Skip to content
Toggle menu
SportsTravel SportsTravel

Breaking News, Podcasts and Analysis Serving People who Organize, Manage and Host Sports Events

Primary Menu
  • News
    • Hosts & Suppliers
    • Recently Awarded
    • Sports Organizations
    • Sports Venues
    • Sponsors & Media
  • IN DEPTH
    • Feature Story
    • On Assignment
    • Perspectives
    • Technology in Sports
  • Podcasts
  • Sports
    • CATEGORY
      • Amateur Sports
      • Youth Sports
      • Collegiate Sports
      • Professional Sports
      • Olympic Sports
      • Paralympic Sports
      • National Governing Body
      • Adaptive Sports
      • Sustainability
      • Water Sports
      • Winter Sports
      • Women’s Sports
    • INDIVIDUAL SPORTS
      • Baseball
      • Basketball
      • Bowling
      • Cycling
      • Football
      • Golf
      • Gymnastics
      • Hockey
      • Lacrosse
      • Motorsports
      • Pickleball
      • Rugby
      • Running
      • Soccer
      • Softball
      • Swimming
      • Tennis
      • Track & Field
      • Triathlon
      • Volleyball
      • Wrestling
  • Esports
    • Esports News
    • Esports Guide
    • EsportsTravel Summit
  • Resources
    • Bid Bowl
      • Bid Bowl Listings
      • Submission Form
        • About Bid Bowl
    • Destination Spotlight
    • Destination Guides
    • Downloadable Guides
    • Venue Guides
    • Media Kit
      • Media Kit
      • 2022 Editorial Calendar
    • Digital Edition
  • Subscribe
    • Subscribe to E-Newsletter
  • EVENTS
    • TEAMS CONFERENCE & EXPO
    • EsportsTravel Summit
    • SportsTravel Road Trip
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Instagram


Home > Olympic Sports > As Olympic Villages Open, Athletes and Media Enter Beijing’s ‘Surreal’ Bubble

As Olympic Villages Open, Athletes and Media Enter Beijing’s ‘Surreal’ Bubble

Posted On : January 27, 2022 By : Matt Traub
Beijing Olympics COVID Testing Explainer
Olympic workers in hazmat suits work at a credential validation desk at the Beijing Capital International Airport ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in on January 24, 2022. Athletes and others headed to the Olympics face a multitude of COVID-19 testing hurdles as organizers seek to catch any infections early and keep the virus at bay. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

The Beijing 2002 Olympic Villages have officially opened with about 2,900 athletes are expected to arrive in the next week.

The Beijing Olympic Village is located in the Chaoyang district of the city, close to the Olympic Park. It will predominantly house athletes competing in the ice sports at Beijing 2022. In Zhangjiakou, the Olympic Village will accommodate 2,640 athletes and team officials taking part in freestyle skiing, snowboarding, biathlon, ski jumping and cross-country skiing. The third Olympic Village, in Yanqing, will accommodate 1,430 athletes and team officials who will take part in alpine skiing, luge, bobsleigh and skeleton.

After the Games, the Beijing Olympic Village will be turned into apartments for rent or sale, while the Yanqing and Zhangjiakou Olympic Villages will become hotels, apartments and a business cluster to serve the region’s winter sports industry. At each of the villages, a wide range of services are offered including a hair salon, café, bank, post office, general store, merchandise store, telecom store (for SIM cards) and newsstand.

The accomodations are open — but getting there is still a challenge when it comes to making sure you can avoid the omicron variant of COVID-19, given what is at stake for Olympians.

Two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin leads the 17-member U.S. ski team while snowboard Chloe Kim is one of the most high-profile American winter sports athletes. Typically, all the Olympians and staffers representing the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association would gather and leave for a Winter Olympic Games destination together.

This year is no typical Games. Between the strict entry requirements into Beijing and fears over the spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19, extraordinary precautions are being taken to get Olympians into China.

“There are certainly plenty of logistical hurdles,” U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and Chief Executive Officer Sophie Goldschmidt told the SportsTravel Podcast this week. “We’ll have athletes leaving from various locations. Many of them are training and competing in Europe at the moment and probably would come back before heading to an Olympics, but we want to minimize unnecessary travel as much as possible, so they’re going to stay there and jump on flights from Europe straight to Beijing. Others are in the U.S. and will be leaving from various destinations.

“It’s a bit of a jigsaw puzzle,” Goldschmidt described it. “With the protocols and amount of testing you have to do in the days leading up, there’s a lot to juggle and manage. But we’ve got a great team who are on top of every detail. Changes are happening in real time so we just have to stay on top of it.”

The Associated Press reported on the process of getting through COVID testing in Beijing. Photographer Jae Hong described seeing passengers met by workers in white, full-body protective gear. Everyone is tested for COVID-19 at the airport before being transported to their barricaded hotels, the entrances protected by round-the-clock guards.

“I know the only experience of Beijing I’m going to experience is the Beijing I will see out of my bus window and my hotel window,” said Associated Press photo editor Yirmiyan Arthur, who arrived this week. “I’m not really going to experience China, I’m just going to experience the Olympics within the bubble.”
Organizers in Beijing have eased the COVID-19 requirements for participants, which could lead to fewer athletes tripped up by positive tests. The International Olympic Committee said the changes include easing the threshold for being designated positive for COVID-19 from PCR tests and reducing to seven days from 14 days the period for which a person is deemed a close contact.

The changes, which take effect immediately and apply retrospectively, “have been developed in order to further adapt to the reality of the current environment and support the Games participants,” the IOC said in a statement.

The viral load detected in PCR tests has been a source of contention among those in the medical community as to whether a person is still contagious. Shiffrin herself tested positive earlier this season but was cleared to ski eight days later on the World Cup circuit.

“We’ve been managing the process and had very strict protocols that we communicate very regularly to all of our athletes, coaches and staff,” Goldschmidt said. “We’re just reviewing (events) constantly — what are we learning, can we change different protocols, how can we make sure we’re communicating the right way. There’s a challenge that this has been around so long it can be white noise and people think because (omicron is) not so serious, ‘OK you don’t have to take the protocols so seriously.’ It’s just not the case. A positive case is a positive case.”

The Alpine schedule in Beijing starts February 6 with the men’s downhill, followed by the women’s giant slalom on February 7.

Organizers began reporting data on positive COVID-19 tests among Games-related personnel, with 177 confirmed cases found among 3,115 international arrivals from January 4 to January 23, according to Beijing 2022 data released Sunday and Monday.

The first athletes to have publicly been ruled out of the Olympics were revealed on Tuesday as Russian figure skater Mikhail Kolyada after testing positive ahead of traveling to a pre-Olympic training camp. He has been replaced by Evgeni Semenenko on the team; Kolyada was the only member of Russia’s men’s team who had previously competed at the Olympics.

“Several days ago Mikhail Kolyada started feeling unwell,” the federation said. “For all this time the skater has not been training.”

Two-time ski jumping gold medalist Andreas Wellinger will also miss the Games because he tested positive one day before the German team was selected.

“The risk for him and for the team is too high,” team spokesman Ralph Eder said Tuesday.

Two members of Norway’s women’s cross-country ski team also tested positive on Wednesday. Heidi Weng, a two-time overall World Cup champion, and Anne Kjersti Kalvå are now isolating and Norwegian cross-country manager Espen Bjervig said their participation in the Olympics was uncertain. The entire men’s team is also in isolation in Seiser Alm after head coach Arild Monsen tested positive for COVID-19 after returning to Norway on Monday. Two Swiss women’s hockey players, two Russian bobsledders and two German skeleton sliders are among other would-be Olympians facing a nervous wait.

China mandates 21 days of quarantine for people arriving from abroad but waived that for those coming for the Olympics on condition they test negative for the virus. Those conditions served as a ‘special’ enhancement for athletes to get vaccinated, although multiple delegations including the United States mandated vaccination for athletes and team officials.

One country that did not have a mandate was Switzerland and snowboarder Patrizia Kummer, who won a gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics in the parallel slalom, is almost done finishing her isolation before competing. Kummer declined to discuss her “personal reasons” for refusing a vaccine, telling The Associated Press “I had a bunch of reasons for the vaccine and a bunch of reasons against the vaccine, and in the end, it was like, ‘No, I can’t do it.’”

Kummer is staying in a Holiday Inn in Beijing where food is brought to her door three times a day. She has a stationary bike for exercise and she brought a yoga mat, weights and fitness equipment.

“I’m a minimalist, so I don’t need much to have a good living. I don’t need much to be happy. So that’s no problem,” Kummer said. “And I actually enjoy being by myself.”

Kummer’s friend, Austrian snowboarder Claudia Riegler, is also unvaccinated. Austria has threatened to leave Riegler off the team if she does not at least get her first shot by Sunday; Austrian news agency APA reported that Riegler does not want to be vaccinated after having contracted the virus over the Christmas period.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Print
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Email
Posted in: Olympic Sports, Paralympic SportsTagged : 2002 Winter Olympic Games,2022 Beijing,Beijing,olympics,Sophie Goldschmidt,SportsTravel Podcast,U.S. Ski & Snowboard,Winter Olympics

Post navigation

College Basketball Invitational Returns to Daytona Beach in 2022
USA Triathlon Launches New Gravel Triathlon Series

Follow us on Twitter

My Tweets

sportstravel

SportsTravel was on location today in Atlanta at t SportsTravel was on location today in Atlanta at the Collegiate Esports Commissioners Cup, presented by Collegiate Sports Management Group, EsportsU and Skillshot Media at the Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta. More than 400 collegiate players from all over the country competed with more than 2,000 attendees. #CECCAtlanta2022 #esportsindustry
SportsTravel is on location for the #NCAA beach vo SportsTravel is on location for the #NCAA beach volleyball championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama. @gsob_sportsandevents is a partnership among Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism (GSOBT), the Coastal Alabama Business Chamber, Gulf State Park and the cities of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. In 2007, the organization became a department within GSOBT. In this role, the GSOB Sports & Events – along with assistance from both cities – works to bring quality athletic and leisure events to Alabama’s Gulf Coast. 

#GSOBsports
#GSOBsportsandevents
#GulfShores
#orangebeach
Our latest SportsTravel Podcast is a great chat wi Our latest SportsTravel Podcast is a great chat with Scott Howson, president of @theahl about how the hockey league survived the pandemic and what competition and events look like on the other side. We also explore his journey from player to executive.

To listen, visit SportsTravelMagazine.com or subscribe on all major platforms.

#podcast #sportspodcast #hockey #hockeypodcast #AHL #sports #sportsbiz #sportsbusiness
SportsTravel is celebrating its 25th anniversary o SportsTravel is celebrating its 25th anniversary of issue one this year. We recently caught up on the SportsTravel Podcast with magazine founder Tim Schneider to talk about the origin of the publication, what those early days were like and where the industry is headed next.

To listen, visit SportsTravelMagazine.com or subscribe on all major podcast platforms.

And special thanks to @myrtlebeachconventioncenter for sponsoring this episode!

#podcast #sportspodcast #sports #sportstourism #sportstravel #magazine #magazineindustry #sportsbusiness #sportsbiz
The latest SportsTravel Podcast is a conversation The latest SportsTravel Podcast is a conversation with @julius_journeys of @marriotthotels on the company’s @ncaa sponsorship and activation at the recent Women’s Final Four in Minneapolis. We also delve into his take on how sports have helped the travel industry recover. 

Take a listen at SportsTravelMagazine.com or subscribe on all major podcast platforms.

#podcast #sportspodcast #hotelindustry #sportssponsorship #basketball #womensbasketball #womensfinalfour @meetminneapolis
ICYMI: Our latest SportsTravel Podcast is a must-l ICYMI: Our latest SportsTravel Podcast is a must-listen with Tom Cove, the president and CEO of the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, where we go into which sports are trending up and which are trending down when it come to participation. More important, we explore what sports organizations and destinations should do depending where those trends are going.

To listen, visit SportsTravelMagazine.com or subscribe on all major podcast platforms. Special thanks to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center for sponsoring this episode!

@thesfia @myrtlebeachconventioncenter #podcast #sportspodcast #sports  #research #data #sportsparticipation #youthsports #pickleball #pickleballpodcast #sportsresearch
Two years ago, the cancellation of the BNP Paribas Two years ago, the cancellation of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells was one of the first major sporting events that went away because of COVID-19. This year’s #BNPPO22 crowds have roared on some of #tennis’ biggest stars including Rafael #Nadal and more. With COVID restrictions recently lifted in California and a vaccine mandate in place, attendance over the middle weekend of the tournament—which runs through March 20—was close to 75 percent of its biggest years. Here is a look around the grounds at what a return to normalcy in the sports world looks like (fingers crossed). Saturday’s tight three-set match between Nadal and up-and-coming young American Sebastian Korda drew a close-to-capacity crowd and something that hasn’t been heard in awhile—legions of screaming fans, while the outer courts at the appropriately named @indianwellstennisgarden are a popular spot. Doubles action between John Isner and Jack Sock of the U.S. and Nick Kyrios and Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia was a popular draw on Stadium 2 but those not inside the stadiums can still watch the action on big screens on the lawn outside. Organizers of the @bnpparibasopen are happy to welcome fans back to what they call “Tennis Paradise."
College basketball is full of venues that reflect College basketball is full of venues that reflect the community teams play in and one such place is the Reilly Center at St. Bonaventure University. Since it opened in 1966, the Reilly Center has served as the focal point on @bonnies_mbb and @bonnies_wbb game nights not only for the campus community but throughout the region. In 2016, ESPN selected it as the most difficult place for opponents to play in the Atlantic 10 and one of the top 10 such venues in the nation. In the summer of 2007, a state-of-the-art floor was installed and named "Bob Lanier Court" in honor of the 1970 @stbonaventureuniversity  graduate, All-American and Basketball Hall of Famer. Tuesday’s win over Rhode Island was in front of just under 4,000 fans in an atmosphere that sounded like twice as many people were there.
NEW EPISODE! With the @ciaasports men’s and wome NEW EPISODE! With the @ciaasports men’s and women’s basketball tournaments tipping off this week, we sit down with Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams to learn why the event has moved to Baltimore after years in Charlotte, the importance of ancillary events to the festivities and the pace of DEI efforts in collegiate sports hiring. Listen at SportsTravelMagazine.com or subscribe on all major #podcast platforms.

And special thanks to @marylandsportscommission for sponsoring this episode!

#sportspodcast #ciaa #basketball #collegebasketball #sportstourism #sportstravel @visitbmore #baltimore #maryland #hbcu #hbcubasketball
The Carrier Dome is the largest structure of its k The Carrier Dome is the largest structure of its kind on a college campus with tens of thousands every season coming to watch stars such as Dwayne "Pearl" Washington, Rony Seikaly, Sherman Douglas, Derrick Coleman and 2003 NCAA champions Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara. The Dome has hosted five NCAA East Regional since 2000 and also hosts SU's football team, the 11-time NCAA champion men's lacrosse team, the women's lacrosse squad and the women's basketball team. It’s iconic dome structure has been replaced with a more modern look in recent years. Saturday’s crowd saw the Orange beat Boston College 76-56.
The latest SportsTravel Podcast is a chat with Stu The latest SportsTravel Podcast is a chat with Stu Upson, CEO of @usapickleball. We discuss what’s behind the phenomenon that SFIA says is the fastest-growing sport in the United States, the status of pickleball venues and the landscape for events.

Listen at SportsTravelMagazine.com or subscribe on all major podcast platforms. And special thanks to @playacsports for sponsoring this episode!

#pickleball #podcast #podcasts #sportspodcast #sportsbiz #sportsbusiness #sportstourism #sportstravel
SportsTravel was excited to be on hand for today’s historic opening of the new @usabmx headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The venue includes office space for the NGB but even more importantly a world-class arena and a permanent home for the BMX Hall of Fame. Stay tuned for our upcoming coverage at SportsTravelMagazine.com.

#bmx #tulsa @visittulsa @tulsasportscommission #ngb #cycling
As part of its continuing 20th anniversary celebra As part of its continuing 20th anniversary celebrations of hosting the 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, a public exhibition of sports including curling and biathlon was held outside along with pin trading, music and a climbing wall. Nearby at the @teamusa USA house with graphics designed by @infinite_scale, dignitaries and Olympic supporters from around the area gathered to watch the action from Beijing. Part of the afternoon included a visit from Senator Mitt Romney, who was part of the 2002 SLC leadership along with Fraser Bullock, with both speaking to a crowd that included Olympic legend Eric Heiden.
What does this robot bartender have anything to do What does this robot bartender have anything to do with the Olympic Winter Games? It’s one of the many quirky aspects of being in the “closed loop.” Visit SportsTravelMagazine.com for Lisa Delpy Neirotti’s inside look at what life is like in the loop.

#beijing #beijing2022 #robot #bartender @gwsportmngt #olympics
With its prime location near many of the most impo With its prime location near many of the most important business hubs in the northeast, Ocean City, Maryland, is a supremely accessible and scenic destination for groups. Planners can choose from a diverse array of group-friendly venues and treat their attendees to activities that include relaxing along 10 miles of white-sand beach, strolling a three-mile Boardwalk, trying their swing at any of 17 championship golf courses and savoring the cuisine at more than 200 restaurants. Find out more in our destination guide here: https://www.sportstravelmagazine.com/guide-to-sports-events-and-venues-in-ocean-city
Stay close to the action and reserve your room now Stay close to the action and reserve your room now at the official host hotel of the EsportsTravel Summit, the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort. Located at the edge of one of the most famous beaches in the world, the Hilton Daytona Beach Resort offers elegant oceanside rooms and provides convenient access to the EsportsTravel Summit, including the educational sessions and the Destination & Supplier Marketplace. Book your room at the EsportsTravel Summit special rate today and be part of the world’s largest gathering of esports tournament and video-game event organizers at the only event focused on the travel side of the esports industry. Visit esportstravelsummit.com for more information.
To mark the 20-year anniversary of Salt Lake City To mark the 20-year anniversary of Salt Lake City hosting the 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the torch at Rice-Eccles Stadium was re-lit during a Tuesday night ceremony. Governor Spencer Cox, Mayor Erin Mendenhall and 2002 Games CEO Fraser Bullock each spoke during the event, which included 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games athletes as well as current youth athletes representing the Children of Light, a theme from the 2002 opening and closing ceremonies. The torch will remain lit through this week.

#Olympics2022 #Olympics #WinterOlympics #TeamUSA  #saltlakecity #slc2030
With skiing and snowboarding underway in Beijing, With skiing and snowboarding underway in Beijing, be sure to check out our most recent episode of the SportsTravel Podcast, which features U.S. Ski & Snowboard CEO Sophie Goldschmidt. We talk to her about the logistics of getting her team’s athletes to China, the growth of both sports and her being one of the few women to lead an NGB.

To listen, visit SportsTravelMagazine.com or subscribe on all major podcast platforms.

@usskiteam @teamusa @beijing2022 #beijing #beijing2022 #ski #snowboard #skiing #snowboarding #olympics
Our @gwsportmngt Lisa Delpy Neirotti is in Beijing Our @gwsportmngt Lisa Delpy Neirotti is in Beijing and reports that despite the limited crowds, organizers are still providing a DJ and other entertainment, similar to what organizers did in Tokyo under similar circumstances. That was the case as the U.S. women’s hockey team dominated the Russian Olympic Committee team.
Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers tries his hand Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers tries his hand at curling during a kickoff to a weekend celebration at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum called Downtown Winter Fest. Two-time Paralympian John Register was also on hand for the announcement of the festival, which begins with a daylong event on Saturday to celebrate the Beijing Games. Olympians including Peggy Fleming will be on hand for autographs and attendees at the free event can see other sport demonstrations and experience a torch relay. Events are planned at the downtown museum throughout the Games.

@usopmuseum @visitcos @olympiccityusa @thesportscorp @teamusa #olympics #paralympics @springsgov #usopm #museum #beijing2022
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Recent Posts

  • NFL Combine Will Return to Indianapolis for 2023 and 2024
  • Prefontaine Classic Returns to Normalcy in 2022
  • Hershey Renews Partnership with Team USA, Joins LA28
  • Louisville Football Adds Upgrades to Cardinal Stadium
  • Sean Harris Tabbed as New Associate Commissioner of West Coast Conference
Sports Travel Magazine

About Us

Since 1997, SportsTravel magazine has served the sports‐related travel and event industry. It is the only publication written and designed to serve the people who organize, manage and host sporting events of all types at all levels.

  • Subscribe to E-Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • SportsTravel Foundation
  • Supplied Content
  • Privacy
  • Terms

NORTHSTAR TRAVEL MEDIA SITES

  • Northstar Meetings Group
  • Meetings & Conventions
  • Meetings & Conventions Asia
  • Meetings & Conventions China
  • Successful Meetings
  • Incentive
  • Meeting News
  • Retail Travel
  • Travel Technology
  • Corporate Travel
  • Hotel Investment
  • Data Products
  • See All Northstar Brands

INDUSTRY PARTNERS

Sports ETA

Destinations International
Northstar Travel Media LLC Copyright © 2022 by Northstar Travel Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. 100 Lighting Way, Secaucus, NJ 07094-3626 USA | Telephone: (201) 902-2000
scroll to top
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.