Much has been made about the countdown to the beginning of the 2010 Olympic Games, but what happens when it's all over?

By this time next year the closing ceremony will have come to an end. For many, that's when the real work begins.

Already, the Richmond Speed Skating Oval is offering recreation memberships to the public.

When the last rock is thrown at the curling venue in Vancouver, it too will be converted to a facility for public use.

This may be a challenge for venues like the Olympic Sliding Centre in Whistler -- which captures the imagination, but is a venue that most cannot imagine using.

"What's the process going to be? I know what I have to do if I want to play hockey, but if I want to be a luge or bobsleigh person -- what do I have to do?" said Sunshine Coast resident Rick Gamache, who was visiting the sliding centre.

The short answer is pay.

A little over year from now, the sliding centre track will likely be open to just about anyone in search of a thrill. In order to generate some of the money needed to keep the venue operating, organizers are planning to charge between $150 and $200 for a ride in a bobsleigh.

That price is pretty standard at other former Olympic tracks around the world now engaged in tourism. It is seen as a way to generate income to allow others to train.

"It's pricey for sure, it's pricey to operate the sliding centre on an hourly basis is pricey," said Paul Shore of Whistler 2010 Sport Legacies.

As is the operation of the ski jumps in the Callaghan Valley, where tourists will be able to take a lift to the top for a closer look and perhaps even a ziptrek down.

"It's something we'll consider -- there's no hard decision yet on whether that makes sense in the Callaghan -- but it's something we're going to have a look at," said Shore.

How much training takes place on the jumps depends in part on whether athletes can afford to stay here. To that end, 350 affordable bed units are being built as part of Whistler's athletes' village to make the expensive resort town less so for elite competitors.

"A lot of thought has gone into preparing those venues for legacy mode," said Shore.

With a report by CTV British Columbia's Sarah Galashan.