As the National Women's team flies out at 2:00pm this afternoon from Vancouver to Singapore, via Korea, they are excited about all that lies ahead. In Singapore they will train for the next week before heading to China. Canada plays its first Olympic game on 6 August at Tianjin Olympic Sports Center Stadium in Tianjin against Argentina.

Among their many challenges at the Beijing Olympic Games, will be the experience of maintaining their blogs at the Games, and keeping their fans in touch.

In the light of cursory or light media coverage in the past, Canadian and other fans of the National Women's Soccer team have become accustomed to reading players' blogs to keep up to date with the team and its sporting and leisure activities. 

At the Olympic Games, the IOC has striven to stay abreast of all the latest developments in electronic media and communications, and they have allowed blogging at these Olympic Games for the first time. The IOC now considers blogging a legitimate form of personal expression, and not a form of journalism.  However, their rules may lead to a change in what fans are used to seeing and reading on this website.   

Of course, there are all the usual rules and restrictions of a major Games to be observed. These are intended to avoid ambush marketing and to allow the Games to earn maximum revenue from their sponsors through the use of marks and commercial advertising. The time period lasts for the period of the Olympic Games, from eight days prior to the Opening Ceremonies until three days after the Closing Ceremonies.

Blogs (like Rhian's) are allowed at the Olympic Games, but they must be limited to personal experiences in the form of a journal. Participants cannot even interview each other, because then they are acting in a journalistic or media capacity.

Still photographs, (no movies or audio recordings), may be taken, but only of the participants themselves. And, these pictures must contain no sporting action, nor action of the opening or closing or medal ceremonies. If other people can be identified in the photos, then their consent must be gained before photos may be posted on the blog.