GERMANY

Bavaria Bids On The 2018 Olympics

By Ted Heck

During the 2010 Winter Olympics round-the-clock coverage on several networks offered close-ups and intimacy, but my best moments at Vancouver 2010 were in the grandstand during an alpine skiing event.

It was a bright, cloudless day, warm enough to sit without cap or gloves. New friends from Germany and I focused initially on the huge screen that followed skiers from their kick-starts high on the mountain to the finish.

Editor Ted Heck is impressed with Bavaria's mountains and vast number of charming villages

Depending on who was on the course, cowbells rang or national flags waved and the multitude roared. Regardless of whom we rooted for, everyone got caught up in the excitement. It was certainly more exhilarating than watching from a hotel room.

I sat with a group of German acquaintances, who agreed that being there was better than watching television.. They were on hand to support their athletes, but they also had a professional interest in promoting the state of Bavaria and its winter sports opportunities.

In news conferences in their hospitality facilities in Vancouver and Whistler, they outlined their list of next seasons world championships: alpine skiing in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, skeleton and bobsled in Berchtesgaden, single distance speed skating in Inzell. Another world championship in biathlon will be in the village of Ruhpolding in 2012.

However, Bavaria is looking much further ahead. Russia will host the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, but the German alpine state is a candidate for the 2018 Games. Munich would become the first city in Olympic history to host both winter and summer events.

The prime minister of Bavaria was among many officials and tourism representatives who spoke to the media during this years Olympics. An imposing figure straight from central casting, he was hesitant about discussing the German bid, apparently to avoid preempting prerogatives of the International Olympic Committee.

The Bavaria House in which he spoke was a rented golf clubhouse that was redecorated to accommodate a movie screen and a huge relief map showing the state covered with snow. I missed some of the ministers remarks when I sneaked glances at the map and remembered my adventures in Germany more than a half-century ago.

As a civilian, I ran athletic programs for Munich Military Post, which had stations throughout the state. My work and my play took me to many villages. I skied often in Garmisch-Partenkirchen then and at least a dozen times since. On my last visit, I ventured onto the fierce Kandahar downhill course, taking it somewhat easier than the men and women I saw in Whistler. Somewhat easier means 10 minutes on a two-minute course.

The Kandahar will be the centerpiece of the 2018 Olympics, should the Bavarians be successful in their bid. Given a chance, I would stuff the ballot box in their favor when the IOC votes.

Postscript on the Bid for the Olympics

Since learning about Germanys bid during the Olympics in Vancouver, I have been to the venues that Bavaria is touting. So have the International Olympic Committee inspectors who looked at proposed facilities for athletes and spectators, sniffed the alpine air and considered the ambience. Lets hope they were as impressed as I was.

The award for 2018 will be made in July, giving the chosen host a seven-year span to get ready.Their competition is Annecy, France, and Pyeongchang, South Korea. The 2014 Games are set for Sochi in Russia, on the Black Sea.

I was with a press group that was bullish about Bavarias prospects, because we saw the place, not from plans and photos, but in action. In Garmisch we watched the worlds best skiers compete in the World Championships of alpine skiing. In the Berchtesgaden/Koenigssee region we witnessed World Championships in bobsled and skeleton, The charming village of Inzell had speed skaters on the ice practicing for next months World Championships. In Ruhpolding, where the worlds best biathlon participants will meet next year, most of our group tried their steadiness in the shooting part of the sportand did surprisingly well with bulls eyes at 50 meters.. Of course, they did not have to jump up from a prone position and sprint off on cross country skis.

We saw nearly all the star performers in extensive TV coverage, but we were up close in the press corral for the womens Giant Slalom on Garmischs fierce Kandahar course. Giant screens on both sides of the finish line let us follow the athletes all the way down, with the clock comparing each skiers time at specific spots with the time of the leader. It drew the huge crowd into the action, particularly if the contestant was a German lady challenging the skier in first place.

When we moved to the Koenigssee bobsled track outside of Berchtesgaden, we were able to stand at arms length from sleds zooming by us at 65 to 70 miles an hour. This also was a world championship contest; the two-person event among the women was won by a German team.

Being so close to all this action gave us a better feel for the planning and work needed to click things into place. But there is another part of world championships and Olympic events: the opportunities to mix with people from other cultures, gaze at natural wonders, admire man-made structures centuries old and relax in charming surroundings.

For me this trip was especially exciting. I lived in Munich and played in Bavaria a long time ago and there seemed to be a memory peg on every corner.

		Munich Delight Skiers have long known that the Bavarian capital is a great add-on for a trip to southern Germany and Austria. Munich is close to the snow, but it has a very special charm of its own. Magnificent palaces and churches, expansive gardens and parks and a unique backdrop for exciting winter activities, such as sledding, ice-stock or skating. Indoor entertainment, concerts in the palaces, star quality dining, live music, museums, boutique hotels and Bavarian snacks.

Second Postscript . . . A Personal Lament

Bavaria Was Not Awarded The Winter Games

Despite a lot of cheering from the sidelines from those of us who had fond memories of Bavaria and were pulling for Germany to win, the International Olympic Committee decided to give the 2018 Winter Games to South Korea and the city of Pyeongchang.

Much time and effort and money were expended by the Germans in their campaign. They certainly were saddened by the decision, as were the French, who had promoted their city of Annecy. But like athletes who don’t get to the center of the podium, the Munich 2018 Team were good sports.

Here is an official message that they released: “Congratulations to Pyeongchang. They were good opponents and we are sure they will stage an excellent Winter Games in 2018. Commiserations, too, to Annecy and their team. Munich 2018 put together a strong bid and we are immensely proud of everyone involved. Of course, we are disappointed because we came here to become the host of the 2018 Winter Games. But the IOC has decided to award this honour to another candidate and because we are a sporting team, we accept this decision. We always knew that this would be a very tough race alongside two strong competitors.”