After Vancouver, the baton is handed to Russia

Do Svidanya (Goodbye) Vancouver. Do Vstretchi (See You) in Sochi.

As the Vancouver Olympics come to a close, the focus turns to the other side of the globe and Russia’s first Winter Games which will  take the Olympic movement to a new territory and a new set of challenges.

Scheduled to take place from February 7 to February 23, 2014. this will be the first time that the Russian Federation will host the Winter Olympics; the Soviet Union hosted the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow.

The Russian city’s first big moment in the world spotlight came during Sunday’s closing ceremony, with the Olympic flag handed from the mayor of Vancouver to the mayor of Sochi.

At the end of the Handover ceremony , the audience inside the BC Place was invited to hold up their own small Zorbs, like snow domes. Around the world, the crowd appeared as twinkling red, white and blue spheres, representing the Russian colors, and demonstrating Sochi 2014’s commitment to the involvement of people from all cultures and backgrounds.

After the glitz and glamour of the closing ceremonies, the hard work will continue back home as organizers continue to prepare for an event that has the prestige of Russia and its leaders – including Prime Minister Vladimir Putin – on the line.

Ever since Sochi was awarded the games by the International Olympic Committee three years ago, questions have been raised: Can Sochi complete its massive construction projects on time? Will the funding hold up? Will the games be safe in a city near the separatist Abkhazia region in neighboring Georgia?

Putin, Russian president at the time, was instrumental in Sochi securing the games when he traveled to Guatemala City in 2007 and personally lobbied IOC members. He and current President Dmitry Medvedev remain centrally involved in making sure the games are a success.

Sochi, established as a summer resort under Joseph Stalin, is a city of about 500,000 people in Russia’s Krasdonar region. Olympic organizers hope the games will serve as a catalyst in turning the area into a year-round world-class destination for Russians and foreign tourists alike.

Organizers say the games will feature the most compact layout in Winter Games history, with a cluster of ice arenas situated along the Black Sea coast and snow and sliding venues a half-hour away in the Krasnaya Polyana mountains. A new rail line is being built to connect the two clusters.

Sochi has to build virtually all of its Olympic facilities from scratch. All the venues are now under construction, with 16,000 workers busy on what is probably the biggest construction site in the world.

Sochi promises that all venues will be ready two years in advance to allow for the holding of Olympic test events. The first trial run will take place a year from now with a second-tier European Cup event in Alpine skiing. More than 70 test events are planned in 2012 and 2013.

The cost of the Olympic infrastructure project is put at $7 billion.

So what do you have planned for mid-February 2014? Whether you’re an athlete hoping to compete, or a fan who wants to watch the Games, it’s never too early to start making plans.

(via USOC)

What’s new at the Olympics?

For a non-Olympic year, the Olympics have been in the news a lot lately.   There’s the controversy over whether female ski jumpers should be allowed to compete at the next Winter Games, the debate over which new sports should be added to the programme  and the choice of venue for the 2016 Games.

So let’s review (don’t worry – there won’t be a test).  The next Olympics takes place in Vancouver in February 2010. The Winter Games feature a lot of popular sports, including figure skating, skiing and snowboarding, as well as more obscure sports like curling and skeleton.  We’ll start to profile all the events soon so you’re up to speed on all the action.

The biggest story relating to the Vancouver Games concerns a group of women ski jumpers who aren’t being allowed to compete (despite the fact their male counterparts have been doing so for decades). After appealing to the IOC (International Olympic Committee), they’ve taken their complaint to the courts.  IOC President Jacques Rogge has repeatedly denied the women’s requests and their  case is scheduled to be heard in the BC Court of Appeal Nov. 12 & 13 – just three months before the start of Games.

The next Summer Games will take place in London in 2012.  Baseball and softball were both  dropped for the 2012 London Games in a move many believe discriminated against Americans who dominated in both sports. Japan, however, won the last gold medal for softball and eliminating the sport from the Olympics was a huge blow to women around the world who play the game.

What has been added to the 2012 Games is women’s boxing.  According the the IOC, the  change reflects the IOC’s desire to continually refresh the Olympic programme and its commitment to increase participation by women. Kind of ironic given their stance on women ski jumpers. And their recent pressure on Muslim countries who fail to support the participation of female athletes.

The Sochi Winter Games 2014 seem to be relatively drama-free although there are  activists protesting Russia’s politics who have demanded the 2014 Winter Olympics be moved from Russia to a new site. Despite the protests, the Sochi Games are moving forward with new venues and attractions currently under construction.

The most recent Olympic fanfare had to do with the venue of the 2016 Games. A number of cities vied for the chance to host the games including Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo and Rio.  Chicago appeared to be a top choice and President Obama and TV Queen Oprah Winfrey appeared before the committee on behalf of their city.  Much to their dismay, Chicago was voted out on the first ballot and the Games were awarded to Rio de Janeiro – making it the first time the Games will be held in South America.

Golf has successfully scheduled a tee time for the 2016 Olympics. The sport returns to the Games  for the first time since 1904 amid the spectacular backdrop of Rio de Janeiro’s sand and sea. Golfers will compete for Olympic medals, but the greater promise for the sport is that the game catches on in countries where golfers are few and golf courses are even fewer. Michelle Wie, for several years the world’s best known female amateur player, helped lobby for golf to be included.  She told the IOC  that putting golf in the games would give young girls everywhere something new to aspire to.

Rugby also got the nod for the 2016 Games after a campaign of its own to show off the sport to a wider audience. The IOC  voted to include rugby sevens featuring 12 men’s and women’s teams.

The two sports share an Olympic history of sorts, both making their debuts at the second modern games in Paris in 1900. Golf was played again only in 1904, while 15-a-side rugby was in three more games, the last the 1924 Paris Olympics.

Both golf and rugby had to make some concessions to win their respective vote. Golf promised the IOC it would not stage any other major championships during the Olympics, while the Rugby Sevens World Cup will be canceled.

So, stay tuned. Despite the fact that the next Olympics are still four months away, there seems to be no lack of drama relating to the Games.