John Tasker, RGSQ President

With restrictions easing and hospitalisation rates dropping, I encourage members to take full opportunity of the in-person and hybrid events currently organised for the coming months. We have an exciting program ahead, including our March Lecture from Steve Noakes who is set to provide insights into the early history of Binna Burra and the RGSQ. In addition, event registrations are now open for several activities, so please visit the RGSQ website to ensure you don’t miss out!

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics have been a fascinating event. With more than 180km between the key venues in Beijing, Yanqing, and Zhangjiakou, the 2022 Winter Olympics are one of the most spatially distributed in over 20 years. While engineering solutions have solved many challenges, including a driverless high-speed railway and more than 350 snow machines, the environmental cost of any modern Olympics remains a major concern. I encourage you to follow the links below to learn more about some of the key achievements and challenges of the recent Winter Olympics. As Queensland progresses towards our own Olympic Games in 2032, understanding the challenges of the events today is critical to inform how we can do better over the next decade.

As discussed last year, the Council and I will be working on a new Strategic Plan for RGSQ over the coming months. To support this work, we will shortly be releasing a survey so that all members can provide their input to shape the direction of RGSQ over the coming four years. I look forward to your participation and encourage any member to reach out to me to discuss our opportunities and challenges.

References:

• A Satellite View of Olympic Terrain (nasa.gov)
• We couldn't have the Beijing Olympics without snow machines. How do they work, and what's the environmental cost? (theconversation.com)
• Artificial Snow: A Slippery Slope - American Chemical Society (acs.org)
• Badaling Great Wall Station: The world's deepest high-speed railway station | CNN Travel