International Federations' representatives pleased with their visits to Beijing

Representatives of the International Biathlon Union (IBU)completed yesterday their visit to the Chongli County in the Zhangjiakou area. After a fieldinspection on the snowy slopes, Nicole Resh, Secretary General of the IBU, and Borut Nunar,Race Director World Cup, said that the site planned for the Beijing 2022 biathlon centre fullymet the requirements to develop venues and facilities to host the biathlon events in 2022.

The IBU’s visit marked the end of a series of seven International Federations’ field trips,which were successfully hosted since the end of August, ahead of the submission of theBeijing 2022 Candidature File to the IOC in January 2015. In addition to the IBU, InternationalFederations which visited Beijing included: the International Ski Federation (FIS), theInternational Skating Union (ISU), the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the WorldCurling Federation (WCF), the International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation (FIBT)and the International Luge Federation (FIL). All the delegations visited Yanqing, Beijing andZhangjiakou, Hebei Province, to have a first-hand look at the sites where the Olympic andParalympic competitions would be held if Beijing was to win the rights to host the 2022Games.

All seven delegations were pleased with their visits and provided useful advice to the Beijing2022 Bid Committee. To date, four International Federations have delivered venuescertifications to the Bid Committee.

"I am very pleased with what we found; it reflects what we saw on the maps. It is a verypromising terrain with a lot of potential – it needs some modifications here and there butoverall it looks very good," said Uwe Beier, FIS Snowboard Race Director "As far as hostingthe Olympic Winter Games is concerned, this is a clear "yes". It is actually a very goodlocation and a very good terrain."Joseph Fitzgerald, FIS Freestyle Coordinator, added: "We work very hard on the design of ourcompetition courses to create a stadium-like atmosphere, a big show and create a bighistorical moment. I believe that this is a very good design for this."

Speaking to media following the IBU field trip, Borut Nunar, IBU Race Director World Cup,said that he was impressed by the site. He enhanced that the natural environment waspleasant, with good air quality and a clear view, and that the venues were planned to bebuilt in close proximity to each other. He concluded saying that having experienced snowyweather in Zhangjiakou, he believed that snow conditions would not be an issue during theGames.

Nicole Resh, Secretary General of the IBU, added that the IBU would be willing to offer moreadvice on site planning and venue construction if Beijing was to host the 2022 OlympicWinter Games.

Beijing 2022 is vying to host Games that will prioritize athletes’ needs and will be designed ina sustainable and cost-effective way. The International Olympic Committee will elect the2022 host city at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 31, 2015.

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