Geoff Berkeley, the chief senior reporter at insidethegames, arrived in Lake Placid with fellow reporter Owen Lloyd in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Jan. 10. The next day, they stood outside of the Mirror Lake Beach House on Parkside Drive — which is serving as the Media Press Center during the games — with around 20 other reporters who were gathering for a media tour of local Olympic venues. Before they set off on the tour, Berkeley and Lloyd spoke with the Lake Placid News about what they’re most excited to cover.

Lloyd said a lot of insidethegames’ coverage focuses on the political aspects behind sports, and while in Lake Placid, Lloyd said he planned to interview acting FISU president Leonz Eder, who temporarily took over for FISU President and Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin in March 2021 following doping sanctions against Russia. FISU has also openly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and banned athletes from Russia and Belarus from competing in FISU sports, including the Winter World University Games in Lake Placid. Insidethegames reported this past December that the return of Matysin as “a government official leading an international sports organisation would be met with firm opposition.”

Lloyd doesn’t see the war in Ukraine ending anytime soon, so he thinks it’s “pointless” for Matystin to remain in his role as president. Lloyd’s question for Eder is: “Could he (Matystin) step down quite soon and pave the way for someone else? I just think he’s probably stalling FISU at the moment,” Lloyd told the News.

Berkeley noted the environmental initiatives surrounding Lake Placid’s FISU games — tagged as the “Save Winter” campaign — as one aspect of the 12-day competition that he’s looking forward to writing about. Berkeley is interested in the future of winter and winter sports as global temperatures continue to increase, and he’s already covered some of the climate initiatives and speakers at the Save Winter conference, held this past weekend at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts.

Insidethegames is also providing daily coverage of sports competitions during the games, and Berkeley and Lloyd had their eyes on a couple of specific events they wanted to attend. Berkeley wanted to cover alpine skiing and visit some of the more mountainous areas in the region; he covered the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, and he said he missed out on alpine events there. Lloyd was interested in covering ice hockey and speedskating at the Olympic Center. It’s going to be a “busy time” for the two reporters, Berkeley said. Luckily, their lodging — the Crowne Plaza Lake Placid — is conveniently located next to the Olympic Center.

Berkeley and Lloyd will be in Lake Placid until Jan. 24 reporting on the games, giving them a day or so after the competitions end to explore the village’s Olympic legacy.

“We’re hoping to pack in a wild day on the 24th,” Lloyd laughed.

They want to take a tour of the Lake Placid Olympic Museum in the Olympic Center. Berkeley said this is his first time in the U.S., so he’s hoping to get “as much out of the experience as possible.”