Olympic Notebook: Reindeer Training For Opening Ceremony

LILLEHAMMER, Norway - A herd of reindeer, more accustomed to a quiet life on the tundra of Norway's arctic, had arrived in Lillehammer and were milling near the Olympic ski jumps.

The 15 tame reindeer, which will pull sleds during the 1994 Winter Olympic opening ceremony next Saturday, arrived last week. They were the first of flock of about 160 animals being hauled about 1,000 miles by truck from the northern tip of Norway to the south.

"The trip went fine," said Nils Aslak Eira, 18, a Lapp reindeer herder who was tending the flock.

The reindeer will pull sleds, called "pulk," before thousands of people at the opening ceremony, then will join others at a traditional Lapp village being built near Lillehammer.

Some of the flock has been practicing at a stadium in Hammerdale, Sweden, with lights and noise similar to the commotion they can expect in Lillehammer.

"It's going to be exciting," said Eira about his task of driving a sleigh in the opening ceremony. He said the reindeer probably wouldn't have any problem with the crowds, "because these are really tame."

False flame

A flame was burning in the official Olympic caldron on Wednesday.

The flame in the hills overlooking Lillehammer drew attention because the Games don't begin until Feb. 12, and the real flame is still on its way to Norway from Ancient Olympia, Greece.

"We were just testing the flame holder," said Rolf Nereng, spokesman for the Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee.

Waste of money

Almost half the Norwegians asked in a survey said they thought it was wrong for Norway to host the Olympics, mainly because of the cost.

The poll, published Wednesday, said that 45 percent of the 1,047 Norwegians asked thought it was a mistake to host the Olympics, while 53 percent said it was a good idea. Two percent had no opinion.

"It's nice to see that a majority of the population thinks it is right," said Gerhard Heiberg, Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee president.

The Oslo newspaper Verdens Gang, which commissioned the poll, said most of those opposed thought $1 billion was too much to spend on a sporting event.

The newspaper also asked whether the all-new venues and other efforts for the Games were too fancy, or too simple.

According to the report, 65 percent said they were too fancy, 2 percent said they were too simple, and 32 percent said they were just about right.

Closed out

A boys' ski club in the Lillehammer area had agreed to fix up a run-down cabin near the Hafjell Olympic ski area for free if the landlord let them use it during the Games.

The 18 teens worked all autumn. They insulated the cabin, put in new windows and doors, and spent about $6,000. Then they rented it out to a Norwegian brewery, Ringnes, for the Games.

That was fine with the landlord, but not with LOOC.

The cabin has such a good location, about 100 yards from the Olympic run, that it falls within the Games' security zone, open only to those with special passes.

"We asked LOOC if it wasn't possible to get day passes for the Ringnes guests but the answer was no," Jonny Iversen of the ski club told newspapers.