The 2018 Winter Olympics are now 100 days away - Time to start my final preparations

We are now 100 days from the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Korea, which means that it will come up really fast! And I know that many of you follow the blog to see the behind the scenes of the Olympic Games and how I am photographing the events. This year will be no different, with lots of photos of the sports action as well as the stories that go along with them. And at the Olympics...there are ALWAYS stories.

For most of you, 100 days means that the Olympics are still 3 months away and not top of mind at this point. For me, this means that the last year and a half of work is about to come to fruition and I have to start my final preparations soon.

But, in the mean time, I thought you might be interested in knowing what activities have been going on in preparation for these Games.

Believe it or not, the process for these Winter Olympics actually started before I ever left for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

Back in June of 2016, I received my first email from the USOC letting me know that it was time to submit for accreditation, and the last 18 months has been busy. Here is a quick overview what has occurred over the last year and a half:

June 2016:  Application for credentials
Sept 2016:   Credential applications closed and reviewed
Oct 2016:    Notice of credential approval
Nov 2016:   Notification of Extranet site and Login information (where I can get venue and schedule information as it becomes available)
Jan 2017:     Reviewing of all IOC documents
Feb 2017:    Ordering of Internet and other services is open
Feb 2017:    Tried to book flights but not available for purchase yet
Mar 2017:    Contacted by Olympic Accommodations for housing request
Apr 2017:    Booked flights to Korea on United Airlines (official carrier for Team USA)
Apr 2017:    Reviewed housing options and submitted for housing in my preferred location
May 2017:   First revision of photography contract sent
June 2017:   Approved for housing (but not given what I wanted)
July 2017:   Contacted the Olympic Accommodations group requesting a housing change
Aug 2017:   Received email confirming a housing change
Sept 2017:   Housing payment made in full
Oct 2017:    Final photography contract signed
Nov 2017:   Put in request for additional camera bodies and lenses from Canon Professional Services

I am still waiting for the PyeongChang Organizing Committee (POCOG) to post a schedule of events, so that I can start planning out my shooting schedule for the month. This schedule will determine my whereabouts for the month. I know that I will be photographing all the games for USA Hockey, but not sure if there will be any overlaps between the men's and women's games. The hockey schedule will also determine my free time to go and photograph other sports.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions, but that is always the case for 100 days out. Now that I have done 5 Olympics, I am pretty familiar with the stress and the routine.

I do know this...I leave for Korea on February 5th and will be there until the 27th. It will be a crazy month full of long days of shooting, late nights of editing, and lots of blog posts. So stay tuned and get ready to join me on this next wild Olympic ride.

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