Exec Board Tackles Winter Olympics Consternation -- On the Scene

(ATR) The IOC creates a special group to speed up preparation for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang.

Apparently concerned about the pace of work for the first Winter Games in South Korea, the IOC Executive Board has ordered the formation of a working group to solve the problems. The working group is said to have the authority to act on behalf of the EB when decisions are ready to be made.

"It’s test events. It’s the legacy plan for the venues. It’s the technical expertise. It’s with the sponsorships as well," said Gunilla Lindberg who will lead this working group, about the challenges facing Pyeongchang 2018. The IOC member from Sweden is well acquainted with Pyeongchang, serving as the chair of the IOC coordination commission since it was formed in 2011.

Lindberg notes that there have been some leadership changes since the Games were awarded to South Korea for years ago that may have affected the decision-making process for Pyeongchang.

"There’s been a change of president of the country, there’s been change of presidents of the organizing committee," the latter of which took place only last July.

Yang Ho Cho, the business executive who took over last year as the organizing committee president says the working group "is supposed to speed up the decision-making process, increase efficiency". He says the group is supposed to meet regularly, "almost every month."

Lindberg says the working group will have a teleconference within the next two weeks, just ahead of the coordination commission’s next visit to Pyeongchang in the middle of March.

Along with Lindberg the IOC portion of the group includes IOC vice president Zaiqing Yu of China and Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi. Those three spent about 30 minutes meeting with Cho Friday on the side of the IOC Executive Board which has been meeting in Rio de Janeiro, setting out the IOC expectations from Pyeongchang.

"I hope we will see an effect at the Cocom, because we have a long list" said Lindberg about how quickly she wants to see developments as a result of the new working group.

"They have promised us a lot of things".

The working group includes representatives from the national and provincial governments as well as Winter Olympic international federations.

Cho also mentioned that the IOC is annoyed with what he calls rumors in South Korea media. Cho says the rumors have involved the pace of signing sponsors and speculation that venue construction is behind schedule.

He says the IOC has told him to increase the quality of communication between the IOC and organizing committee as well as with the media.

Cho insists that all is well in Pyeongchang, that venues are in progress and will be ready for test events and the Olympics.

Some international federations such as skating are said to be disappointed by the decision of the IOC executive board not to meet as once scheduled at SportAccord this April in Sochi. The EB announced yesterday it would not meet as planned in Sochi.

The winter sports federations had been told that the EB would decide if any new sport disciplines or events would be added to the 2018 program at the April meeting.

The International Skating Union is pushing for a mass start speedskating event and a synchronized figure skating event.

Lindberg appeared unconcerned about delays with the program. Any changes to the winter sports program for 2018

will be reviewed at the March meeting of the IOC program commission. She says those recommendations will be handled at the June meeting of the EB in Lausanne.

And despite the obvious concern of the IOC for the plodding pace of Pyeongchang preparations, Lindberg says the

expectations remain high for these first Winter Olympics in South Korea.

"To host an Olympic Games is a huge undertaking. Most of the bidders don’t realize how much there is to do," she says.

"But I have no worries. I am sure these will be good Games in Pyeongchang. We are all working together."

Written and reported in Rio de Janeiro by Ed Hula

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