IOC Pres. Rewards FEI with President's Trophy -- Federations Focus

(ATR) Thomas Bach presented FEI president Ingmar De Vos with the IOC President's trophy during the 2017 FEI Sports Summit Forum in Lausannethis week.

The 24-carat gold sculpture named "The Sky is the Limit" was created by Alexander Krivosheiw and is used as a symbol of "conception to consecration as a champion," according to the IOC.

In a tribute to the FEI, Bach refers to the federation and its members as leaders in good governance as well as gender equality champions.

"This trophy isn’t just for the FEI, it’s for our whole community," Ingmar De Vos said in a statement.

"It’s a recognition of our incredible global sport and, to quote President Bach, the sky really is the limit!"

Final PyeongChang Test Event of 2017 Underway

The 2017 Para Ice Hockey World Championships are in full swing in South Korea, the last of the scheduled test events ahead of the next Winter Games.

The test event serves as the first world championship for Paralympic hockey under its new name of Para Ice Hockey, formerly "IPC Ice Sledge Hockey".

Seven teams are competing for the title of world champion as Team USA seeks to defend its world championship.

The championship provides the opportunity for the top five teams to qualify for the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympics while the bottom two teams will move on to a Qualification Tournament later this year.

The championships are being held at the 10,000-seat Gangneung Hockey Centre, a venue for hockey events at the 2018 Games.

The tournament concludes April 20.

Bulgaria Named Host of 2017 ITF Coaches Conference

The 2017 International Tennis Federation's Worldwide Coaches Conference will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria beginning Oct. 11.

More than 650 coaches from more than 90 countries are expected to attend the four day event.

The conference will feature the ITF's Coach Education program along with speaker presentations from numerous key leaders in sport. ITF President David Haggerty, LTA Head of Performance Coaching Louis Cayer and Tennis Australia's Innovation Catalyst Machar Reid are among some of this year's confirmed speakers.

"Tennis development is at the heart of our ITF 2024 strategy, and the tennis coach continues to play a vital role in the growth of our sport throughout the world,"ITF President David Haggerty said in a statement.

"We look forward to welcoming a large number of coaches and speakers from around the world to this year’s ITF Worldwide Conference, that will look at each stage of a player’s long term development, from the initial participation program through to high performance training."

The conference will conclude on Oct. 14.

iSportConnect to Provide Future Investors for Sport

ISportConnect Capital and Chance Capital Ltd. have teamed up to connect sports-focused organizations with finance groups for business and investments.

By bringing together their combined sports and finance expertise the duo will "for the first time be able to bridge the gap between sports/leisure businesses and strategic investors," according to iSportConnect.

Both parties plan to create events, seminars and private sessions called "iSportConnect Capital Clubs" to become a marketplace to connect potential investors with organizations.

Click here to register you interestand join the member network.

Written by Courtney ColquittandKevin Nutley

Forgeneral comments or questions, click here.

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