Equestrian Federation Presidential Challenger Highlights "Unrest"
FEI presidential nominee Henk Rottinghuis today launched his manifesto for change, saying the equestrian federation led by Princess Haya bint Al Hussein is failing in its duties to meet the needs of national federations.
The Dutchman is standing against Princess Haya in presidential elections at the federation's general assembly in Chinese Taipei on Nov. 5. Sven Holmberg of Sweden is also running for president. The election will determine the face of the federation at the London 2012 Games.
Rottinghuis highlighted what he labeled "unrest over performance of the FEI" in the findings of his 100-day listening program in which he has engaged with the national federations and other stakeholders in the sport.
The survey, carried out to form the basis for his presidential agenda, delivers a damning verdict on the leadership of the FEI.
Among the criticisms are that the FEI "has lost its image and authority due to self-inflicted incidents" and that it is "not meeting the professional standards organizers and riders require from it".
The first may be a thinly disguised reference to last October's vote on new statutes for the restructuring of the ruling FEI Bureau, which Haya lost 49-48, with one abstention. It meant the FEI would continue to be governed by a 19-member bureau rather than the slimmed-down seven-member board preferred by Haya.
Rottinghuis's report also claimed "the FEI lacks the urge to globalize the sport quickly" and that the federation "lacks transparency and is not held fully accountable for the decisions it makes. The organization needs a new board structure that effectively represents and is answerable to all its members".
The survey, conducted by market research company Tree London, sought the views of a wide range of people within the sport, through face-to-face meetings, emails and phone calls. Its findings have now been sent to the FEI, national federations and associate members.
"I believe we have to listen to what is being said and then actually act on that feedback, so we create the momentum that our fast pace sport demands," said Rottinghuis.
To read the full report, click here.
Rottinghuis, who stepped down as an FEI member in 2009 to concentrate on the election race, said the survey findings and feedback would help to shape his presidential agenda, which he plans to publish next month.
Princess Haya is seeking a second term in office, after serving for the past four years. She was elected to the IOC membership in 2007. An Olympian, she competed in jumping at the 2000 Games as well as at the 2002 world championships.
Rogge Expects Bach to Run for President
The first official mention of a successor to IOC President Jacques Rogge has crossed the lips of the IOC chief.
"Everyone expects him to run," Rogge says about Thomas Bach in an interview published today in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Bach, German NOC President and IOC Executive Board member, is privately acknowledged among his colleagues as the only viable candidate at this time, three years from the election, to take over fromRogge.
Rogge leaves office in 2013 and has yet to publicly recognize any possible successors. He did not tip his hand to Bach in the FAZ interview, other than to mention him as a candidate.
Along with Bach, other possible candidates for IOC President might include Morocco’s Nawal El Moutawakel, Sergey Bubka from Ukraine and Richard Carrion of Puerto Rico.
For his part, Bach has stepped aside from any questions about his presidential ambitions, especially while Munich campaigns for the 2018 Winter Games. That vote by the IOC is scheduled for July 6, 2011.
Rogge insisted that a Munich win would not rule out Bach for the presidential vote two years later.
"If Munich wins, that's not bad for a possible candidacy of Thomas Bach," Rogge told FAZ’s Christoph Hein.
Rogge says IOC members will keep the issues apart.
"They are two completely different things that IOC members separate from each other," he says.
As for the Munich 2018 bid and the negotiations underway with reluctant landowners in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Rogge says Munich has time to get the job done.
"If the vote was tomorrow, the protests could have a negative impact. But the election is in a year. I am sure that the Germans will have found a solution by the decision on 6th July next year," Rogge said.
Sochi 2014 Stamps Deal
Sochi lacks a mascot, but the 2014 Winter Olympics will soon have the next best thing.
The organizing committee announced Thursday a partnership granting Russian publishing firm Marka use of the Sochi 2014 emblem for a set of commemorative stamps.
The series will focus on five themes: "Sochi - capital of the XXII Olympic Winter Games", "winter aspects of sport", "Tourism on the Black Sea coast of Russia", "Olympic sporting venues" and "XI Paralympic Winter Games".
Sochi stamps could appear as early as January.
Spanish Swimmer Sidelined for London Olympics
Olympic swimmer Sergio Garcia won’t be in the pool for London 2012.
The International Aquatics Federation (FINA) imposed a one-year ban Thursday after the Spaniard failed to report his whereabouts for drug testing three times within 18 months.
Under IOC rules, Garcia cannot compete in the 2012 Summer Games because his doping ban is longer than six months.
FINA dismissed countryman Rafael Munoz’s first whereabouts failure earlier this month, citing the swimmer’s "vulnerable" emotional state.
Garcia’s ban runs through Aug. 19 of next year.
Written by Ed Hula, Mark Bisson and Matthew Grayson.
Últimas Noticias
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Beyond the final result, Roland Garros left the feeling that the Italian and the Spaniard will shape the great duel that came to help us through the duel for the end of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era.
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
She is the third in her sport and the seventh athlete to achieve it in the same edition; in Santiago 2023 she was the first athlete with disabilities to compete at the Pan American level and won a medal.
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Argentinian Rodrigo Isgró received a five-game suspension for an indiscipline in the circuit’s decisive clash that would exclude him until the final or the bronze match; the Federation will seek to make the appeal successful.
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
The Kenyan received the maximum sanction for irregularities in his biological passport and the Court considered that he was part of a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping” to improve his performance. He will lose his record and the bronze medal at the Doha World Cup.
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
The American, a seven-time Olympic champion, referred to the case of the 23 positive controls before the Tokyo Games that were announced a few weeks ago and shook the swimming world. “I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low,” he said.
