IOC ACTIVITIES

This week in Lausanne, IOC President Jacques Rogge has met IOC members Kevan Gosper and Hein Verbruggen, IOC honorary member King Constantine, and the Mayor of Madrid, Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, accompanied by IOC member Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr.

At Lausanne City Hall on 17 June, the IOC President attended a meeting with representatives of the city council of the Olympic capital.

Today, Friday 20 June, President Rogge is in Amsterdam (Netherlands) to attend a “Sport for Hope” benefit lunch organised by ABN Amor, a partner of the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The FIH President, IOC member Els van Breda Vriesman, is accompanying the President on this occasion.

The IOC was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Syed Wajid Ali, an honorary member since 1996. Elected as an IOC member in 1959, he was Vice-Chairman of the Coordination and Supervising Committee for IOC/NOC Relations, an IOC Executive Board member and a member of various commissions. Syed Wajid Ali played a major role in promoting the values of sport for many decades throughout his presidency of the Pakistani NOC.

INTERNATIONAL SPORTS FEDERATIONS

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has announced the qualification for the women’s Olympic tournament in Beijing of the teams from Belarus, Brazil, Spain, Latvia and the Czech Republic, following the qualifying tournament held in Madrid (Spain) from 9 to 15 June. All 12 women’s teams qualified are now known. The other seven which will be in Beijing in August are: Australia, China, Korea, the USA, Mali, New Zealand and Russia. More details on www.fiba.org

At its meeting on 12 and 13 June in Snekkersten (Denmark), the Management Committee of the International Cycling Union (UCI) took a number of decisions, including to award the 2011 UCI Track World Championships to Apeldoorn (Netherlands) and to suspend the French Federation. The national cycling federations of Somalia and Gambia will also be admitted to the UCI at the next UCI Congress in September in Varese (Italy). More details on www.uci.ch.

The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) has appointed David Holmes as its Executive Director. The CEO of British Dressage for the last nine years, Holmes has also held senior positions in the British Ministry of Defence. He will join the FEI on 1 September 2008, but will be at the Olympic equestrian competitions in Hong Kong. More details on www.fei.org.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) recently held its Annual General Assembly in Moscow (Russian Federation). More than 265 delegates, partners and staff members from 89 nations were at the Assembly, which was organised by the Russian Tennis Federation as part of its centenary celebrations. Full details on www.itftennis.com ( “latest news” section).

With less than two months to go before the Games in Beijing, the International Triathlon Union (ITU) has unveiled the complete list of the 37 NOCs which will be taking part in the Olympic triathlon competition in Beijing. These have until 6 July 2008 to confirm to the ITU that they will be taking up these places. Fifty-five men and 55 women will be competing in Beijing. Full details from www.triathlon.org.

NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES

The Brazilian NOC has informed us that, on 13 June in New York (USA), the Opening Ceremony of the Rio 2007 Pan-American Games won the Emmy Award for the best costume design. As a reminder, the Emmy Awards are given to the best television programmes from around the world, in nine categories. The President of the NOC and the Organising Committee of these Games, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, was present at the ceremony. More info on www.cob.org.br.

The NOC of Cameroon has announced the creation of the web site of the first Cameroon National Games, the 2008 Dixiades, set to take place in Yaounde from 11 to 20 December (www.dixiades2008.org). Created by a resolution of the NOC General Assembly on 3 May 1996, these Games are a national multi-sport competition, and will take place every two years, over 10 days. They will bring together athletes from Cameroon’s 10 provinces in 10 different disciplines (hence the name “Dixiade” – “Dix” meaning “Ten” in French).

The Croatian NOC and the Croatian Sports Journalists Association recently presented three projects on culture and education in sport, at a ceremony attended by numerous personalities from the sports world and public life. These projects are managed by the NOC and supported by the IOC and Olympic Solidarity. Athlete and publicist Vito Spasovic has written a series of books, entitled “Kid Athletes”, on Olympic sports, of which the main objective is to motivate children to practise a sport and help them choose the right sport (official web site – www.kidathletes.net). The second project concerns the production of a CD, Športiæi by Radica Jurkin, the recipient of the 2005 “Franjo Bucar” sports award. This CD, which aims to be both educational and fun, addresses the subject of the Olympic Movement and its meaning, using the latest technology. The third project is a song, “The Olympic Path”, which was entered for the 2008 IOC “Sport and Singing” contest, finishing in the top eight of the 26 songs. More info on www.hoo.hr.

The 3rd Schoolchildren’s Olympic Festival ended on 7 June in Vilnius, Lithuania. This event was very successful in terms of participation, with more than 250,000 young people from 1,195 secondary schools taking part. Twenty-four sports were on the programme. The Closing Ceremony took place in the presence of Lithuanian NOC President Arturas Poviliunas; Director General of the State Department of Physical Education and Sport Algirdas Raslanas; and Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Science Alvydas Puodziukas. The President of the Republic of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus, is the patron of this event.

We have just learnt that the Moroccan NOC’s Athletes’ Commission organised a National Athletes’ Forum on 10 May. Participating were 130 athletes from various disciplines, representatives of 25 Olympic and recognised federations, and sports leaders such as Minister of Youth and Sport and IOC member Nawal El Moutawakel. The guests spoke with passion about the definition of elite sport; the conditions needed for awarding or withdrawing the title of “elite” to an athlete; the strategy for changing profession and entering the job market after the end of a sports career; and the role of public and private institutions in athletes’ change of career.

VANCOUVER 2010

The Vancouver Organising Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) next week launches a national advertising campaign to raise consumer awareness about the importance of buying authentic Games merchandise and tickets. This month, VANOC is also launching a targeted marketing industry awareness campaign on the associated marketing rights of 2010 Winter Games Official Sponsors. This “Real 2010” advertising campaign kicked off on 17 June in The Globe and Mail and in selected Canwest newspapers. Full press release on www.vancouver2010.com.

LONDON 2012

The Organising Committee for the Games of the XXX Olympiad in 2012 in London (LOCOG) has appointed Chris Marsh as Competition Manager for Archery. He will thus be responsible for planning, organising and managing the archery events at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. A former British champion, he participated in events at all levels – from club competitions to world championships. He has also been a coach, armourer and team manager. A volunteer reporter at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, he coached the British Paralympic team which won two gold medals at the Paralympic Games in Athens in 2004. Full press release on www.london2012.com.