I was lucky enough to be in London when it hosted the 2012 Olympics. It was dubbed the first-ever ‘social media games,’ with the opening ceremony alone provoking more tweets than the entire Beijing Olympics in 2008.

I was gripped by the event and was constantly on Twitter keeping up-to-date with the reactions and news from my favorite athletes. The athletes were able to use social media to showcase life inside the Olympic village – something a traditional journalist couldn’t do so easily. Who remembers Usain Bolt tweeting a photo of his late night partying antics with the Swedish handball team?!

I’m excited to see how social media is utilized during the forthcoming Sochi Winter Olympics. I was surprised to read recent reports that the Australian Olympic Committee has banned its team’s athletes from using social media during training, competition or while traveling between venues at Sochi.

The ban was put it place because apparently social media distracted the Australian swim team at London 2012. Of course they want their athletes to focus 100% but it seems behind the times to shut the team off from this valuable resource – a way for them to document their Olympic journey and to enjoy added exposure.

Many of the Australian athletes took to  Twitter to vent their anger at the ban, including the pro snowboarder, Scotty James, who complained: “No social media, no partying and no personal devices allowed at the Winter Olympics for Aus team. Cheers Australian swim team…”

Thankfully, the Australian Olympic Committee’s ban is in contrast to the social media guidelines listed on Olympic.org, which actively encourages athletes to tweet and blog during the Games.

There were also reports late last year that Sochi officials have banned journalists from using social media to document the Winter Olympics.

“Capturing the games in real time will be considered a serious violation and will result in cancelation of accreditation,” announced Vasily Konov, a Russian sports journalist who works for the state-run news agency RIA.

However, soon after, International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams confirmed that journalists will be able to use social media outlets like Instagram and Twitter. Phew.