Top Story Replay -- Volcanic Eruption Disrupts Olympic Travelers, Volleyball President Stepping Aside

Iceland Volcano Disrupts Olympics Travelers, Olympic Collectors Fair

The Olympic world has not been spared from the impact of theIceland volcano eruption.

Gian Franco Kasper, president of the International Ski Federation, FIS, tells Around the Rings FIS staff members are trapped in Oslo.

"I have all my technical people of Nordic skiing in Oslo and they have no chance to come back" he said on Friday.

"Some tried by train others by ship others just stay at the airport it’s not easy. They tell you, you have to wait until Monday."

He added that therewere no available hotel rooms in Oslo at the moment either.

Stranded in Londonwere U.S. Olympic Committee staffers Leslie Gamez and Larry Buhdendorf who may fly back to the U.S. Sunday, ATR is told.

More than a third of the table holders at the 15th World Olympic Collector's Fair in Cologne, Germany, are not expected to make it to the show, according to participants already on the scene. Air travelers from North America, South America and Scandinavia have sent their regrets.

Whether travelers can reach events in Europe planned for Monday remains to be seen.

A funeral service is scheduled in Warsaw for Polish NOC president Piotr Nurowksi. Nurowksi was on the plane that crashed April 10, killing all 97 aboard, including the president of Poland. A state funeral for Lech Kycinszki is set for Saturday.

The IOC working group for London 2012 is scheduled to begin a couple of daysof work Monday. The team to be led by coordination commission chair Denis Oswald and Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli would travel from Geneva, where the airport closed Friday night in response to the ash alert.

Volleyball President to Step Down in 2012

International Volleyball President Jizhong Wei says he will not run for reelection in 2012. Wei succeeded long-time president Ruben Acosta, who retired at the end of the Beijing Olympics.

Wei says he is stepping aside to clear the way for new election procedures that go into effect in 2012.

In the interim, FIVB will also draft a new ethics code modeled after the IOC Code of Ethics.

The FIVB Board of Administration approved the new election procedures during a meeting in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on Thursday. The newrules include elections during the same years as Summer Games and continental quotas for the FIVB Executive Committee.

Election changes require approval of the FIVB Congress, which meets Sept. 9 and 10 in Rome, Italy.

"This will be a democratic election," Wei said in a statement. "I have advocated transparency and fairness throughout the FIVB’s operations and the election in 2012 will be no different."

Acosta ruled FIVB for 24 years and received scrutiny from the IOC Ethics Commission for receiving 10 percent commissions for negotiating TV deals and sponsorship.

In response to Acosta’s rule, former FIVB secretary general Jean-Pierre Seppey started the World Volleyball and Beach Volleyball Federation as the so-called ethical volleyball federation.

FIVB is the only international volleyball organization recognized by the IOC.

IAEA Needs Money

More money is needed for the International Atomic EnergyAgency to adequately protect large sporting events, and fulfill its other duties.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said on Wednesday "the IAEA needs stronger and more predictable funding to do its job better."

"I am grateful to all those who have matched their words of support with much needed pledges to ensure that the IAEA has the resources it needs to make all of us more secure" Yamano said.

The IAEA provides training to prevent nuclear attacks at large scale sporting events such as the Olympics and World Cup.

For the Beijing Olympics, the IAEA had one and a half years of work in training people to detect radioactive material that might be brought into the venues.

The IAEA is supplying training and radiation detection equipment for the World Cup in South Africa. It also provided support for the 2004 Olympics, 2006 World Cup and the 2007 Pan American Games in Brazil.

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Written by Ed Hula III and Sam Steinberg.