Sochi Scene - IIHF Qualifiers; US, UK Ticket Sales Launch; ATR, RIA Novosti Partner

Ice Hockey Qualification

Austria, Latvia and Slovenia qualified for the men’s ice hockey tournament at Sochi 2014 over the weekend.

The three countries won their qualifying tournaments after failing to directly qualify for the Olympics through their respective world rankings.

Sochi will be Austria’s first Olympic berth since Salt Lake City in 2002, while this will be Latvia’s fourth straight appearance at the Games.

Slovenia will be participating in the Olympics for the first time and is the first nation from former Yugoslavia to qualify for the ice hockey tournament.

The three groups in Sochi for the men are as follows:

Group A: Russia, Slovakia, United States, Slovenia

Group B: Finland, Canada, Norway, Austria

Group C: Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, Latvia

Japan and Germany were the final two qualifiers for the women's tournament at Sochi.

Japan qualified for the Olympics for the first time after automatically getting to the Games as hosts for the 1998 Olympics in Nagano.Germany previously qualified in 2002 and 2006.

The two groups in Sochi for the women are as follows:

Group A: Canada, Finland, Switzerland, United States

Group B: Russia, Sweden, Germany, Japan

Around the Rings, RIA Novosti Sign Sochi Partnership

Russia's RIA Novosti Group has signed a long-term cooperation agreement with Around the Rings.

ATR's website will post news about the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics provided by RIA Novosti, as the national host agency, and its photo pool.

"ATR has been covering the Olympic Movement for 20 years, and it is an important and valued partner during preparations for the 2014 Olympics. RIA Novosti as the national host agency believes it is crucial to work with those who know all the nuances of international sports policy," said RIA Novosti Deputy Editor-in-Chief Maxim Filimonov, who is in charge of RIA Novosti’s Olympic project.

ATR Publisher Sheila S. Hula added:"We were absolutely delighted to be asked to partner with RIA Novosti for Sochi 2014 because they represent the best in the business.We are especially excited about what it will mean for our coverage of the upcoming Torch Relay. The 2014 relay will be the longest ever. Being able to draw on RIAN's resources will mean we won't have to miss a single stop – and neither will our readers."

Under the agreement, ATR will regularly post text, photo and video materials from RIA Novosti about the 2014 Olympicsunder the heading "Host Agency News."

UN Chief Sees Games as Tool for Peace

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon expressed his confidence in Sochi Olympic organizers.

"I am quite confident that Sochi Olympics will be a great success for athletes and people all over the world," Ban was quoted by RT at a reception at Russia’s Mission to the UN. "I am sure that the Russian delegation will work hard to promote peace and development during the Olympic Games."

On Thursday, the United Nations approved the Olympic Truce, designed to stop all warfare during the Games period.

"If this Olympic Truce can continue seven days or 15 days or one month or one year or several years it will be most welcomed," Ban told guests at the reception.

Ban, who is South Korean, said he followed the 2014 bid race with interest in his official remarks of the adoption of the Truce.

"The bid and the final selection processes for the 2014 Games were quite interesting for me," he said. "Both Sochi and PyeongChang were candidate cities," referring to the Korean bid city. "Both made it to the final vote. And, in the end, both emerged as winning host cities – Sochi in 2014 and PyeongChang in 2018."

CoSport Launches Sochi Ticket Sales

Following last week’s launch of sales for the Russian market, tickets to the Sochi 2014 Olympics go on offer Monday in Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Great Britain, Norway, Sweden and the U.S. via authorized ticket reseller CoSport on a first-come, first-served basis.

According to Sochi 2014, the lowest-priced tickets to mountain events will cost about $17 and about $33 for events in the coastal cluster. More than 40 percent of all tickets will cost under $99, more than half under $165 and more than 85 percent under $297.

All seven sports feature tickets for less than $50, and the ceremonies start at $149 with an "A" seat at the opening ceremony running $1,651, the most expensive of the Games.

Host Agency News from RIA Novosti

NHL Stars Should Play Olympics - US Hockey Official

It is "important" for hockey that the NHL's stars do not skip next year's Winter Olympics, a top official at the organization in charge of the U.S. national team told R-Sport on Monday.

Fired Sochi 2014 Official 'Not Scapegoat'

President Vladimir Putin's spokesman rejected claims Saturday that an official who was fired after criticism from Putin is merely a scapegoat for problems at the world's most expensive Olympics.

Olympic Torch Exhibit to Open in Sochi

An exhibit dedicated to Olympic torches used at Summer and Winter Games dating back to Barcelona 1992 is to open in the 2014 venue of Sochi, the city announced Saturday.

Sochi 2014 the Most High-Tech Games Ever – Zhukov

Russian Olympic Committee chief Alexander Zhukov vowed Friday that the Sochi 2014 Winter Games will be the most technologically advanced.

RIA Novosti Teams Up With Around the Rings for Sochi 2014

The RIA Novosti Group has signed a long-term cooperation agreement with Around the Rings. The ATR website will post news about the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics provided by RIA Novosti, as the national host agency, and its photo pool.

Written by Aaron Bauer and Ed Hula III with copy published by special arrangement with RIA Novosti, host news agency of Sochi 2014

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