The policies and the travel costs are all that is left standing in the way of the participation in Sochi.
The NHL Players’ Association and the National Hockey League sat down on Friday to talk to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) members and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The goal was to sort out the issues that were still outstanding regarding the costs of the insurance coverage for the multimillion dollar protection that the players would require in order to take part in the Winter Olympics in 2014.
The policies and travel expenses are currently the main issues that are still being faced by the organizations.
The NHL players and the other staff members that would be traveling to Sochi still have two primary obstacles in their way, which are made up of their insurance coverage and the travel costs. These barriers must be overcome before the hockey players will be able to participate in the Olympics.
The IIHF provided the insurance coverage for the players at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
However, for the Olympics that will be taking place in Russia, next year, the IIHF doesn’t seem quite as willing to pay out for insurance coverage and travel, as the expense will be far greater. The reason for the higher price is a much larger number of long term contract hockey players that have joined over the last three years.
Though time is starting to run out for settling the issues behind player participation, the participants in the talks on Friday were still unable to come up with a deal. The expectation is that the agreement over the insurance coverage and travel costs may not be made until May. However Friday’s meeting remained an important step in this process as it brought forward estimates from insurers and travel companies and promoted the creation of those from others in the near future.
Those figures will help the IIHF and the IOC to understand exactly how willing they can be to provide the insurance coverage and pay for the travel expenses for the players and the staff members who will go to the Olympics with them.
