PyeongChang Archives - Travelling Sports Junkie

PyeongChang Olympics 2018

MarshaSportsJunkie February 2, 2018 0 Comments

We are one week away from the most exciting sporting event in February. No, it is not the Super Bowl. Sit yer ass down. It is the Winter Olympics. Every four years, us Olympic junkies prepare for the most exciting 16 days of sport. Are you ready to lose your minds over luge? You had better be because it is time to get your Team Canada gear out, fly the Maple Leaf, and become the curling expert you were always born to be. The PyeongChang Olympics awaits.

Pyongchang or Pyongyang or Pyeongchang or PyeongChang – What is in a Name?

If you plan to attend this Olympics, try to end up in the right city and country. Do you want to end up in Pyongyang? That is a big NO. That is in North Korea. When PyeongChang was bidding for the Olympics, they decided to change up their original name of Pyongchang since it was far too similar to a North Korean city. They added an E and capitalized the C with hopes it would stand out. Even now, you will see it written without it. But rest assured, that is the same city: PyeongChang, the host of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games.

PyeongChang Olympics and Tickets

How does one plan a trip to an Olympic games? I wrote previously on my travel blog, The Travelling Historian, for my trip to the Sochi Winter Olympics. I updated my original 2014 article last year on Planning Your Olympic Adventure for the Korean games and it remains accurate. Just remember, every country will have a different process to go through. Research yours and you will be fine.

Each country has a dedicated reseller that you need to go through. However, they will open up the main website to everyone. The when is not always known. This time, it was opening in November before shutting down in December. It has not reopened in mid-January for everyone again. You can print your ticket or download the mobile app where you will receive the entry code the day of the event. A Fan-To-Fan reseller website will usually open up as well and you can purchase additional tickets in this fashion.

Tickets are released often so if you miss out on the first ticket drop, do not despair. You WILL have more opportunities.

Canada – Gold and More Gold

We expect to see Canada sitting near the top of the total medal count at the Olympics. Canada, with increased funding from the government and improved results culminating from the legacy games of Calgary and Vancouver, Canadian winter athletes are winning and medalling more than ever before in a wide variety of sports.

I was quite strategic in my Olympic planning – I picked some of my favourite events and events that I knew Canada would do well at or were strong contenders not only for a medal, but for gold.

The one event that I coveted the most was the Men’s Big Air in snowboard. It is a new event and while I normally gravitate towards the more traditional winter sports (hello hockey, curling, figure skating, downhill), this event has me intrigued. With Canadians leading the way, it should be an explosive debut at the PyeongChang Olympics. I’ll be standing in the general area (best ticket I could find) and going crazy for our Crazy Canucks.

You will also be able to find me at some other big events – hello hockey gold. I was lucky enough to watch the electrifying Sidney Crosby score the Golden Goal on home ice and lucky to watch our women mount an epic comeback with the aid of the goalpost in Sochi. We are stereotypical Canadians when it comes to hockey. Yes we love it; we dream about it; we cannot get enough of it. I am four for four at the last two games. I would love to go six for six.

Crosby Celebration in Vancouver 2010

Sochi 2014 Opening Ceremony Snafu

Women’s Hockey Gold in Sochi

Weirdly enough, the PyeongChang Olympics will provide for a very different men’s tournament. Gary Bettman and the NHL owners/governors had a tantrum which resulted in the NHL NOT coming to the Olympics. Unfortunately, the players had NOT negotiated this Olympic participation in their last collective agreement. Do NOT trust management boys. Next time, they will get it and I bet they will be in Beijing in 2022.

But back to PyeongChang, it will be a ragtag team of players, some playing in Russia, others in smaller leagues in Europe, bandied together with hopes of a miracle. Make no mistake, Russia is still the favourite. But we have seen how well they handle the favourite pressure. Hello Canadian eradication of Russia in Vancouver quarter-finals (I was at that glorious game) or hello Russia on your HOME soil in Sochi choking out in the semifinals with Canada waiting for you in the final. Can we finally get a Canada-Russia hockey final? Dare we dream?

Technically, there has never been a Canada-Russia gold medal game in hockey at the Olympics. There was a bastardized version in 1992 between Canada and the Unified Team which joined together after the fall of the Soviet Union. Almost all the Unified Team were Russians with two exceptions.

Still, we clamour for a best-on-best final between Canada and Russia. We will not get it this year. We wait for 2022. In the meanwhile, we cheer on Canada and a tournament that is wide open.

PyeongChang Olympics and How the Hell are you Getting There?

This is a more difficult question to answer as it is more complicated. I was thankful to find a flight out of Edmonton with only one stop in Vancouver on the way to Seoul, South Korea. From Seoul, I will hope on the new high speed train (KTX) on the way to Gangneung where some of the events will be held. These are all the area events from hockey to curling to figure skating to speedskating.

This was the same in Russia in 2014: the main indoor events and the location of the Olympic Park was not in the named city. In Russia, it was Adler. In South Korea, it is Gangneung. PyeongChang will be “near” the mountain events. And by near, it’s not really too close. From Gangneung, you will take the train to PyeongChang or Jinbu station, hop on a shuttle which could run from 15 minutes up to 45 minutes depending on which venue you are planning to visit.

So for me who has several days of two mountain events in one day, it will include a train ride, multiple shuttles back and forth venues, lots of walking to get to the seated area from the entrance, more shuttles, and another train ride at the end of the day back to my base in Gangneung.

PyeongChang has FINALLY released their transportation information and their official app so that has been helpful. Transit is free during the games and I am sure there will be plenty of volunteers to help make sure you end up on the right train or shuttle bus.

WHY?

I get this question often. Honestly, I have been an Olympic Junkie for as long as I can remember. I even have video tapes from the 90s that I taped – I can watch Kerrin-Lee Gartner win the downhill gold whenever I want, or watch Norway’s Bjørn Dæhlie storm through the 50km as if it were a light stroll (trivia note: Dæhlie is one of my all-time favourites – I really need to put together a list. That’s for another post). I used to watch those tapes endlessly. But let’s all give a shoutout to youtube – I no longer need to dig through a box of tapes, I can simple google it.

One Week

One week and I will be landing at the PyeongChang Olympics. I will not be attending the opening nor closing ceremony this year. I attended the Closing in Vancouver and the Opening in Sochi. Both were truly enjoyable but the prices were insanely high for PyeongChang Olympics so I passed. Instead, I have TWENTY events that will keep me more than busy.

Canadian Gear for PyeongChang Olympics

My suitcase is NOT packed but I have all my red Canadian gear ready. Bring on the cold weather, bring on the cheating athletes from Russia, bring on our amazing Canadian athletes, and bring on the GOLD!