Supporting the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi

An artist's rendering of the Olympic Stadium planned for the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.

The XXII Olympic Winter Games will be held in Sochi, Russia in February 2014. Sochi is a Russian resort city with a population of 400,000, and is situated on the Black Sea against the stunning backdrop of the Caucasus Mountains.

The TRU School of Tourism was a co-convener for a planning conference in Sochi from October 29 to November 1, 2009. TRU faculty presented papers at the conference—the 2nd International Conference, Professional Training and Education for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games: Problems and Prospects—and led a delegation of Canadian officials and Olympians.

The delegation included Harold Richins, Dean of TRU's School of Tourism, Anne Terwiel and Maynard Kirkpatrick, faculty members with the School of Tourism, Christopher Gas, TRU's Chief Marketing Officer, Nikolay Gusevskiy, a TRU alumnus from Russia, and Canadian Olympian Steve Podborski. Mr. Podborski is the Chef de Mission for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, and served as the keynote speaker at the Sochi conference. Anne Terwiel and Maynard Kirkpatrick presented papers at the conference during a session led by Dean Richins.

Canadian Olympian and Canadian Chef de Mission for the 2010 Winter Games Steve Podborski giving the keynote address at the Sochi conference.

The Sochi State University for Tourism and Recreation (SUTR) was a partner in organizing in the conference, and we are proud of TRU's strong working relationship with SUTR and with the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee.