The PyeongChang 2018 Progress Report to the National Paralympic Committees December 2014 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Dear Friends, It gives me great pleasure to present our first Progress report to the National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) on our preparations for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. This report provides an overview on POCOG’s progress to date, including both technical and general insight into aspects of interest to NPC planning and preparation such as our latest information on the Paralympic Village, the ongoing work on our transport system and other Games services. With only three years and two months to go, we are more than ever aware of the great responsibility that we bear. Therefore, to ensure that our team is prepared to deliver relevant and high quality service to you and your athletes, POCOG has been engaged in learning opportunities and workshops with our partners from the IPC, the IOC, the IFs and experts from all around the world. We understand the vital role that NPCs play in the success of athlete experience and performance. To this end, POCOG has facilitated for our NPC Services Department to be supported structurally and integrated with all related functional areas whose planning and operations will support NPC Games-wide participation. We are making good progress on our Games and we are looking forward to meeting our milestones. Planning is intensifying and the momentum and energy of our Organising Committee continues to grow. Constructions in PyeongChang and Gangneung have been planned with sustainability and legacy at their core. These are underway and will be finished with sufficient time to host test events and training opportunities. As testament to our marketing efforts, we are building sponsor interest and looking forward to securing many more sponsors for our Games. The President of the Republic of Korea has reaffirmed her support for PyeongChang 2018 and we are working together to ensure that the Games are successful. We have just recently signed with two sponsors, KT, Korea’s top telecommunications company, as well as YoungOne Outdoor, an athletic apparel company which manufactures and distributes The North Face products in Korea. As we look ahead, our unique and clear vision of “New Horizons” 3 takes on greater significance than ever. This is a vision that will extend beyond Games time. We hope that our Games will be a catalyst to engage and inspire “New Horizons” of hope in the hearts of those around the world, as well as “New Horizons” in sport development locally and globally, and “New Horizons” in the sharing of the Paralympic values of courage, determination, inspiration and equality. For the youth and future leaders of our world, I hope that this will inspire “New Horizons” of possibilities in their lives and visions of the future. Thank you for your continued support and on behalf of POCOG, we are honoured and privileged to walk the next few years of this journey towards a New Horizon with you! Yang Ho CHO President, POCOG 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT 3 OVERVIEW 8 VISION 8 OBJECTIVES 8 BID HISTORY 9 PREVIOUS PARALYMPIC GAMES HOSTED IN KOREA 9 OUR PARTNERS 10 GOVERNMENT PARTNERS 10 SPORT PARTNERS 10 KOREAN PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE 10 KOREAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE 11 COMMERCIAL PARTNERS 11 IOC COCOM 11 IPC PROJECT REVIEW 12 POCOG 13 SENIOR MANAGEMENT 13 STRUCTURE 14 BRAND 15 SUSTAINABILITY 16 LEGACY 16 NPC SERVICES 17 OUR TEAM 18 COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS 19 NPC VISITS 19 NPC ASSISTANTS 20 SPORT 21 SPORT PROGRAMME 21 5 COMPETITION SCHEDULES 22 TEST EVENTS 22 IPSF VISITS 22 WEATHER 22 PARALYMPIC VENUES 22 OVERVIEW 22 VENUE INVESTMENT 22 PARALYMPIC VILLAGE 25 ACCOMMODATION 26 TRANSPORTATION 26 TRAVEL DISTANCES AND APPROXIMATE TRAVEL TIMES BETWEEN KEY VENUES 28 HIGH SPEED RAILWAY 29 NEW HIGHWAY 29 ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE 29 PORT OF ENTRY 29 MEDICAL SERVICES 30 ANTI-DOPING 31 SECURITY 31 ACCREDITATION 32 TECHNOLOGY 32 CEREMONIES 32 SPORT AND VENUE FACT SHEETS 34 ALPINE SKIING 34 ALPINE SPEED EVENTS (JEONGSEON ALPINE CENTRE) 34 ALPINE TECHNICAL EVENTS (YONGPYONG ALPINE CENTRE) 35 SNOWBOARD 37 NORDIC SKIING (BIATHLON AND CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING) 39 ICE SLEDGE HOCKEY 41 WHEELCHAIR CURLING 43 6 7 OVERVIEW The PyeongChang Organising Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) was established on 19 October 2011 in close cooperation with national and local governments, the Korean Olympic Committee, relevant organisations and expert groups. POCOG’s mission is to deliver an unforgettable Olympic and Paralympic experience with lasting legacies. It is our hope to engage Koreans and the world. The PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games will be held from 9 - 25 February 2018 (17 days) and the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games will be held from 9 - 18 March 2018 (10 days). Over 2014, we have been actively engaged in learning opportunities and workshops with the IOC, the IPC and experts from around the world to educate and enable our team to fulfil our responsibilities. We have also hosted multiple cross-functional meetings to ensure that we are able to move forward together in the refining of our planning and operations. As we look towards 2015, we will be recruiting more experts and increasing our staff numbers to support crucial pre-Games operations. VISION PyeongChang 2018’s vision of “New Horizons” reflects our hope for a future of opportunities and possibility. OBJECTIVES POCOG’s objectives are to deliver an Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games focused on culture, environment, peace and economy. To achieve these objectives, we have identified 10 strategies for success: • Build an athlete-oriented Games • Minimise cost and maximise benefits • Guarantee completely safe games • Construct easily accessible traffic network • Maximise convenience for spectators • Develop successful marketing strategy • Create and leave a sustainable legacy • Develop high-quality and unique cultural/tourism products 8 NAVIGATION: TABLE OF CONTENTS • Create atmosphere for nationwide participation • Create opportunity for possible reconciliation and cooperation between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea BID HISTORY On 19 June 2001, an agreement signed between the IOC and the IPC secured the practice of “one bid, one city” which meant that the staging of the Paralympics is automatically included in the bid for the Olympic Winter Games. After two unsuccessful endeavours, current POCOG President Yang Ho CHO took the helm and led Korea’s third bid with a resonant and visionary ideal of ‘New Horizons’. At the 123rd IOC Session in Durban, South Africa, on 6 July 2011, PyeongChang won the bid to host the Olympic Winter Games, and the honour of hosting the Paralympic Winter Games. The fact that the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games would come exactly three decades after the 1988 Seoul Olympic and Paralympic Games added to the romanticism of the winning bid. A new chapter has opened in Korea’s Olympic and Paralympic annals. PREVIOUS PARALYMPIC GAMES HOSTED IN KOREA Korea’s efforts to host the 1988 Olympic and Paralympic Games were testament to its hopes and its determination to advance onto the global stage by overcoming its difficult economic situation and volatile political landscape. The 1988 Paralympic Games hosted in Seoul were a catalyst of change, not only in Korean history, but also for World history, and Olympic and Paralympic History. It presented a means for engaging the whole World in celebrating the Paralympic values of courage, determination, inspiration and equality. In doing so, it was an opportunity to begin breaking down the walls of ideology, racism and tension that continued to isolate and devastate the world during the Cold War Era. It was the first time that the Paralympic Games would be hosted in the same city as the Olympic Games, sharing the same world class facilities. This agreement between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) would continue to be practised till today. This move would open the door for stronger cooperation and understanding between the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), paving the way towards the practice of “one bid, one city”, and serving as a catalyst for the alignment of principles for the organisation of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The IPC would also adopt the Taeguk symbol from the Korean flag in their emblem. The new 9 NAVIGATION: TABLE OF CONTENTS flag which incorporated this new emblem would be presented to the International Coordinating Committee President Dr Jens Bromann during the Opening Ceremony of the Games. The IPC would continue to use the Taeguk symbols in their emblem until they established the three Agitos as their emblem in 2004 The Opening Ceremony was held on 15 October 1988 and saw a crowd of 75,000 people. 3,057 competitors from 61 nations took part in the athlete parade, a record number of competitors for the Paralympics then. These Games soon became known as the first Games in the modern Paralympic era, drawing 2,368 members of the media to cover it. The Paralympic Games drew incredible interest, with Wheelchair basketball seeing a crowd of 20,000 screaming fans. The 1988 Paralympic Games in Seoul were an exceptional opportunity for Korea to showcase its national brand, the direct and indirect economic effects of the Games, while leaving an incredible legacy both locally and internationally. OUR PARTNERS GOVERNMENT PARTNERS POCOG is cooperating closely with the central government and the Gangwon provincial government. The Government has recently reiterated its commitment to the Paralympic Games. Our collaborative projects are currently focused on venue development, security, the definition of our legacy programme and its post-Games management. We will continue to work together closely every step of the way. SPORT PARTNERS KOREAN PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE The Korean Paralympic Committee (KPC) was officially recognised by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, in 1989, as a legacy of the 1988 Seoul Paralympic Games.