PyeongChang 2018 Brainstorms with U.S. Skiing President

(ATR) PyeongChang 2018 president Hee-Beom Lee welcomed United States Ski and Snowboard Association president Tiger Shaw to discuss preparations and cooperation for the 2018 Winter Games.

Shaw was in PyeongChang on a recent two-day trip to meet with Korean Ski Association officials, as the two national ski associations have a preexisting partnership involving shared training. The U.S. Ski Team chief was surprised to receive an impromptu invitation from Lee to meet at POCOG’s new headquarters.

"It was a great example of them being flexible," Shaw tells Around the Rings. "I did not reach out and ask for a meeting, he was just generally interested and kind to say Hi."

"He’s very gregarious and very international – he’s dealt with so much within Korea and it seemed like he was a great leader," Shaw said of Lee, who took over the reigns of POCOG in May. "He’s just what they need considering they only have 18 months left."

"Everything is going to be ready – I think it’s going to be a great Olympics," said Shaw, a two-time Olympic ski racer who has led the U.S. Ski Team since March 2014.

Lee, who was accompanied by POCOG executive vice president of international relations Jae-Youl Kim among other organizing committee officials, asked the USSA chief Shaw for support.

"I hope the USSA can help us in gathering international winter sports fans’ interest towards the PyeongChang 2018 Games through next seasons’ Alpine World Cup which will be held in Korea," Lee said. " The experience of the USSA will also be helpful in building our organizational expertise."

"I think just having the support of a big NSA like USSA, they appreciate it," Shaw tells ATR. "I feel good now that we understand POCOG better and see the way they operate and know a number of people there."

Shaw said USSA is there to offer guidance and support should POCOG need any assistance with preparations in the lead-up to February 2018. Lee and Korean organizers will oversee nearly 30 test events this upcoming winter.

He also spoke of the potential benefits for U.S. skiers and snowboarders.

"We just like being really familiar because we think it makes us comfortable there and helps us compete – that was the motivation," Shaw said.

Shaw said he will return to Korea in February as the ladies race World Cup downhill and super-G races at the new Jeongseon speed venue. The men took to the Bernard Russi designed racecourse this past February, in what served as the first Olympic test event for PyeongChang organizers.

The U.S. Skiing chief also made the nearly one-hour trip to Jeongseon during his short visit.

"There’s a lot going on – they’re building the base lodge and taking advantage of the summer season to put all the additional finishing touches on and get ready for the next test event," Shaw said.

"They’ve got 30 test events next winter – they’re confident, but they know they’re going to be flat out – it’s a lot to bite off," he said. "They have a lot of cost issues with a lot of fast work going on.

"Because we run so many events in the U.S., we’ll share our experience with them on how to run events well, efficiently and cost-effectively."

POCOG chiefs will also utilize their time spent in Rio de Janeiro during the upcoming Rio 2016 Summer Games to learn valuable lessons about the complex systems needed to organize the day-to-day events of the Olympics.

The organizing committee also unveiled the PyeongChang 2018 House on Copacabana Beach on July 21. The house will feature a virtual reality ski jumping experience, Korean cuisine, K-Pop music and break dancing performances all aided by Olympic sponsors Coca-Cola and Samsung and POCOG sponsors North Face and KT.

The Rio Olympics begin Aug. 5.

Written by Brian Pinelli

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