Before Sidney Crosby could slip his gold-medal winning goal by an American goalie, he had to get by a volunteer from Okotoks.

Diana Bird of Okotoks would scan 2010 Winter Olympic athletes’ credentials as they entered the accommodations at the athletic village in Vancouver.

Diana Bird models some of the apparel she received for volunteering at the 2010 Winter Games. She is with her husband Robert. Bird’s duties included verifying the credentials of Olympic athletes.

When Bird scanned Crosby’s accreditations after Canada’s 7-3 victory over Russia in the quarterfinals on Feb. 25, she broke a small rule when she spoke to him.

“We weren’t allowed to approach the athletes for pictures, autographs or speak to them,” Bird said. “This was their home and we respected that. I told him (Crosby) ‘Good job.’ I know I wasn’t supposed to talk to them, but sometimes you get excited. I wanted to give them a pat on the back.”

Crosby’s response was purely Canadian: “Thank-you.”

She said that was the response from all the athletes. It didn’t matter if they were high-profile athletes like Crosby or a ski jumper from Belarus they were all appreciative of the volunteers’ efforts.

“I didn’t have any problem with any athletes no matter who they were,” she said. “They knew why we were there and they were very appreciative.”

When American speedskater Shani Davis checked his bag and headed to the athletes’ dining area where Bird was working security, he had a few words for her.

“He said to me, ‘You want to see something?’ Then he went back and got his silver medal and let me hold it.”

Canadian Ashleigh McIvor had her skicross gold medal dangling from her neck when Bird scanned her. She insisted the Okotoks volunteer hold the medal.

“So I’ve got to hold a gold and silver medal,” she said with a smile. “Now all I have to do is hold a bronze and I have the full set.”

She also scanned athletes such as curler Cheryl Bernard, Team Canada hockey coach Mike Babcock and short-track speedskater gold medalist Charles Hamelin.

However, her favourite encounter came from a young athlete who didn’t win a medal at all.

When she scanned Canadian ski jumper Eric Mitchell from Calgary, she gave him some Okotoks pins.

“When he walked away, he turned around and said, ‘Thank you for volunteering at the Olympics.’”

It wasn’t all fun and games at the Olympics for Bird.

She worked nine hour shifts with the first two hours dealing with discussion of the work to follow.

Bird spent the majority of her time on her feet and every time she went into work it was like she was boarding a plane to Vancouver.

She would have to empty her pockets and go through a metal detector just like she was at an airport.

“The security was excellent and everyone knew how important it was so they didn’t complain,” she said.

When she put on the greenish-blue colours of the volunteers, Bird always remembered she was representing not only the Vancouver Olympic Committee (VANOC), but also Canada.

“What you do reflects on VANOC and the country,” Bird said. “I encountered people from the public who were against the Olympics. I just walked away from them.”

The 2010 Olympics was Bird’s second stint as a volunteer at the Winter Olympics. She was also a volunteer at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary. She would commute from her Okotoks home to work and then put in a shift with the 1988 Olympics communication department.

She didn’t get to brush with stars like she did in Vancouver, but she got to work with this new-fangled thing called email.

“It was just inner-office communication then,” she said with a laugh. “We sent everything out by fax machine.”

However, she caught the Olympic bug in Calgary. When she had the chance to volunteer again for the 2010 Games, she registered in 2008 and was accepted.

She isn’t done yet. She and a group of volunteers from the 2010 Vancouver Olympics have vowed to volunteer for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England.

Bird has one minor regret from the 2010 Olympics, however. She didn’t get to see Sidney Crosby’s famous gold medal winning goal.

When Canada went ahead 2-0 in the gold medal game on Feb. 28, Bird opted to shop at the souvenir shop at the athletes’ village (volunteers had certain hours they were allowed to shop, so as not to interfere with the athletes).

She was in the store when the United States tied the game at 2-2 with 24 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.

“I was so nervous, there was no way I could watch,” she said with a laugh. “When I was taking the bus home I saw people on the streets waving Canadian flags and people were honking their car horns. I knew Canada had won. I think these Games really helped bring the whole country together.”

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