Beijing 2022 announces secondment program to Pyeongchang Games

China aims to have 300 million people participating in winter sports by the time Beijing hosts the Winter Olympics. [Photo/VCG]

The organizers of the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will send 41 staff members on secondment for post practice during the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang next year.

The Organizing Comittee of Beijing 2022 announced the secondment program, together with a Games-time Observer Program, on Wednesday at its headquarters, which is a repurposed steel factory in Beijing.

"The Games in Pyeongchang are the only opportunity for game-time observing and learning for us. I hope all the 41 members on secondment can make good use of this opportunity to gain as much first-hand experience as possible in terms of Games preparations and operations," said Yan Cheng, director of the human resource department at the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee.

According to Yan, the 41 on secondment will work in positions such as venue management and competition operation in the Pyeongchang 2018 Organizing Committee. They will be divided into five groups, and the first group will travel to Pyeongchang next month. They will work and live in South Korea for as long as four months.

"I will be working on the post of social media editing manager and will work in different venues during the Games," said Lin Siling, a 35-year-old lady who will spend four months on secondment. "I will consider myself as a student in Pyeongchang, learning as much as I can and trying to get fully prepared for the 'final exam.'"

The secondment program and Games-time Observer Program are both important parts of the Olympic Games Knowledge Management (OGKM) Program, which was created by the International Olympic Committee during the preparations for the 2000 Sydney Games. The OGKM Program aims to provide an integrated platform of services and documentation, which assists organisers in their Games preparations and aids the transfer of knowledge from one Organizing Committee to another.

The 23rd edition of Winter Olympic Games will be held in Pyeongchang from February 9 to 25 next year, while the 12th edition of Winter Paralympic Games is slated for March 9 to 18.