PyeongChang 2018 Now 500 Days Away -- Monday Memo

(ATR) Preparations for the next Olympic Games are heating up now that the Rio 2016 Olympics are a thing of the past.

Tuesday marks 500 days to go until the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach visited the organizers at the end of last week coinciding with the milestone and told organizers to "keep the enthusiasm" and energy in the lead up to the Games.

"Now, it is not planning. It is the implementing period. You will see your work in reality every day," Bach said, according to a PyeongChang 2018 spokesperson.

Bach led a delegation of six IOC representatives, including coordination commission chair Gunilla Lindberg and Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi.

The IOC chief and his team also visited the mountain cluster and Gangneung coastal cluster, along with non-competition venues such as the IBC, Olympic Plaza and the Olympic Village.

"President Bach was very satisfied with the venue preparations. He repeatedly said ‘Great. Great. It is amazing here’," the spokesperson told Around the Rings.

PyeongChang 2018 said construction of six new venues for the Games was 88 percent complete as of Sep. 23.

Team USA Introduces New Annual Award

The Team USA Awards presented by DOW will take place Sep. 28 at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. honoring outstanding performances of Olympians and Paralympians at the Rio 2016 Games.

This year’s awards ceremony introduces the Jesse Owens Olympic Spirit Award that will recognize individuals who represented a positive force in society by inspiring others to contribute to building a better world.

The inaugural Jesse Owens Award will be given posthumously to Muhammad Ali, an Olympic boxing champion and renowned humanitarian who fought for the rights of millions of people regardless of their race, creed or religion.

"We are honored that the USOC has created this new award in his name to recognize individuals for the positive impact they make on society. We greatly appreciate the USOC for recognizing our father with the initiation of this award," said Owens’ daughter Marlene Owens-Rankin.

The awards ceremony will consist of six other awards categories including best male and female athletes of the Olympics, best Olympic team, best male and female athletes of the Paralympics and best Paralympic team.

The United States Olympic Committee expects 500 members of Team USA to attend the ceremony that will be aired on television Oct. 4 on NBC Sports Network.

Members of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams will then visit the White House on Sep. 29 where they will be honored by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their success at the Rio Games.

Tokyo 2020 Holds First Meeting after Rio

Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori and the rest of the executive board will meet on Thursday, Sep. 29 for the first time since being handed both the Olympic and Paralympic flags from their Rio 2016 counterparts.

Media members are invited to listen to Mori's opening remarks of the executive meeting at the Toranomon Hills Mori Tower.

A press conference will then be held following the executive meeting led by Tokyo 2020 spokesperson Hikariko Ono. Ono will deliver a report regarding what was discussed at the meeting before answering questions from journalists.

Asian Beach Games Underway in Vietnam

The final week of the Asian Beach Games are taking place this week in Da Nang, Vietnam.

Athletes are competing for a total of 172 gold medals across 22 sports in the fifth edition of the Beach Games that began in 2008. It is the first multi-sport event held in Vietnam outside of the city of Hanoi.

The multi-sport event is held every two years and is organized by the Olympic Council of Asia. The games kicked off on Sep 24 with the opening ceremony and will conclude on Monday, Oct. 3 with 43 countries participating in this edition.

The final medals of the event will be given out on Sunday in 10 of the 22 sports.

Ryder Cup Matches Begin on Friday

The 41st Ryder Cup, pitting the United States against Europe in the premier team golf competition, begins on Friday, Sep. 30 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota.

The Europeans are the holders of the cup, having won in Scotland two years ago. In fact, Europe has dominated the competition in recent years, winning three in a row and eight of the last 10. The USA leads the series all-time with 25 wins to 13, with two ties.

Arnold Palmer, who died at age 87 on Sunday, is one of the reasons for the early American dominance. He was on the winning side in all six of the Ryder Cups he played in during the 1960s and early 1970s. He won 22 matches, which is still the record for an American player. His death on the eve of the competition could prove a strong motivation for the United States team.

The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The first two days feature the players paired up against each other in a total of eight foursome (alternate shot) and eight fourball (better ball) matches.

Although all 12 players on each team need not play during the first two days, they are required to participate on the final day on Sunday when the 12 singles matches are contested.

With a total of 28 points available, 14½ points are required to win the Cup, and 14 points are required for the defending champion to retain the Cup. All matches are played to a maximum of 18 holes, with a tied match earning a half point for each side.

World Cup of Hockey Resurrected in Toronto

The 2016 World Cup of Hockey will come to a close by the end of the week in Toronto, Ontario.

The third edition of the tournament began on Sep. 8 with eight teams seeking to be crowned world champions. The tournament has been resurrected after a long hiatus beginning in 2004 and will be held on a four-year basis following this year’s edition.

Over the weekend, Canada played Russia and Sweden faced off against Team Europe for the chance to play in the final.

The final will be a three-game series between Canada and Team Europe with the first match on Tuesday, Sep. 27. Game two will take place on Thursday and a third game would take place on Saturday if necessary.

Written by Mark Bisson, Kevin Nutley and Gerard Farek.

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