central branch will hold daily watch parties.
The viewing times are:
- Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
- Monday to Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8:45 p.m.
The library will be closed Feb. 10 for a staff development day and Feb. 16 for Family Day.
Events are also being planned at the Cambridge Public Library, Waterloo Public Library and Region of Waterloo Public Library branches.
Watch from home
CBC, Canada’s Olympic Network, has launched its Olympics page to cover all the events from Italy.
CBC will offer 22 hours of live coverage every day from the Milano-Cortina Winter Games, with over 1,200 hours of live content available on its digital platforms.
Along with TV broadcasts on CBC and its partner networks Sportsnet and TSN, people will be able to stream all of the action from Milano Cortina 2026 live and on demand exclusively at CBC Gem.
Canadian Olympic athletes depart from Montreal’s Trudeau airport for the Milano-Cortina Olympic Games.
A complete CBC streaming schedule for Milano Cortina 2026 can be found online and the schedule can be filtered by sport or by events featuring Canadians and medal events.
Are you planning a special watch party during the Olympics? Tell us about it! Email the CBC K-W newsroom to share your story.