UPDATED - VANOC to provide media update on Cypress Mountain venue
preparations: Thursday, January 28

VANCOUVER , Jan. 26 /CNW/ - The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) will hold a media briefing on Thursday, January 28 to update on the ongoing snow harvesting and overall venue preparations at Cypress Mountain, home of freestyle skiing and snowboard competitions during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

On January 13 , VANOC and Cypress Mountain management agreed to close the ski resort's alpine runs to the public in order to undertake the significant preparation required to ready the mountain for Olympic competition, especially in light of the unseasonably warm and wet weather.

The media briefing will be held at VANOC headquarters, see below for additional details. At this time, it is not possible to access the venue as it is closed for Games-time preparations.

Current plans for the briefing include the provision of recent still photos and video to the media. As Cypress is an official Olympic venue, the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s "Television News Access Rules Applicable to Non-rights holding Broadcast Organizations at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games" is in effect. These rules are attached for review in advance of the media briefing and will also be provided in hard copy on Thursday.

Today, British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell and VANOC CEO John Furlong viewed the venue and ongoing round the clock preparations for the Games during a helicopter tour.

"It's impressive to see how hard the venue team is working at Cypress Mountain to ensure the world's best winter athletes have great courses to compete on. They're experts in their field and are putting everything they have into this. I know they'll do us proud when the Games open in just 17 days," said Campbell after the venue tour. "We also saw impressive amounts of snow at the higher elevations, which the team is carefully moving into place, always conscious of the balance between weather and the time needed to prepare for the arrival of the athletes. It's all coming together nicely, despite the recent temperate conditions."

    
    When:
    Thursday, January 28, 2010
    9:15 am (Pacific Time)

    Where:
    VANOC Headquarters
    400-3585 Graveley Street
    Vancouver, BC

    Who:
    Tim Gayda, VANOC vice president, sport
    Eric Fremont, Manager, Freestyle Skiing and Snowboard

    Participant dial-in number: 416.695.6310/800.766.6630

    ** Please note: There is limited parking at VANOC headquarters. Media
           identification and photo ID will be required.


                   TELEVISION NEWS ACCESS RULES APPLICABLE
                TO NON-RIGHTS HOLDING BROADCAST ORGANISATIONS
                 AT THE VANCOUVER 2010 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES
    

When exclusive television rights to broadcast the Olympic Games are granted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to an organisation for a particular territory (Rights Holding Broadcasters), no other organisation may broadcast within that territory sound or images of any Olympic events, including sporting action, Opening, Closing and victory ceremonies, or other activities (including training, interviews and press conferences) which occur within Olympic venues ("Olympic Material"), beyond that which is permitted under these News Access Rules.

"Olympic venues" shall include all venues which require an Olympic accreditation card or ticket to gain entry, including the Olympic village, the competition sites, the practice venues and the site(s) at which medal/victory ceremonies take place during the time when the medal ceremonies actually take place.

To protect the rights of the Rights Holding Broadcasters, but to also respect the requirements of the Olympic Charter regarding the "fullest coverage by the different media and the widest possible audience in the world for the Olympic Games", the IOC recognises the need for news organisations to have limited access to Olympic Material, for news purposes, in accordance with these News Access Rules.

These News Access Rules apply to television broadcasting by Non-Rights Holding Broadcast Organisations, and are subject to applicable national laws and regulations. In appropriate cases, the IOC may agree with Rights Holding Broadcasters in their particular territories to issue supplemental news access rules for such territories, which may be more or less restrictive.

Olympic Material is subject to full IOC copyright. All use of Olympic Material is strictly subject to the following restrictions:

    
    1. Olympic Material may be used only as a part of regularly scheduled
    daily news programmes of which the actual news element constitutes the
    main feature "programmes". Programmes shall not be positioned or promoted
    as Olympic programmes.

    2. 3 x 2 x 3
    Non-Rights Holding Broadcast Organisations may use a total of six minutes
    of Olympic Material per day subject to the following provisions:
    a) Olympic Material may appear in no more than three programmes per day.
    b) No more than two minutes of Olympic Material may be used in any one
    programme.
    c) These programmes must be separated by a period of at least three
    hours.
    d) No more than one third of any individual event may be used in any one
    programme with a maximum broadcast time of 30 seconds for any individual
    event.

    3. 6 x 1 x 2
    In the case of an all-news network, the network may use Olympic Material
    during multiple news programmes, as long as
    a) the Olympic Material is used in accordance with Clause 2 (3 x 2 x 3).
    or
    b) in no more than six news programmes per day and does not exceed a
    total of one minute in any one programme. These bulletins must be
    separated by a period of at least two hours. The other provisions of
    clause 2 above continue to apply.

    4. Should any fair dealing or similar provisions contained in any
    applicable national law permit the use by Non-Rights Holding Broadcast
    Organisations of any footage of previous Olympic Games, then such footage
    will be included in the total of six minutes per day.

    5. Olympic Material may only be used for a period of 48 hours from the
    earliest time at which broadcast of such Olympic Material by the Non-
    Rights Holding Broadcast Organisations may begin. After such period, Non-
    Rights Holding Broadcast Organisations may only transmit archive Olympic
    Material with the express prior written agreement of the IOC.

    6. Non-Rights Holding Broadcast Organisations may broadcast Olympic
    Material in accordance with the other conditions contained in these News
    Access Rules, as follows:
    a) The later of (i) immediately following the broadcast of an Olympic
    event by the local Rights Holding Broadcaster on free to air television
    in that territory, or (ii) such longer period of time after such
    broadcast that the Rights Holding Broadcaster may wish to impose in
    accordance with applicable national law;
    b) At the end of the broadcast day (i.e. 24:00 hours local time) if not
    broadcast by the local Rights Holding Broadcaster on free to air
    television in that territory on the day (local time) during which the
    Olympic event concluded;
    c) At such time as may be agreed by the Rights Holding Broadcaster for
    its particular territory and that particular Olympic event;
    d) Non-Rights Holding Broadcast Organisations can only transmit Olympic
    Material prior to these times with the specific written agreement with
    the local Rights Holder Broadcaster.

    7. Non-Rights Holding Broadcast Organisations, provided they are holders
    of ENR accreditation, will have access
    - without equipment (audio or video), to all Olympic venues.
    - with equipment (audio or video) to the Main Press Centre (MPC) and
    Whistler Media Centre (WMC).
    Holders of ENR accreditations shall not have access to Olympic events
    listed as ticketed high-demand sessions.

    8. Non-Rights Holding Broadcast Organisations may not originate or
    broadcast any programming or feed from the Olympic venues, including the
    Olympic Villages, Victory Ceremony sites, MPC and WMC.
    Notwithstanding the above, Non-Rights Holding Broadcast Organisations may
    broadcast, via the Internet, all or portions of press conferences that
    take place in the MPC and WMC, without any territorial restrictions,
    provided that there is a delay of at least thirty minutes from the
    conclusion of the press conference.
    Additional IOC Internet Guidelines regarding the use of Olympic content
    by Non-Rights Holding Broadcast Organisations will also apply.

    9. The IOC and Olympic Broadcast Services Vancouver (OBSV) will establish
    an Olympic Television News Agency (ONA) for the purpose of providing
    Olympic Material to Non-Rights Holders for uses in accordance with these
    News Access Rules. Olympic Material shall not be provided by the ONA to
    Non-Rights Holding Broadcast Organisations or news agencies unless they
    provide a prior written guarantee, in form and substance satisfactory to
    the IOC, that they will fully comply with all terms and conditions of
    these News Access Rules.

    10. Non-Rights Holding Broadcast Organisations shall respect the
    following provisions:
    a) they shall not make available or provide Olympic Material to any third
    party.
    b) they shall ensure that no advertising, promotion, publicity or other
    message appears at the same time (be it superimposed or on a split screen
    or otherwise) as Olympic Material and/or at the same time as any other
    coverage of the Olympic Games which contains any Olympic imagery or
    Olympic marks;
    c) they shall ensure that no advertising or other message is placed
    before, during or after the broadcast of Olympic Material, in such a
    manner as to imply an association or connection between any third party,
    or third party's product or service, and Olympic Material or the Olympic
    Games; and
    d) they must give an on screen credit to the Rights Holding Broadcaster
    in their particular territory during each broadcast of Olympic Material.
    The credit shall be in the form of leaving on the Rights Holding
    Broadcaster watermark, or, should the Olympic Material not be sourced
    through the Rights Holding Broadcaster, a super video credit of at least
    five seconds to read as follows:
    "Courtesy of (Name of Rights Holding Broadcaster)"

    11. The accreditations of any organisation or person(s) accredited at the
    Olympic Games may be withdrawn without notice, at the discretion of the
    IOC, for purposes of ensuring compliance with these News Access Rules.

    12. These News Access Rules shall come into effect when an Olympic
    accreditation card or ticket is required to obtain access into any of the
    Olympic venues. From the time that these News Access Rules come into
    effect until 48 hours following the conclusion of the Olympic Games,
    their operation shall be effected by the IOC. The IOC reserves the right
    to amend these News Access Rules, as it deems appropriate. The IOC
    Executive Board shall be the final authority with respect to the
    interpretation and implementation of these News Access Rules

    13. Any dispute, controversy or claim arising from or in connection with
    the execution or interpretation of these News Access Rules or breach
    thereof not resolved after exhaustion of the legal remedies established
    by the IOC and which cannot be settled amicably, shall be submitted
    exclusively to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for final and
    binding arbitration in accordance with the Statute and Regulations of the
    CAS. The decisions of the CAS shall be final, binding and non-appealable.

    (C) Copyright IOC 2009 All Rights Reserved
    IOC Television News Access Rules - Vancouver 2010
    

For further information: Media Contact: VANOC Media Relations, Tel: [phone], E-mail: [email protected]