RIA Novosti Roundup -- Cold Olympics; Putin talks glitches, visits RIOU

Cold Weather for Sochi Olympics

One of Russia's top weathermen is sticking his neck out just under six months before the Sochi Olympics start to predict appropriately wintry conditions for the Games.

Fears of unseasonably warm weather in the Caucasus Mountains for the February 6-23 event have prompted organizers to store nearly half a million cubic meters of snow in huge refrigerated reservoirs ready for deployment on the ski slopes if the clouds fail to deliver.

But Dmitry Kiktev, deputy director of the state-run Gidromettsentr weather agency, suggested that project could all be for naught.

"The temperature in February on the whole is to be around the climactic norm in the Sochi region and across the Caucasus," Kiktev said.

"The norm for Sochi is plus 5 degrees (Celsius), and if you go up into the mountains then there it will all be very different, of course," he said, meaning a sharp drop in temperatures.

The Paralympic Games, which follow on March 7-16, however, could suffer from melting snow, he warned, in which case the colossal snow reserves may be called upon.

"In March in the Caucasus region we are seeing an anomaly of positive temperatures," Kiktev said. "There may be a very warm spell for a few days, and if this is accompanied by heavy precipitation in the form of rain, the snow could melt quickly and the snow cannons and reservoirs may be required."

But he warned Sochi's location on the shore of the Black Sea coupled with the jagged relief of the mountains make weather predictions a dangerous business.

The Vancouver 2010 Games were afflicted by spring-like conditions and snow had to be trucked into Cypress Mountain ahead of the event.

Foreign Athletes Banned From Sochi Facilities as of November

In an effort to increase Russia's home advantage, the venues for next year's Winter Olympics will be open to home athletes only from November 19, the chief organizer said Monday.

Open training on the bobsled track from November 8 through 19 will be the last time foreigners are allowed to train in Sochi before the Olympics, whose opening ceremony is February 7.

Many other venues have been unavailable to foreigners for some time.

The bobsled and luge training period in November "will be the last training session. Then all the facilities will be closed to give our athletes the chance to train," organizing committee head Dmitry Chernyshenko said.

Sochi's venues have all hosted extensive programs of test events, although the test competitions for some sports, especially snow events in the mountains, ended as much as a year before the Games.

Putin Admits to 'Glitches' in Sochi Olympic Preparations

Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted on Monday that there were still some "ongoing glitches" in preparations for next year's Winter Olympics in Sochi, but he insisted that overall the job is on track.

Putin spoke while visiting Sochi on Monday at the opening of a new $500 million Olympic university dedicated to helping ex-athletes build new careers as sports administrators.

"Despite the large amount of work that has already been done, there are still ongoing glitches and delays in time frames," Putin said. "But overall it's a normal thing for such a large project. There's nothing out of the ordinary."

"We know the time the Olympics start, and we can't slip at all," he added.

With 144 days to go until the opening ceremony, Putin ordered the government's Olympic supervisor Dmitry Kozak to send him fortnightly reports and said he would drop into the host city on a regular basis to keep tabs on the work.

"I'm going to be coming here more often," he said.

There have been relatively few delays in Sochi compared to other recent Olympics. The most notable happened at the RusSki Gorki ski jump complex, whose former project chief was given a public dressing-down by Putin with a year to go until the Games.

Fraud charges related to non-Olympic employment have since been opened against the official concerned, Akhmed Bilalov, who has since fled the country and alleges attempts have been made to poison him.

The Sochi Olympics are the first Winter Games to be held in Russia and will run from February 7 to 23.

New $500M Olympic University Opens in Russia

Russia's new Olympic University in the Winter Games host city of Sochi will provide "colossal" expertise to world sport, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after the institution opened on Monday.

The $500 million Russian International Olympic University in the southern city aims to help ex-athletes become sports administrators and was part of Russia's bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Its academic year began earlier in the day with a concert featuring music and dance from around the world.

"This will become the main center for training in sports management,"Putin said, "a place for a unique educational program that will provide colossal experience to the global Olympic family."

He added: "Russia has big and serious plans in the area of sports and fitness and it is one of the priorities of our social policy.

... Here we see excellent opportunities to bring to people the values of a healthy lifestyle, the values of sport, activity and fitness, especially for youth, to show a correct and positive orientation for life."

Putin spoke in front of an audience including Sochi 2014 chief organizer Dmitry Chernyshenko and Jean-Claude Killy, head of the International Olympic Committee's coordination commission for Sochi. Before being whisked away in his motorcade, Putin stopped to sign a guestbook in the university building's lobby.

The university offers $15,000-a-year courses to qualify as a Master of Sports Administration (MSA), with diplomas awarded jointly with Britain's Coventry University. There will be guest professors from universities worldwide and lectures from sports celebrities like pole vault world record holder and IOC member Sergei Bubka.

Rector Lev Belousov has lofty ambitions, comparing the new institution to Harvard and Chicago universities.

"We had a very tough task. We wanted to go straight into the leading positions," he said. "It doesn't mean immediately becoming Harvard, but we have every chance to become like Harvard."

The institution was built by Interros, a private investment company chaired by Russian metals tycoon Vladimir Potanin, which is also providing scholarships for individual students. Interros also built other Olympic facilities including the Rosa Khutor ski resort that will be used for competition next February.

The campus opened with a show of modern dance, patriotic pop music and Cuban dance anthems in its courtyard despite pouring rain, before its flag was raised alongside those of Russia and the Sochi Olympics. The new campus building ranks among the highest in the city, but is still unfinished in places.

Some of the first intake of 27 students were also introduced, including ex-athletes and staff of national Olympic committees.

The university has students from 14 countries, announcers at the ceremony said, including Rwanda, South Korea and Brazil.

The Olympics will be held from February 7 to 23.

Published by exclusive arrangement with Around the Rings’ Sochi 2014 media partner RIA-Novosti.

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