San Diego Will Host First ANOC World Beach Games

(ATR)Representatives from over 200 National Olympic Committees will travel to the Californian city in 2017.

San Diego received final approval to host the first ANOC World Beach Games during day two of the 2015 ANOC General Assembly. The Southern California city was chosen to host in a pool that included Sochi, Dubai, Barcelona, and Istanbul.

The Association of National Olympic Committees opened its 20th General Assembly Thursday in Washington D.C.More than 1,200 Olympic leaders are in D.C. for the meeting.

ANOC presidentSheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah began the General Assembly by calling on the 204 NOCs present to give their final approval for the inaugural Beach Games.

"The Beach Games will only exist with your support," Ahmad said.

"I believe we are covering Agenda 2020," Ahamad added on Thursday during day two of the general assembly. "The games will not be costly.

The event "may even be a part of the Olympic channel one day," the ANOC chief said.

San Diego leaders pitched their ideas for the first World Beach Games during a detailed presentation to the ANOC Executive Council on Wednesday including confirmation of a $150-million budget.

Competition at the World Beach Games is slated to start on Sept. 27, 2017. In addition to announcing the Games, ANOC organizers shared a "digital beach sport platform," that will host content, in addition to functioning as a social network for athletes and fans of the ANOC World Beach Games.

Over the course of 10 days, some 22 sports will be contested including a few sports up for inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics: skateboarding, surfing, and wall climbing.

In a statement released this week, the San Diego Exploratory Foundation said that ANOC's decision to award the event to a U.S. city signals thecontinuation of the country's "recovering presence in the Olympic Movement, something also illustrated by this week's Assembly here in the U.S. capital."

The U.S. Olympic Committee has allocated personnel and financial resources towards hosting the ANOC assembly, the first time it has been held in the U.S. since 1994. With Los Angeles bidding for the 2024 Olympics, the USOC is hoping to make a good impression on the opinion-makers of the Olympic Movement.

The meeting is one of the few international events where bid cities are permitted by the IOC to attend as observers. The mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, leads the small team from his city. Representatives from the other 2024 bids are here as well, Budapest, Hamburg, Paris and Rome.

Written by Nicole Bennett

For general comments or questions,click here.

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics isAroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.