On February 13, the Zhangjiakou division of the Beijing Winter Olympics ushered in snowfall. According to the official website of the International Olympic Committee, the Beijing Winter Olympics freestyle ski women's steeplechase qualification tournament scheduled for 10 a.m. today will be postponed and will be held tomorrow (February 14) at 10 a.m. Gu Ailing will make his 3rd appearance and Yang Shuorui's 24th appearance. Due to the postponement of the qualifiers, the freestyle ski women's steeplechase final, which is scheduled to start on February 14, will also be postponed to 9:30 on February 15.
Gu Ailing
Yang Shuorui
In addition, due to weather factors, the freestyle ski women's aerial skills qualification tournament originally scheduled for 19:00 Beijing time today will be postponed, and the specific competition time is to be determined. The second training for alpine skiing women's downhill was also cancelled for some reason.
The second round of the Alpine Skiing Men's Giant Slalom, which was scheduled to start at 13:45 today, was postponed to 15:00 due to heavy snowfall.
The Winter Olympic Organizing Committee received a snowfall forecast nine days ago
This morning, at a regular press conference at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Yang Shu'an, vice chairman of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, said that on February 4, the Winter Olympics Organizing Committee had received a notice from the meteorological department about the snowfall and immediately launched an emergency plan.
Yang Shu'an introduced that meteorological experts provided accurate weather forecasting services for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, which is crucial for the normal operation of the event. "For example, today's snowfall, on February 4 we have the forecast information of the meteorological department. Two days ago, the time and magnitude of the snowfall at each venue were determined, and information about weather warnings was issued in advance. ”
"Some of the tracks in the Genting area have gone through snow press, shaping, secondary shaping and other links, and there can't be too much snow floating on the slopes." Yang Shu'an revealed that at 5 o'clock this morning, the Zhangjiakou division organized thousands of staff to start cleaning up the floating snow on the track, but because the snow was too large and too urgent, it did not meet the requirements of the visibility of the event, in order to ensure the safety of the athletes, it was finally decided to postpone the competition.
Yang Shu'an said that according to the information obtained by meteorological experts, the snowfall will last at least until night, and the local governments of various venues and the business fields of various venues are also actively responding to measures and constantly improving the plan.
Does snowfall affect the Winter Olympics?
Organizing Committee for the Winter Olympics: Mainly look at the wind and visibility
This morning, Yang Shu'an, vice chairman of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, responded at a press conference: Today's heavy snow, the alpine skiing men's giant slalom competition in Yanqing Division is still continuing. At present, snow has little impact on the event, mainly depending on the wind and visibility. This morning, the wind and visibility in Yanqing area can meet the requirements of the competition. At Chongli's Genting Ski Park, the slope obstacle course skills are delayed until tomorrow due to unsatisfied visibility. The Organizing Committee of the Winter Olympics has daily meetings on meteorological conditions to determine whether it can proceed as planned.
It is understood that the accompanying heating when snowing will affect the snow temperature and snow quality of the track, so the type and amount of waxing of the athlete's snowboard need to be adjusted accordingly; the new snow brought by snowfall will make the track surface soft and the friction will increase, which is not conducive to the players.
In addition, low visibility in snowy weather can affect the line of sight of athletes and referees, especially for athletes who are sliding at high speeds, which is very dangerous.
So much natural snow, how to deal with it?
High-hardness icy snow is the standard for racing snow. According to the regulations of the International Snow Federation, after snowfall, the competition venue needs to clean the natural snow to ensure the snow quality of the track.
In layman's terms, the line leveling work is to remove the natural snowfall from the snow path by stepping on the snowboard by the leveling personnel. The snowfall on the 12th and 13th increased the workload of the line leveling personnel.
"Usually we go up the mountain at five o'clock in the morning, but we have to be on standby these days to create snow conditions suitable for the competition." Hou Jiahuan, a domestic technical official for alpine skiing, said.
In ski jumping, cross-country skiing and other competition venues, after snowfall, snow blowers need to be used to clean the snow troughs. Guo Ying, director of the ancient poplar tree stadium group in Zhangjiakou Division, introduced that "Snow Ruyi" has prepared 21 snow blowing machines, and the National Cross-Country Ski Center conducted a blizzard snow blowing drill on the 12th.
At present, the two divisions are well prepared with snow. Wei Qinghua, manager of the mountain operation site of the ancient poplar tree stadium in Zhangjiakou, said that the venue began snowmaking in early November 2021 and took seven weeks to complete. The mountain running team performs five hours of shaping work every night.
"The race needs to be stable and there will be no more snow without special circumstances. In response to the extremes, we prepared more than 100,000 cubic meters of reserve snow at three venues. Wei Qinghua said.
Source: Beijing News Broadcasting (Reporter: Ma Jun), @Olympic Games
Source: Beijing Radio and Television Station