Olympic Newsdesk -- New Logo for French Olympic Bid; Surfing Makes Bid for Olympics

New Logo for Annecy 2018

Annecy 2018 unveiled a new logo on Tuesday, one day prior to the first IOC meeting for the three 2018 Winter bids.

Annecy Mayor Jean-Luc Rigau and Christian Monteil, president of the General Council of Haute-Savoie helped unveil the new logo at a ceremony.

Annecy is bidding for the Winter Games against Munich and PyeongChang, South Korea. The IOC will select a host city on July 6, 2011 at the IOC Session in Durban, South Africa.

The bid cities meet in Lausanne for three days of briefings on the IOC rules and requirements for the 2018 campaign.

Russian NOC Turns 20

The Russian Olympic Committee tuned 20 on Tuesday.

Official celebrations will take place at the ROC annual general assembly on Dec. 17.

Formed in 1989 before the collapse of the Soviet Union, this is the second NOC with “Russia” in the title. From 1908 Russia competed as the Russian Empire at the Olympics.

After the Russian Revolution, a Soviet Olympic committee was formed, but wasn’t formally recognized by the IOC until the 1952 Olympics.

The 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer was the first time a Russian Olympic team competed at an Olympics after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Since then, Russian Olympians have won 324 medals at the Summer Olympics, and 76 at the Winter Olympics. Only the United States has won more during that time.

Surfing Hopes to Ride Olympic Wave

International Surfing Association President Fernando Aguerre met with IOC President Jacques Rogge last week in Lausanne to discuss surfing in the Olympics.

“I like to walk, before we run... The ISA and surfing are walking the walk, not just talking the talk” said Aguerre, in an interview posted on the ISA Web site.

Aguerre said he is “firmly convinced that given the current developments, surfing today has a stronger chance to be in the Olympic Games” than before. Some of those developments include machines that generate waves to ensure consistent competition during tournaments.

“Surfing is a great sport with a huge appeal to youth and is totally universal in geographical, socio-economic, ethnical and age terms. Both genders have embraced the sport. Our judging criteria is clear, precise and very well developed. TV and the Internet love surfing. Surfing has produced some of the most dedicated and credible humanitarian and environmental organizations. Man-made waves are going to be in place in the short term.”

The earliest surfing could join the Olympic program is 2020.

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Written by Ed Hula III.