Olympic Highlights

IOC ACTIVITIES

PRESIDENT

IOC President Thomas Bach has been to New York (USA) for a number of meetings. He paid a courtesy visit to the Commissioner of the National Hockey League (NHL), Gary Bettman, and the Executive Director of the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), Donald Fehr. International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) President René Fasel also attended the meeting. The participation of NHL players at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 was at the heart of the discussions. “This was a courtesy visit, and there was a very good open and friendly atmosphere," President Bach said "Hopefully this has prepared the ground for successful negotiations between the NHL and the International Federation. Of course, we all want to see the best players at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, and we know the players feel the same. Therefore, we hope even more that the International Federation and the NHL will reach a solution to make the Olympic dreams of the players come true."

Meetings were also held with IOC Executive Board Members Anita L. DeFrantz and Angela Ruggiero as well as with IOC Member and USOC President Lawrence F. Probst.

With IOC Honour Member Henry Kissinger, the President discussed the latest developments in the world.

The IOC President has hosted the new Mayor of Lausanne, Grégoire Junod. Their main topics of discussion were the excellent relations between the IOC and the Olympic Capital and the preparations for the Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020.

Gordon Tang, President of the Windsurfing Association of Singapore and an Olympic Museum donor, was received by the President. He was accompanied by IOC Member Ser Miang Ng, whom the President also met.

Honorary Members

It is with great sadness that the IOC has learnt of the death of Shun-ichiro Okano, IOC Honorary Member in Japan, at the age of 85. An ex-international football player, Shun-ichiro Okano won the bronze medal in football at the Olympic Games Mexico City 1968, four years after coaching the Japanese team at the Olympic Games Tokyo 1964. He then went on to hold the highest positions in the Japanese Football Association. He was instrumental in helping Japan and the Republic of Korea successfully host the 2002 FIFA World Cup as Committee Chairman throughout the event. He also played a key role at the Japanese Olympic Committee. Shun-ichiro Okano joined the IOC in 1990 and became an Honorary Member in 2012. He was a member of the Olympic Programme and Sport and Environment commissions. Read the full news story here.

other olympiC NEWs

Los Angeles, Budapest and Paris (listed in the order of drawing of lots) have entered the final stretch of the 2024 Candidature Process. By submitting their Candidature File Stage 3: “Games Delivery, Experience and Venue Legacy” by the set deadline of 3 February, the three Candidate Cities vying to organise the Olympic Games in 2024 are moving to the last phase of the competition. The IOC Evaluation Commission, chaired by IOC Member Frank Fredericks, will now visit Los Angeles (23-25 April), Budapest (10-12 May) and Paris (14-16 May), before publishing a final report that will be provided to all IOC Members, and made public in advance of the “Candidate City 2024 Briefing for IOC Members and Summer Olympic International Federations” on 11 and 12 July 2017. The election of the 2024 host city will take place on 13 September in Lima (Peru). Read the full news story here.

On 1 February, the IOC announced that three athletes had been disqualified from the Olympic Games London 2012. Read the press release here.

Law enforcement specialists in combating organized crime and money laundering have taken part in the first International Law Enforcement Investigators’ Training in Integrity in Sports meeting in Rome (Italy). Jointly run by INTERPOL and the IOC in cooperation with the INTERPOL National Central Bureau, the course focused on the global threat of competition manipulation, sports betting, and other criminal matters relating to sport. Law enforcement specialists in corruption and match-fixing cases from Albania, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Malta, San Marino and Switzerland took part in the two-day (26 and 27 January) course, which focused on case evaluation, evidence collection and information exchange. The participants gained further insight into the dynamics of betting markets, the associated risks and the role of betting monitoring through various exercises, betting games and match-fixing scenarios. Discussions are already taking place about a follow-up workshop in one participating country, and on the same day the Italian government and its sports minister introduced a bill in parliament to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions.

The 5th IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport will be held in Monaco from 16 to 18 March 2017. As with previous editions, the Conference will present evidence-based information on the prevention of injuries, illness and other health problems associated with sports participation, using a multidisciplinary approach. The programme will consist of guest speakers, panel discussions, symposia, workshops, free communications and posters. Read the whole story here.

In the framework of the 2017 edition of the PhD Students’ Research Grant Programme, the Olympic Studies Centre (OSC), with the support of its Selection Committee, has chosen eight projects. The grants allocated will allow the students to pursue their projects and, if necessary, consult the OSC’s collections in Lausanne. The grant-holders will have to submit the results of their research at the end of 2017.  Of the eight projects, six are in the “Open Subject” category and two in the “National Olympic Committees’ Policy Priority” category. This second category is organised in collaboration with Olympic Solidarity and NOCs interested in supporting research. The full list of projects selected to receive grants can be found here. The OSC is the world’s top source of reference for Olympic knowledge. Its PhD Students’ Research Grant Programme is one of two research programmes aimed at supporting university research on topics related to Olympism created in 1999. To find out more about the OSC, click here.

INTERNATIONAL sports federations

summer ifs

This year, World Rowing (FISA) is celebrating its 125th anniversary.  Throughout the year, FISA will be marking this anniversary at various regattas, culminating in the World Rowing Championships at the end of September in Sarasota-Bradenton (USA). Info on www.worldrowing.com.

The Central Board of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) held its first meeting of 2017 on 27 and 28 January at the House of Basketball in Mies (Switzerland) (photo above). The subjects on the agenda included the new competition system, the 2019 World Cup, the development strategy for the national federations and the Basketball Champions League. Read the whole story here.

The Special Investigation Committee (SIC) of the International Boxing Association (AIBA), composed of experts from its Refereeing and Judging, Technical and Rules, as well as Disciplinary Commissions, has concluded its investigation into the practices and procedures of officials during the Rio 2016 Olympic boxing tournament. The SIC’s recommendations for improving the refereeing and judging structure for the Olympic cycle up to the Games in Tokyo in 2020 are already in place. Ordered by AIBA President Ching-Kuo Wu last September, the investigation took place in two phases across four months, with over 50 interviews conducted during that time. Read the whole story here.

In a press release dated 3 February, the International Association Football Federation (FIFA) announced that FIFA had concluded an agreement with Sportradar Integrity Services that will provide world football’s governing body with a full suite of monitoring, education and intelligence services to further strengthen the integrity of football around the globe. In addition to monitoring and detection services, FIFA will be able to call on Sportradar’s in-house intelligence and investigation experts. Sportradar will also deliver a full range of fraud prevention services and provide a programme of educational workshops and e-learning solutions. Read the full news story here.

The International Swimming Federation (FINA) has unveiled a brand new synchronised swimming event: the Synchronised Swimming World Series. Planned to be held each year, the 2017 edition will consist of seven legs. Based on a new concept, the Series will include existing smaller synchronised swimming events from all over the world, and each leg will be held in conjunction with the existing national Opens and competitions. Read the whole story here.

The International Surfing Association (ISA) has announced a key strategic partnership with the International Lifesaving Federation (ILS) to establish a universally recognised, global standard water safety course and certificate for Surfing and Stand-Up Paddle (SUP) coaches and instructors. The ISA will work with the ILS to roll out the course in 2017, and will offer water safety, lifesaving, environmental responsibility and ocean sustainability training. Read the whole story here.

The headquarters of World Sailing will be moved from Southampton to the centre of London (Great Britain) in late summer this year. The choice of London as the venue for the new headquarters comes after an extensive evaluation process of possible locations undertaken since the election of a new President and Board of Directors in November 2016. Read the full story here.

The Athletes’ Commission of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) met recently at the organisation's headquarters in Lausanne to highlight some important issues affecting the professional lives of volleyball and beach volleyball players around the world (photo above). The Commission members identified key issues that put athletes’ interests at the heart of the FIVB’s work. Present at the meeting, FIVB President Ary S. Graça F° encouraged the team to work to advance the Commission’ goals. Read the full story here.

Winter Ifs

The World Curling Federation (WCF) has announced that its Olympic Qualification Event 2017, which will finalise the team line-ups for the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, will take place in Pilsen (Czech Republic). A total of eight women’s and eight men’s teams will compete at the event between 5 and 10 December 2017. The teams that finish in first and second places will receive the last spots for the 2018 Games. Read the full news story here.

nationaL olympic COMMITTEES

The Algerian Olympic and Sports Museum was recently opened in Algiers by the Algerian NOC President Mustapha Berraf, in the presence of many personalities from African sport (photo above). A donation from the IOC helped to build this Museum. The inauguration took place in the presence of the President of the Association of African National Olympic Committees (ANOCA), IOC Honorary Member Lassana Palenfo, the President of the Union of African Sports Confederations (UCSA), Ahmed Nasser, and the President of the African Judo Union, Habib Sissoko, as well as Algerian Olympic champions Noureddine Morceli and Nouria Benida Merah.

Spanish NOC President Alejandro Blanco (left of photo above) and Elena Tejedor (right), Director of the Trinidad Alfonso Foundation, recently presented the second edition of the support programme for sports competitions taking place in the Valencian Community. Gathered at the NOC headquarters in Madrid, Spanish sports federation representatives were informed about the details of this project. The programme seeks to encourage the holding of official sports competitions at national and international level by offering financial support to the federations hosting these competitions in the Valencian Community. Read the full story on www.coe.es

At the end of January, the Venezuelan NOC hosted the first information meeting for the Venezuelan Sports Coaches Association (ANEDVEN). The meeting was organised by Francisco Seijas, Technical Director of the national table tennis federation and Director of the Association (photo above). The aim was to discuss four key points to help coaches improve their conditions, namely: job security, salary scale, professional promotion and social security.

organisinG COMMITTEES FOR THE olympiC GaMes

pyeongchang 2018

From 1 to 3 February, the NOC Chef de Mission Seminar for the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 was held at PyeongChang’s Alpensia Convention Centre. The PyeongChang Organising Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) welcomed 135 delegates from 75 NOCs, who were treated to presentations on Games-time operations and services. The delegates were also given a tour of the Olympic competition and non-competition venues in both the coastal and mountain cluster areas (photo above). For IOC Coordination Commission Chair Gunilla Lindberg, “the Chefs were very impressed by the venues and the development of the Olympic Villages. It was clear to everyone present that the athletes are at the very centre of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.” Read the whole story here.
Furthermore, the PyeongChang 2018 organisers have teamed up with a number of foreign universities to ensure that students from around the world play a part in the volunteer programme at next year’s Olympic Winter Games. On 24 January, POCOG President Lee Hee-beom was in Washington (USA) to sign an MoU with George Washington University, which is set to send 40-50 students to volunteer at next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games. Read the whole story here.

Tokyo 2020

The Tokyo Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) has invited the Japanese population to give the Organising Committee its discarded or obsolete electronic devices in order to use the metal in the production of the medals that will be awarded to athletes at the Games. This project highlights Tokyo 2020’s commitments to engage the whole Japanese nation and to offer to everyone the opportunity to play a role in the Games’ preparations. It also responds directly to Recommendation 4 of Olympic Agenda 2020, which states that sustainability must be integrated into all aspects of the planning and execution of the Games. The Organising Committee aims to collect as much as eight tons of metal, which after the production process will result in two tons, the amount needed to produce 5,000 Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic medals. Read the full news story here.

recognised Organisations

The Governing Board of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) met in Bonn (Germany) at the end of January to discuss a range of subjects, including the IPC’s diversity and inclusion policy, IPC membership, regional growth and the ongoing suspension of the Russian Paralympic Committee. The Board was also updated on the status of the IPC summer sport Strategic Plans, and the Paralympic Movement’s commercial partnership with Toyota. Read the whole story here.

Sweden’s Sofia Olofsson, a Muaythai (martial art) athlete), was been voted International World Games Association (IWGA) Athlete of the Year 2016. The best team were dancing couple Gabriele Goffredo and Anna Matus from Moldova. The winners were chosen by sports fans all over the world, and the full list of results can be found here on www.theworldgames.org.