PyeongChang Developing 'Olympic Feel'

(ATR) United States federation leaders say PyeongChang is on track to host the next Winter Olympics.

United States Olympic Committee officials are in Korea this week to inspect venue progress and begin scouting accommodation locations for the 2018 delegation. Along with the USOC, national federation leaders from biathlon, bobsled, hockey, and luge are conducting site visits as well.

USA Luge chief executive Jim Leahy tells Around the Rings the most recent visit to Gangwon Province in South Korea shows substantial developmental progress.

Leahy says both the coastal and mountain clusters have seen growth in both food and leisure options since his last visit two years ago. The mountain cluster is located around the Alpensia ski resort. Leahy believes the heart of the 2018 Winter Games will be felt there.

"When you take a look at what venues will be part of the mountain cluster, I think that during the Games there will be this Olympic feeling because everything is so close," Leahy said. "In some cases people can walk to most of these venues here so I think it’ll be a different feel, [where]in Sochi it seemed to be a lot more spread out. I think there will be a real congenial feeling."

Joining Leahy in PyeongChang is two-time Olympic luger Chris Mazdzer. Mazdzer, along with other international lugers, are testing the track during pre-homologation. Fifty lugers are in PyeongChang through Oct. 30, and athletes took 12 runs on the track from the junior, women’s and men’s start line today.

Mazdzer called the track "tricky at spots," but is excited for his seven final runs. He said that all of the lugers in town are working together to assess the track, and that issues seen last March were not present this time around.

"[The track is] relatively easy and it is definitely safe," Mazdzer told reporters. "This isn’t a traditional track where you are driving very hard and forcing the sled where you want. It is about these precise drives in and out of curves setting you up for the next curve."

Joining hockey leaders in PyeongChang are executives from the National Hockey League. NHL officials are making a final site visit to South Korea, before final negotiations over player participation are set to take place.

The IOC and the NHL are at odds over who will pay for out of pocket expenses needed for players to travel to the Olympics. Traditionally the IOC covered the insurance expenses, but it has said it will not for PyeongChang.

NHL Players Association special assistant to the executive director Mathieu Schneider told local media that players are excited about going to PyeongChang, but are not willing to pay their way there.

"I understand from the IOC's perspective that they don't want to pay players to come, but at the same time, players don't necessarily want to pay to come to the Olympics as well," Schneider said. "It's certainly not something that can't be overcome. We're optimistic that it will all work out in the end. Players love playing in the Olympics. That's why we've participated in the last five Olympics."

The total expenses are reported to total $10 million. If players are to go to PyeongChang, a solution will have to be reached by early next year according to the NHL and International Ice Hockey Federation.

Written by Aaron Bauer

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.