The 2010 Winter Olympics were held from February 12-28 in Vancouver, Canada. It was only the third Winter Olympics hosted by Canada and the first for the province of British Columbia. Wayne Gretzky has a history with the Winter Olympics, from representing Canada at the 1998 games in Nagano, Japan, as a player to later serving as the executive director for Team Canada in Salt Lake City in 2002 and Turin in 2006. Leading North American luxury brand BIRKS was selected by the VANOC (Vancouver Organizing Committee) to produce a limited edition replica torch. The final torchbearer, Wayne Gretzky has signed and inscribed "HOF 1999" on the outer Canadian Alder wood box in black paint pen. This inscribed 2010 Olympic Torch Replica Box is a limited edition of 9. Gretzky's signature and inscription were witnessed under UDA's Five-Step Authentication Process.