In a bid to find housing for some 700 Whistler-area Olympic Games volunteers, Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games organizers (VANOC) have resurrected their offer of Games tickets for those who offer one or more beds to vollies.

However, this time no tickets to the nightly Victory Ceremonies, or Vancouver competition events, are being offered.

In exchange for providing a volunteer with a free stay for a minimum of 10 nights, homestay hosts receive free tickets to competitions at the Whistler Olympic Park and the Sliding Centre, said Maureen Douglas, VANOC’s director of operations communications.

Sixteen individual tickets are provided for hosting one volunteer for 20 nights, with a sliding scale for additional volunteers or fewer nights. Six tickets are provided for a 10-night stay.

“There’s a great incentive,” she said.

While some tickets to the nightly Whistler Victory Ceremonies in the Medals Plaza have already been distributed, VANOC officials are still finalizing what the next wave of distribution will look like, Douglas said. More information will be available on Tuesday (Dec. 15) when the talent lineup for the nightly concerts will be announced, she said.

Though the Medals Plaza can hold 8,000 people per night, it’s not likely all Whistler residents will be able to secure one of the free tickets.

“We don’t have the inventory to allow every single person in Whistler to be guaranteed a ticket,” Douglas said.

So far more than 300 volunteers have secured accommodation in Whistler through VANOC’s homestay program.

The additional 700 volunteers that still need a place to stay in Whistler can be housed in the Lower Mainland, but VANOC would prefer to have those individuals staying closer to the venues where they will be working, Douglas said.

If the volunteers are staying in the Lower Mainland, they will be transported by bus to Whistler for their shifts — creating more demand on an individual’s time. Housing them in Whistler means a better sleep, a better experience and the ability for volunteers to enjoy the Whistler environment and Village during their off time, Douglas said.

“If we can accommodate them right here in the community of Whistler, it just means significantly less travel time,” she said.

The homestay encore program is open only to people who can offer accommodation in Whistler, and the deadline to sign up is Dec. 21. Visit www.vancouver2010.com/homestay for more information and to apply.

Meanwhile, a community meeting to provide Whistler residents with more details about Games-time was scheduled for Wednesday evening (Dec. 9), after The Question’s deadline.

Douglas said people who attended the meeting would receive more details about the checkpoint on the Sea to Sky Highway, what it will physically look like, and how the permit system will work for private vehicles, commercial carriers and motor coach operators. An update from Whistler Live on entertainment and festivities was planned, as well as a description of venue security procedures from Integrated Security Unit officials.

“It’s really getting down to the fine details,” she said.