Sport Climbing Returns to Action -- Federation Focus

(ATR) Competition in Sport Climbing resumes this weekend after a hiatus of more than 170 days.

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Briançon, France will host the first IFSC World Cup of the season on August 21-22.

Since travel restrictions will not permit all athletes to participate, no points will be awarded, including World Ranking and World Cup 2020 Ranking points.

‪The International Federation of Sport Climbing and the Fédération Française de la Montagne et de l'Escaladecollaborated on the event, with the goal of creating the safest possible level of competitionduring the global pandemic. ‬

The qualification round will kick off on Friday, with semifinals scheduled to begin that evening. On Saturday, the women’s final will start at 7:30 p.m., followed by the men’s final at 8:45 p.m.

Semifinals and finals will be live streamed on the IFSC's website and YouTube channel.

The last sport climbing competition to take place this year was theIFSC Pan American Championships in Los Angeles, which ended on March 2.

IMMAF Announces New Panels

The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation launches National Women’s MMA Commissions in eight countries: Ireland, England, Spain, Panama, Colombia, Congo, Cameroon and India.

The IMMAF Women’s Commission, formed in March by chair Hayzia Bellem, supports establishing national level women’s panels across member countries.

Bellem says she has started to fulfill her dream "to highlight the beauty of women participating in Combat Sports.

"Giving women the platform to demonstrate their strength and power sends a great message to future generations. MMA is not about violence. MMA is a universal combat sport which allows participants to express their individual fighting style. By developing female MMA at a global level, we also support a more universal need, to achieve equality between men and women," Bellem said in a statement.

A key remit of the IMMAF Commission is to audit gender parity in mixed martial arts and recommend actions to develop women’s MMA both nationally and internationally across all areas of the sport.

In October, the IMMAF Women’s Commission plans to hold its inaugural Women’s MMA Assembly with its National Commissions.

The IMMAF this week also announced the members of its new Arbitration Committee.

Rupert Beloff, a UK barrister who specializes in sports and media law, is the chair of the committee which was created to play an independent role in judging complaints, disputes and appeals from verdicts by other IMMAF Disciplinary bodies.

"It is of utmost importance for all IMMAF stakeholders that disputes are resolved efficiently, transparently and, above all, fairly and justly," said Beloff in a statement.

The other members of the committee are Sean Sullivan Gibbs of Great Britain, Mathieu Laplante-Goulet of Canada, and Eusebio Rivera of Panama.

Call for Online Volleyball Congress

The challenger in the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) presidential election wants the CEV Congress scheduled for Moscow to be held online.

Hanno Pevkur of Estonia, a CEV vice-president and board member of the International Volleyball Federation, is running against the incumbent Aleksander Boričić from Serbia.

The CEV Congress has already been postponed from June 19 to October 16 due to the coronavirus pandemic and Pevkur is pessimistic about the chances of holding a face-to-face event in less than two months from now.

He said in an open letter "the current travel restrictions due to COVID-19 in and around Europe make it very difficult for such an important event, with so many participants from all over the Europe, to take place. This is particularly the case in Russia, where restrictions are currently in place over the entry of foreigners."

Pevkur believes the CEV should take a page out of the IOC playbook and hold the meeting and the scheduled elections online. The IOC recently held its first full Session virtually and used third-party organizations to conduct online voting.

"Importantly, taking the step of holding the Congress online will not only show that the CEV is prepared for adapt to new circumstances, but also provide all of our 56 National Federations with the clarity they deserve in these challenging times.

"With COVID-19 circumstances varying from country to country, an online Congress will also – crucially - enable all Federations to participate and contribute as equals, so that together we can drive a better future for our sport," Pevkur concluded.

Written by Greer Wilson and Gerard Farek

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