The Curlers Are Coming

As the sun fades from another busy day in Beijing, the curling invasion has begun.

There’s been weeks of hiding from Covid and isolating from loved ones. There’s been attempts at training, both at home—some of it out in the wilderness—and some away (the Aussies, Japanese and ROC stars have been in Alberta).

Of course, it took forever to pack. Even for the coaches.

There have been flashy, over-the-top sendoffs at massive airplane hangers with red carpets.

There have been more ordinary departures, with athletes and coaches masked up and proudly wearing the team colours.

In terms of on-site content, no one has yet to top U.S. mixed doubles player Chris Plys, as his Twitter feed has rocketed from regularly active to non-stop.

The soon-to-be two-time Olympian—he was John Shuster’s alternate in Vancouver, and he played a fair bit—has been everywhere. His personal and team tweets have documented airplanes, airports, arrivals, accommodations, agonizing brain swabs, walkabouts, food, food with warning signs, sunrises, sunsets … even coach rage at table tennis.

That’s the proper Olympic term for ping pong, you savages.

There’s a feature on Mr. Plys, written by the esteemed Don Landry, that appears in the latest edition of—wait for it—The Hockey News. Check it out our big brother’s latest on newsstands now, or grab yourself a subscription. 

Yes, Plys had a head start. He and teammate Vicky Persinger were among the first rock throwers to arrive in Beijing. Approximately 2,900 athletes are expected to arrive from around 90 nations to compete in 109 events, including the three curling disciplines, which are set to begin in a matter of days.

The Beijing Olympic Village, which houses the ice sport folks, is in the Chaoyang district of the city, close to the Olympic Park. There are 2,300 beds for athletes and officials.

All village residents will follow strict COVID-19 countermeasures outlined in the Beijing 2022 Playbook. These include living and operating within a closed loop system, which separates all Games participants from the local population.

At each Olympic village, a wide range of services are offered: a hair salon, café, bank, post office, general store, merchandise store, Samsung store, photo shop, telecom store (for SIM cards) and newsstand. In addition, the resident centres will offer business centres, self-service laundry, general maintenance and housekeeping support.

A number of services located throughout each of the plaza and residential zones include fitness centres containing the latest gym equipment and recreational activities, such as the aforementioned table tennis, pool, virtual reality spaces, and a whack of television sets to follow the live Olympic action.

Each location offers a 24-hour food service, serving cuisines from across the world, catering for all dietary needs.

Athletes can also visit the Samsung Galaxy store located in each village, where they can pick up their limited-edition Galaxy Z Flip 3 mobile phone. The phone will come with a case, Bluetooth earbuds, a Coca-Cola Beijing 2022 Powerade Squeeze Bottle—I didn’t have to mention that level of detail, but what the hey—and an IOC pocket guide, which includes “useful information” to help the competitors settle into village life.

Team GB’s Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat are on the scene, too.

Upon arrival, they—and the other athletes—received a gift bag containing a range of products including hand sanitizer, shampoo, body wash, hand wash, toothpaste, toothbrush, detergent and skin care products, as well as a pin, a mascot and a painting from local school children.

Despite the state of the world, the excitement is building. It’s a pandemic Winter Games, to be sure, but the table is set for a degree of fun and frolic, much of it behind-the-scenes ... but occasionally exposed in the light of day.

Can’t wait!