AIBA President Unveils "Road to London"
The International Boxing Association launches its "Road to London" program that will prepare underprivileged boxers for the London 2012 Olympics.
AIBA President C.K. Wu introduced the program at a reception organized by the House of Commons on Monday. Road to London will provide underprivileged boxers with training and funding leading up to the Olympics.
AIBA operated a similar program earlier this year called the "Road to Milan" that prepared boxers for the 2009 AIBA World Championships in Milan, Italy. More than 100 boxers participated in that program with 10 of those boxers signed up for the Road to London.
AIBA will add 80 more boxers to the program before regional qualifying tournaments for the Olympics. Olympic qualifiers will attend a training camp in Britain prior to the Games under the operation of AIBA and the British Amateur Boxing Association.
During the reception, Wu talked about the objectives of AIBA in England including the Road to London and the World Series of Boxing, a new professional boxing league.
"AIBA will leave London with a lasting legacy in three areas," Wu said. "Firstly the Road to London program; secondly, women's boxing will make its Olympic debut in London; and thirdly WSB will pave the way for professional boxers to take part in the Olympic Games for the very first time."
Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell, Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe and Prime Minister Gordon Brown were some of the dignitaries at the reception that honored boxing's contributions to England.
ISAF Annual Conference
The International Sailing Federation Council is set to consider a number of changes including enlarging the entry quota for Olympic qualifications.
The ISAF is in the middle of its 10-day annual conference in Busan, South Korea, which ends Sunday. After days of committee meetings, the ISAF Council will consider a number of proposals starting on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the ISAF Events Committee passed a proposal that would increase the entry quota for the One Person Dinghy and Windsurfer events. The proposal would also increase the number of nations to 75 for the London Games and increase the number of women sailors. The ISAF Council must approve the proposal before it goes into effect.
The ISAF did take a break from meetings to name Torben Grael of England and Anna Tunnicliffe of the United States its ISAF Rolex World Sailors of the Year on Monday.
Television Audience sets New Record
The 2009 FINA World Championships set a new record for European viewership, according to a report from the European Broadcasting Union.
Almost 1.5 billion Europeans watched the swimming championships that took place in Rome last July and August.
Five countries had more than 80 million individuals watch championships. Italy had the most viewers with 605 million viewers, followed by Germany (271 million), France (254 million), Spain (174 million) and Great Britain (87 million).
The next edition of the FINA World Championships will take place in Shanghai from July 16-31 of 2011.
Lugers test Whistler
More than 150 lugers from 27 countries are testing the Whistler Sliding Center in Vancouver this week.
The athletes are participating in International Training Week for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
“I am tremendously looking forward to the fast track in Whistler,” said the two-time World Champion Tatjana Hufner from Germany.
For many lugers, this week is the only opportunity to test out the course before the Olympics. After Dec. 31, only athletes from Canada and from “developing nations” can train on the course.
IF Forum Next Week
SportAccord will hold its three-day IF Forum starting Monday in Lausanne.
The two main themes of the forum are generating revenue for international sporting federations and reaching young people through sports.
Attendees will hear presentations from sports business and organizing leaders. Alex Balfour, the head of the new media for LOCOG, will give a presentation on reaching the youth through new technology. Charlie Wijeratna, LOCOG Director of Commercial Negotiations, will also discuss revenue generation.
Briefs…
…. The Federation of International Gymnastics Trampoline World Championships began Wednesday in St. Petersburg, Russia. The championships will conclude Saturday.
…. Finalists for the 2009 IAAF Female Athlete of the Year are Yelena Isinbayeva, Sanya Richards, Valerie Vili, Blanka Vlasic and Anita Wlodarczyk. The IAAF will announce the winner at the 2009 World Athletics Gala on Nov. 22 in Monaco.
…International Softball Federation unveiled a new gender-neutral and age-neutral logo as part of a new marketing campaign.
Written by Sam Steinberg.
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