The past few days have been interesting when it comes to the Olympics. There's some excitement as well as a little bit of trepidation in these interesting days.
Thursday (Feb. 4) marked exactly one year until the start of the next Winter Olympics, which will take place in Beijing, China. Having attended the last two Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia and PyeongChang, South Korea, I was excited to mark the milestone. I have applied for credentials for the Beijing Games and hope that the opportunity comes for me to make another trip to the Winter Olympics. Beijing will become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Games, so it will be pretty cool to get the chance to see some of the locations I watched on television back in 2008.
Of course, I have not yet been approved for credentials, but the application process has begun and I will likely know at some point soon whether or not I have received the credentials.
The trepidation of the last few days came in the form of an e-mail from the Tokyo Organizing Committee as well as from the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee. The e-mails contained the first "playbook" for the Tokyo Olympics this coming summer.
Organizers have been working the past few months to come up with plans that will allow the Summer Olympics to happen safely this July and August. A lot of work has gone into these plans and the playbooks are sent out to different contributors to the Olympics. The press playbook was sent out to us and it certainly is interesting.
Of course, there is the expected stuff, stuff that everyone is doing now and will have to continue to do in Tokyo this summer. This involves wearing masks when social distancing is not possible, plus all the expected hygiene guidelines, such as washing hands, etc. These things are not unexpected and certainly don't pose any sort of problems.
However, the one thing that caught my eye and has me a bit concerned, is the fact that they want all stakeholders to submit a plan for everywhere that they will be going for the first 14 days they are in Japan. The last two Olympics I've attended, I've certainly had a very busy schedule, but it was also one that was flexible, so if something was cancelled by weather, I could easily go somewhere else and see a different sport. With these new guidelines, this will not be possible. We will be expected to follow our plan.
Don't get me wrong, I hate when schedules change, but I like the fact that I can make adjustments as needed. This was one of the great things about Sochi and PyeongChang. I was able to go a different direction if I found out there was a local athlete competing or if there was some sort of local connection. This will simply not be possible, at least for the first 14 days of my time in Japan. So, this will require me to take a hard look at the schedule and see just where I want to be on what days. And then I'll have to stick to those decisions.
We also, during those first 14 days, won't be allowed to go out and explore the city of Tokyo outside of the Olympic venues, our accommodations and the Olympic transportation system. This is also disappointing, since I was pretty excited about seeing what the city had to offer.
Additionally, press will be asked to reserve seats in venue media centers, which is a new thing as well. For those that might not know, each venue has a media center, which includes seats for members of the press to work. Usually (at least in Sochi and PyeongChang), these are temporary buildings set up right near the venue. These are smaller than the Main Press Center, which is a separate location and they are usually pretty crowded. With social distancing on everyone's radar, Tokyo 2020 organizers have made adjustments to the seating, meaning that the venue media centers are now only able to sit about half as many people. So, we will have to reserve a seat if we want to work in the venue media center before or after the event. Most of the time in my previous Olympic experiences, I didn't spend a lot of time in the venue media centers, though they did offer a nice respite from the cold in some locations.
As for the Main Press Center, our playbook noted that seating there was also reduced to promote social distancing. While we don't have to reserve space there, it is on a first-come, first-served basis, meaning there could be times when seats aren't available, which could be frustrating if I am working on a deadline. However, this is something that all press will be dealing with, so I know I likely won't be alone in my frustration, but I also understand the situation.
The USOPC has told me that I am good to go for Tokyo (passport and headshot for credentials both passed inspection) and I am excited, but the new news also brings with it some trepidation about how I'll be able to go about my job in Tokyo.
Nervousness and excitement. Lots of that going on this weekend. We shall see.
The countdown clock in Beijing is now inside a year.
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