8 Jan 2022 – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) this week released the Competition Contingency Regulations (CCRs) for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. Jointly developed between the IOC and the International Winter Federations (IFs), the CCRs are aimed at mitigating the impact on the competitions in the event of a confirmed positive COVID-19 case for an athlete who is unable to compete.

The implementation of the CCRs is subject to the individual circumstances of each situation, in particular, the timing when the COVID-19 positive case  is confirmed in relation to the start of the impacted competition, and the applicable IF rules and regulations.

The sport by sport CCRs can be found here.

CCR principles

The CCRs reflect the three principles established by the IOC Executive Board in December 2021 to provide consistency across sports where possible. These principles, which were also in place for Tokyo 2020, have been implemented on a sport-specific basis with the respective IFs.

1. No athlete or team should be designated as “disqualified” for COVID-19 reasons, instead: “Did Not Start (DNS)” or an equivalent sport-specific designation will be used where the athletes or team cannot take part in a competition.
2. The minimum result of the athlete/team will be protected, considering the phase of competition at which they could not compete.
3. Where possible, the place of an athlete or team unable to compete will be filled by the next most eligible athlete or team, allowing events to go ahead where possible and medals to be competed for on the field of play.

Beijing 2022 COVID-19 countermeasures

The COVID-19 countermeasures in place for Beijing 2022 are described in the Playbooks. They are the basis to ensure that all Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games participants and the people of China stay safe and healthy for the Games.

Recently, the COVID-19 countermeasures for the Olympic Games Beijing 2022 have been refined by the Organising Committee and the Chinese authorities, in consultation with medical experts and the IOC. They have been developed in order to further adapt to the reality of the current environment and support the Games participants. More information can be found here.