Highlights 11/02/2019
IOC ACTIVITIES
PrEsident
On the occasion of the first anniversary of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, IOC President Thomas Bach said that “the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 were a success story in so many respects. From the sporting achievements and the athletes’ experience to the excellent organisation, these Games opened up new horizons in more ways than anyone could have imagined”. The PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee has achieved a surplus of US$ 55 million from the Games. Full text of the message here.
President Bach met World Rowing President and IOC member Jean-Christophe Rolland and the members of the Executive Committee, at the IF headquarters at the Maison du Sport International in Lausanne. Discussions focused mainly on the preparations for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, as well as other topics of mutual interest.
With IOC member José Perurena, also President of the International Canoe Federation (ICF) and the International World Games Association (IWGA), the President talked about the excellent cooperation between IOC and IWGA as well as various current Olympic topics.
With International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) President Ary Graça, discussions focused on cooperation between the IOC and the FIVB on numerous topics of common interest.
With World Skate President Sabatino Aracu, the IOC President discussed the preparations for the skateboard competitions, which will be on the Olympic programme for the first time at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
President Bach met Jay Y. Lee, Vice-President of Samsung Electronics, a Worldwide Olympic Partner. The main topics discussed were the strategic digital collaboration between the IOC and Samsung, whose partnership has recently been renewed until 2028, as well as the contribution of Samsung to the success of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.
At The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, President Bach attended the opening of the ‘China Red’ exhibition by Chinese artist Jinghze Cui, who paints on precious silk known as “Gong Juan”. Produced for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, a series of paintings by the artist illustrate the lighting of the Olympic flame in Olympia. This opening coincided with the celebration of the Chinese New Year. The President was accompanied by IOC Vice-President Zaiqing Yu.
The IOC President welcomed the members of the Executive Board of the German Sports Youth in Lausanne. They held their board meeting there to prepare for the Youth Olympic Winter Games Lausanne 2020. Since the inaugural Youth Olympic Games Singapore 2010, the German Sports Youth is involved in the leadership of the German Youth Olympic Teams and is arranging educational programmes for athletes and young sports leaders around each YOG edition.
Members
Hayley Wickenheiser is one of five players whom the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has announced will be inducted into its Hall of Fame later this year. She has competed in all the Olympic women's ice hockey tournaments, winning four consecutive titles in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 and one silver medal in 1998. No athlete has appeared at more Olympic Winter Games than she has. She also won seven World Championships titles. More info here.
international sportS FEDERATIONS
SUMMER IFS
The .basketball domain name, established by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) in June 2017 as the digital identity linking the global basketball community, has been adopted by some of the sport’s biggest stakeholders, including leading FIBA National Member Federations, national teams and top clubs. Furthermore, the project is proving extremely popular in FIBA's Asian region, where 35 national federations are currently in the process of changing their respective official websites to.basketball. More info here.
After the first edition of the IWF’s Train the Trainers course in 2015 in Bratislava (Slovakia), the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) organised a second edition aimed at women, partly funded by the IOC Development Programme. The second IWF Level 1 Train the Trainers course for was held in Halmstad (Sweden) from 1 to 3 February. This was also the first course held for Level 2. In an effort to promote the number of women coaches, women were invited to participate from all five continents. Representatives from 15 countries attended. Among those were IWF Vice President Ursula Papandrea, IWF Executive Board Members Karoliina Lundahl and Mahmoud Mahgoub. At the end of the course, all of the participants received a participation certificate. More info here.
The first meeting of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Integrity Unit was held in Lausanne on 1 February, under the chairmanship of Wayne Snell, an international sports integrity expert. This is an independent body whose role is to protect the integrity of hockey and establish an effective mechanism to apply the FIH Integrity Code and issue sanctions in the event of violations. More info here.
The water polo qualification phase to secure a place at the 18th International Swimming Federation (FINA) World Championships in Gwangju (Republic of Korea), is now completed. In total, 32 teams (16 men’s and 16 women’s) will compete in the tournaments from 14 to 27 July 2019. The variety of the squad qualified for these World Championships, with teams from the five continents, reflects the universality of this sport. More info at www.fina.org.
WINTER IFS
The World Curling Federation (WCF) has announced that the 2019 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championships, which will be held in Stavanger (Norway) from 20 to 27 April, will be the biggest edition of this event to date, with 48 teams taking part. Five WCF member associations – Kosovo, Mexico, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine – will compete for the first time. More info here. In addition, the World Women’s Curling Championship in 2020 will be held from 14 to 22 March in Prince George, British Columbia (Canada). It will be the first time that the city has organised a WCF event, and the fourth time such championships have been held in British Columbia. More info here.
The International Ski Federation (FIS) has announced the death of Finnish ski jumping legend Matti Nykänen (photo) on 4 February, aged 55. Nykänen was one of the most successful ski jumpers ever, winning four Olympic gold medals, five golds at FIS Nordic World Championships and 46 World Cups. He made history by winning three Olympic medals at one Games (Calgary in 1988). Nykänen represented the Jyväskylä skiing club for his whole career, and the normal hill in Jyväskylä was named after him. More info here.
RECOGNISED IFS
The World Underwater Federation (CMAS) announced the death of Honorary President Achille Ferrero on 25 January. Elected in 1993, Ferrero was CMAS President for 20 years until 2013. More info here.
NATIONAL Olympic COMMITTEES
The Albanian NOC organised its first Sports Administrator Course of the year from 31 January to 2 February in Tirana. The course brought together 18 participants, one third of whom were women. The topics covered included strategic plans, sports marketing, fair play, good governance, sports activity management, sports medicine, financing, and justice and sport. This course preceded the Advanced Management Course – a one-year programme that covers sports management in more detail. More info on www.nocalbania.org.al.
The election for the very first Athletes’ Commission of the NOC of Saudi Arabia was held in Riyadh at the NOC headquarters on 3 February, with 40 (male and female) athletes from 29 national federations taking part. With this election, the NOC decided, in line with its statutes, to give a permanent platform and voice to Saudi athletes and get them represented at the General Assembly and on the Executive Committee. The four male and three female athletes who earned the highest number of votes automatically become members of the NOC’s new Athletes’ Commission. Besides the seven elected members, the NOC President will appoint one male and one female athlete. More info at www.olympic.sa.
On 5 February, the new Legal and Social Responsibility Commission of the Spanish NOC held its first meeting at the NOC headquarters in Madrid. NOC President Alejandro Blanco welcomed the Commission members and informed them of its role for the period 2019-20. More info here.
The NOC of Panama recently organised a workshop at its headquarters attended by 40 young athletes from various sports. The NOC presented a fund-raising programme for the period 2019-20, named #UnPaisUnEquipo [OneCountryOneTeam]. The campaign will be organised nationally and will focus on promotional and marketing activities on the theme “Behind every athlete, there is a country.” The workshop provided information on the NOC’s educational programmes, the sports scholarships offered by the IOC, and the next major competitions, such as the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and the Lima 2019 Pan-American Games. More info here.
Organising committees for the olympic games
tokyo 2020
The Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 (Tokyo 2020) announced that the nationwide collection of discarded and obsolete electronic devices—aimed at supplying recycled precious metals for the manufacture of athletes’ medals—is expected to reach its goals and will end on 31 March 2019.Thanks to the huge levels of support from the public and companies across Japan and from national and international athletes, it is estimated that the remaining amounts of metals required to manufacture all Olympic and Paralympic medals can be extracted from the devices already donated. The project has offered the public an opportunity to play an important role in the Games’ preparations, while at the same time drawing attention to the importance of sustainability under the Tokyo 2020 slogan “Be better, together ― for the planet and the people”. Their cooperation will help to promote sustainability in Japan, one of Tokyo 2020’s planned legacies. The designs for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic medals will be unveiled in summer 2019. More info at www.tokyo2020.org
Paris 2024
The third edition of Olympic and Paralympic Week (Semaine Olympique et Paralympique, SOP) was officially launched on 4 February at Dora Maar Secondary School in Seine-Saint-Denis, northern Paris, with more than 1,000 projects extolling the values and benefits of sport getting under way in educational establishments from nursery schools to universities across France. Running until 9 February and supported by the French Ministry of Education and the sports movement, Olympic and Paralympic Week is central to the Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 educational programme, which promotes education through sport and puts civic and sporting values at the heart of learning. Attending the event were Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet; Jean-Michel Blanquer, the French Minister for Education and Youth Affairs; Roxana Maracineanu, the French Minister for Sport; and Sophie Cluzel, the French Secretary of State in charge of Persons with Disabilities. More info here.
recoGNISED Organisations
Zone II of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) held its ordinary General Assembly on 2 February in Bamako (Mali). Chaired by Sports Minister Jean-Claude Sidibe, the opening ceremony was attended by ANOCA President Mustapha Berraf and IOC member Beatrice Allen. The main agenda item was the activity and financial reports for 2017-18. Activities scheduled for 2019-20 include a sports journalism seminar in Bamako; a training seminar for tennis technical managers alongside a tournament in Cape Verde; a sports medicine seminar and a women and sport seminar in Senegal; and a seminar for sports administration managers.
During its first meeting in 2019, the Council of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) discussed important matters related to IF’s governance, the future of global sport, the role of IFs, the fight against doping and Olympic Games preparations. With ASOIF’s new Governance Support and Monitoring Unit (GSMU) up and running, the Council learnt that the new body has already advised a number of member IFs in relation to governance best practices including election rules, Nomination Committees, harassment issues and term limits. Updates were also given on ASOIF’s “The Future of Global Sport” project as well as on the partnership between International Testing Agency (ITA) and ASOIF’s member federations. More info here.