AIBA Aims for Milestone in 2016 -- Federations Focus

(ATR) The International Boxing Association will seek to add its 200 member federation in 2016, marking an important milestone in the 70-year history of AIBA.

"For seventy years, AIBA has striven to provide the best possible platform for its boxers to thrive upon", said AIBA President CK Wu. "We have nurtured a culture of excellence and professionalism that can be felt at every level of the sport, and one that will be showcased perfectly for the world’s boxing fans in this Olympic year."

As the Rio Games approach this August, only 60 boxers have qualified out of a possible 286 thus far. Wu says the determination of athletes to qualify for the Olympics will drive interest in the sport.

"Olympic qualification opportunities are sure to bring out the very best in our boxers in the first half of this year", says Wu. "This is the world’s biggest sporting stage and the competition for places at Rio 2016 will make for an unmissable series of major tournaments, as well as the Women’s World Championships."

With the men’s world championships already in the books, male athletes can now only earn spots through the AIBA Pro Boxing or the World Series of Boxing events. The first qualification opportunity for women comes in May with the world championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.

AIBA will also seek to extend its landmark Heads Up initiative that was launched at the men’s world championships in Doha last October. The initiative has made significant strides in reducing the number of concussions and cuts to the face suffered by boxers in competition.

"We always want to move forward, evolve and look to broaden the appeal of our great sport, but we will never lose sight of our guiding principles, at the centre of which is the health and wellbeing of our boxers," says Wu.

ITTF Signs New Trophy Designer

World Sport Design is the newest partner of the International Table Tennis Federation with a deal lasting through 2018.

The Prague-based design company has been the official trophy supplier for the ITTF in past tournaments such as the 2015 World Tour Grand Finals. The new partnership agreement arranges for WSD to provide trophies for the ITTF Star Awards as well as the World Tour Grand Finals for the next three years.

ITTF president Thomas Weikert says the federation is looking forward to "a long and successful partnership".

"The trophies at the 2015 Grand Finals were very well-designed, and I am certain that World Sport Design will continue to outdo themselves and produce prestigious trophies fitting the Star Awards and World Tour Grand Finals," said Weikert.

"World Sport Design specializes in creation of luxury sports trophies, medals and design sets handmade from glass, precious metals and other materials," said WSD president Jiri Smidl. "We anticipate the opportunity to deliver our design trophies to more events, with high quality awards to represent real and lasting value for the awarded."

The World Tour Grand Finals are set to take place Dec. 15-18. The location for the tournamentis yet to be determined.

Bobsleigh and Skeleton Head to Park City

For the first time in nearly three years the World Cup of bobsleigh and skeleton will be staged in Park City, Utah from Jan. 15-16.

The fifth round of the BMW International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation World Cup will take place on the Olympic track used in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

The 2002 Games represented the first time women competed in the two events at the Olympics where the U.S. women's team took home gold in both events. The U.S. women's team will seek to repeat that performance this weekend as the favorites heading into the event.

World Sailing Hires New CEO

World Sailing is beginning the new year with new management after hiring former British Olympic Association chief executive officer Andy Hunt to serve as the federation's new chief executive officer.

Hunt has served in both sports administration and business over the past 30 years, most recently as the chairman for Progressive Media Group.

"I am delighted to have been selected by the Executive Board to lead World Sailing," says Hunt. "It is a real honor to be able to serve a sport that I have participated in since an early age."

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Around the Rings will publish our in-depth interview with the new CEO later this week.

Written by KevinNutley

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