FOR OLYMPICS ACCREDITED PHOTOGRAPHERS ONLYDear Olympics Photojournalists,
This post will be frequently updated during the London 2012 Olympics to provide links to code replacement files for Olympic sports where it makes sense. Code replacement files for team sports such as Football, Hockey, and Water Polo will likely be provided first because the athlete identifiers (e.g. shirt or cap number) are consistent throughout the games. Code replacement files for other sports/events that use starting lists will be updated as soon as we get the starting list with bib numbers etc. Some sports you might just want to create your own codes that uniquely identify the athlete.
We are primarily relying upon the official rosters etc provided by MyInfo+, although we may use other sources that are consistent with the IOC but are provided in a more friendly format than "LAST First". It is a lot of work for us to process the MyInfo+ web pages and format the names as one would expect to see in a photo caption or keyword (e.g. "First Last" or "Last First" as appropriate depending on the country), and we will do our best to provide timely daily updates. However, we also have to provide technical support to the hundreds of photographers who use Photo Mechanic and this will obviously slow us down (that doesn't mean you should avoid seeing us for help at the Pro Photo Store in the MPC).
Each day we will attempt to update the Code Replacement Repository with new code replacement files. The format of the codes and their replacements may not be perfectly suited to your style of captioning, but at least it is a starting point for you to adjust as necessary. We sincerely hope this service will be useful for those of you who are covering the games.
We hope you have a productive, successful, and enjoyable time covering the London 2012 games. Trust us, we would much rather be in your shoes than ours even though your work will be much more physically demanding than banging away on a keyboard in an air-conditioned office.
Regards,
Dennis Walker and Bob Russell
