Full Speed Ahead for ITTF -- Federation Focus

(ATR) All systems are go for the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and its new commercial vehicle.

The ITTF Executive Committee, meeting in Chengdu, China last week, gave the full go ahead for the structure of World Table Tennis, which will house the ITTF’s core commercial assets from 2021.

The ITTF split the commercial and governance arms of the organization earlier this year, calling it fundamental to driving commercial growth.

The federation said on Wednesday that more information will be announced in the coming weeks. Presumably, that includes the name of the commercial strategic partner in the endeavor. The candidature bidding timeline revealed earlier in the year called for the winner to be announced in October after a thorough review process.

Other decisions taken at the ITTF Executive Board meeting in China included working to change the current governance structure to give Continental Federations a larger role at the highest level of the ITTF. The ITTF blames the current governance structure for the "often not ideal" relationship between it and the Continental Federations.

In addition, the board strongly recommended the formation of a Sustainability Working Group, led by international experts, to ensure that "all future events and activities fall in line with current global needs related to protecting our environment".

Rugby World Cup Final on Saturday

England and South Africa will face off in the Rugby World Cup final on Saturday in Yokohama.

It’s a rematch of the 2007 final, when South Africa lifted the Webb Ellis Cup after beating the English 15-6 at the Stade de France just north of Paris.

Should England defeat the Springboks, it will complete a sweep of the three southern hemisphere giants. England has already beaten Australia and New Zealand in reaching the final. The English are going for a second title after winning in 2003 while South Africa is seeking a third to add to its 1995 and 2007 triumphs.

Wales, which lost to South Africa 19-16 in the semifinals, will face New Zealand, which lost to England 19-7, in the third place match in Tokyo on Friday.

South Africa to Host Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022

On Monday, World Rugby awarded South Africa the hosting duties for the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022. The Cape Town Stadium will be the venue as the eighth edition of the event is held on the African continent for the first time.

The world’s best 24 men’s and 16 women’s teams will compete over three days at the 55,000-capacity stadium. Both New Zealand’s men’s and women’s teams retained their titles at the 2018 tournament in San Francisco.

Premier12 to Award Two Tokyo 2020 Berths

The top international baseball tournament of the year begins on Saturday. The WBSC Premier12 will be staged in four countries on two continents from Nov. 2-17. Two berths in the Tokyo 2020 tournament are up for grabs.

The 12 highest-ranked teams in the world are divided into three groups of four for the opening round of the tournament. Group A includes the USA, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and the Netherlands and will be played near Guadalajara, Mexico. Group B will be played at two venues in Chinese Taipei and features Japan, Venezuela and Puerto Rico in addition to the hosts. Seoul, South Korea hosts Group C, which also includes Cuba, Australia and Canada. Each team will play the other teams in its group once.

The top two teams from each of the groups will advance to the Super Round, which will be held in Japan at stadiums in Chiba City and Tokyo. The third and fourth place finishers from this group of six will play for the bronze medal game while the top two will square off in the final at the Tokyo Dome.

The top finisher from both the Americas territory and Asia/Oceania territory (excluding Japan) will join host-country Japan and WBSC Baseball Europe/Africa Olympic Qualifier champion Israel in the six-team Olympic tournament. The final two Olympic berths will be decided in March 2020.

IBU Teams Up With CAS

The International Biathlon Union (IBU) is the newest signatory to the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s Anti-Doping Division (CAS ADD).

John Coates, President of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS), said in a statement "The ICAS

commends the IBU for taking this important and vital step to ensure a proper separation of powers

between testing and prosecutorial bodies. This is critical to a fair hearing."

The CAS ADD will now be responsible for first-instance adjudication of alleged anti-doping rule violations, including any sanctions, arising under the IBU’s Anti-Doping Rules.

Additionally, allegations by the newly established IBU Integrity Unit of non-doping violations will be adjudicated by

the CAS Ordinary Division. The IBU on Monday posted a job opening seeking candidates to lead the Integrity Unit.

Written by Gerard Farek

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