The first editions of the Competition Safety Manuals were published on October 25. You can read them at this link (available in English). Unlike similar documents developed on the eve of the 2020 Games in Tokyo, in Beijing all participants of the main multisport forum are divided into two groups, for each of which separate manuals have been prepared. These are athletes and officials, as well as stakeholders, including support staff, broadcasters, representatives of international federations and the media, as well as members of the Olympic family.
Today, representatives of both groups had the opportunity to ask clarifying questions about the measures mentioned in the Manuals during the conference calls. On the part of the IOC, James McLeod, Deputy Director General and Director of Olympic Solidarity, Pierre Ducret, Chief Operating Officer, and Toshio Tsurunaga, Head of the Department for Ensuring Participation in the Games of the National Olympic Committees of the IOC Department for Cooperation with the NOC, spoke with representatives of the NOC and members of the Athletes' Commissions.
If we compare the Manual for the 2022 Games with a similar document that was in force at previous competitions in Tokyo, then one of the main differences that the participants of the conference calls drew attention to is that the organizers decided to abandon the practice of limiting the time spent by athletes in the Olympic Village. This will allow athletes who have performed to take part in the ceremonies. It should be recalled that athletes' accommodation facilities in Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou will be open from January 27.
One of the most important topics was the issue of vaccination. At the moment, the Chinese side is working on criteria for determining fully vaccinated participants in the Games and the possibility of allowing unvaccinated underage athletes to enter the Olympic Perimeter without undergoing a 21-day quarantine. This information will be made public later. As well as details regarding PCR testing, which will be daily and mandatory for everyone. In Tokyo, the participants of the Games took saliva samples, and they did it on their own. This procedure will become more complicated in Beijing.
Also, at the meeting with representatives of the NOC, the issue of organizing flights of athletes and members of delegations was discussed in detail, since there are currently no regular flights to China. Representatives of the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee announced plans to create aviation hubs in different parts of the world, from which participants of the Games will be able to travel centrally to the capital of China.
In addition, it was announced that two weeks before the flight to China, each Olympian must install a special MY-2022 application on his smartphone and report on his health status daily. It will also need to upload information about the vaccination and two PCR tests passed before departure to China. The program should be available in November.
As for the plans for staying in the country, which were a necessary document for the participants of the Tokyo Games, they will not be required in Beijing. This is largely due to the fact that all Olympians will be in a "bubble" and will not be able to leave its perimeter throughout their stay in China.
The conference call for representatives of Athletes' Commissions (CS) and international winter sports federations from the ROC was attended by IOC member Elena Isinbayeva, Deputy Chairman of the CS of the Russian Olympic Committee Lada Zadonskaya, Deputy Chairman of the CS of the EOC Jonathan Gureiro.
It was announced that athletes would be able to cheer for teammates from the stands, but the issue of their admission to competitions in other disciplines is currently under consideration. It also became known that the Olympians will be allowed to move freely between the three Olympic villages. For this purpose, the organizers will prepare special shuttles.
This week, during a meeting of the IOC Coordination Commission, the parties will discuss amendments to be made to the second version of the Manual, which is being prepared for publication at the end of December. According to the chairman of the IOC Athletes' Commission, Emma Terho, she will convey the ideas and opinions of athletes to the participants in the discussion, which will take into account the interests of all parties.
In addition, during the 2022 Games, as in the summer of this year in Tokyo, the IOC will launch a telephone line for psychological assistance to athletes. It will work around the clock, and operators will communicate in different languages, including Russian. Each delegation also provides accreditation for a specialist responsible for the mental health of the Olympians. You can read more about the implementation of this program here.
Ilya Zubko, Savva Timofeev, ROC Information Service
