There has been an agreement on strict doping laws ahead of the Turin Games. Mario Pescante, Italy’s under-secretary for sport and supervisor for the Winter Olympics, said they had reached an agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to relax their strict anti-doping laws. There were concerns that some athletes could end up with jail sentences because of Italy’s tough legislation on drugs. But Pescante said a two-month moratorium has been imposed on carrying out their own dope tests, warning that penal sanctions could still be applied. The Health Ministry tried to push through a decree giving it the last say in doping controls but Health Ministry Undersecretary Cesare Cursi said Monday the ministry had frozen the decree until after the Games. In return for freezing the decree the ministry will have a representative on the commission in charge of doping controls. The commission also includes the IOC and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
The three Olympic Villages in Turin, Sestriere and Bardonecchia, housing delegates of the National Olympic Committee opened its doors to the athletes Tuesday. The three villages will accommodate the various delegations during the Games. The Turin Olympic Village is next to the Lingotto, where the International Broadcast Centre and Main Press Centre are located, covering 100,000 square metres and catering to up to 2,500 people providing gyms, shops, restaurants and a medical centre. The Sestriere Olympic Village will accommodate 1,850 people and is comprised of two existing towers and a new building called “Mariani”. The village, covering 75,000 square metres, will provide all the athletes with the services they need during the Games. The Bardonecchia Olympic Village has 700 beds and its services include a swimming pool. With the opening of the villages the Olympic and Paralympic flag raising ceremonies will be held in all Italian schools to highlight the message of peace, loyalty and solidarity that the Olympic Winter Games want to represent, especially for a younger audience.
An agreement signed Tuesday ensures that Italy can use Swiss air space to make sure the Games are safe from airborne threats. Under the agreement Italian fighter planes can cross Italy’s border with Switzerland to hunt down or head off terrorist planes. The air force point man for Olympic security, General Paolo Magro, told the media that Italian fighters will be on the highest level of alert on the Opening and Closing days of the Games, when the only aircraft allowed into Turin air space will be those carrying dignitaries.
Olympic organizers have tightened the screws on data processing security to prevent identity fraud and tampering with scores and times, reports Reuters. According to Atos Origin Olympic Games project director Patrick Adiba, there were about five million security alerts on the secure network for the Athens Summer Games. Atos also provides data to police and immigration authorities.
