Federations Roundup -- FIBA Building New Headquarters, Kalamazoo Hosting Curling

International Basketball Federation (FIBA) general secretary Patrick Baumann announced that the organization will build new headquarters in Mies, Switzerland.(Getty Images)FIBA to Build ‘Home of Basketball’ in Mies, Switzerland

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) will build the ‘FIBA Home of Basketball’ in Mies, Switzerland to serve as the new headquarters of the world governing body.

FIBA has purchased approximately 86,000 square feet and is hoping to begin construction in the spring of 2010, with completion of the facility scheduled for early 2012.

“The ‘FIBA Home of Basketball’ will be where this great global sport will live and grow. This new home will enable FIBA to best serve the international basketball community, our national federations and zones and all our partners. FIBA particularly wishes to thank the Municipality of Mies and the Canton of Vaud for their extraordinary support which has resulted today in our dream becoming a reality.” FIBA Secretary General and IOC member Patrick Baumann said.

The FIBA Central Board, the organization’s highest executive body, approved the purchase of land for the new headquarters near Geneva exactly one year ago.

The current headquarters of FIBA have been located in Geneva since June 2002 and consists of rented offices.

Kalamazoo Selected to Host 2010 USA Curling Championships

Kalamazoo, Mich. was chosen as the host for the 2010 men’s and women’s U.S. Curling Championships.(Getty Images)USA Curling has selected Kalamazoo, Mich. to host the 2010 men’s and women’s United States Curling Championships.

Kalamazoo, which beat out St. Paul, Minn. and Milwaukee, Wisc. for the 2010 championships, will hold the competition March 6 to 13, just weeks after the conclusion of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The 2010 championships will be held at Wings Stadium, home of the Kalamazoo Wings of the United Hockey League.

More than 80 of the nation’s top curlers will compete in the event to secure a berth in the 2010 world championships. The women’s world competition will take place in Swift Current, Saskatchewan March 20 to 28 and the men’s tournament in Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy April 3 to 11.

Bolt, Walker Jamaican Athletes of the Year

Melanie Walker was selected as 2008 Jamaican female athlete of the year.(Getty Images)Triple Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt and Melanie Walker, the women’s 400-meter hurdles winner at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, were selected as Jamaica’s male and female athletes of the year by the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA).

Bolt, who is also the IAAF Men's World Athlete of the Year, set world records while winning the 100-meter dash (9.69), 200-meter dash (19.30) and 4x100-meter relay (37.10) golds at the 2008 Games. He had already broken the world mark for the 100 earlier on in the season.

"It is good to be recognized by the JAAA because they have done a lot of work by trying to develop the athletes and track and field in Jamaica overall. I really appreciate it," Bolt said.

Walker won 13 consecutive finals in the 400 hurdles, including her gold medal-winning performance at the Olympics. Her time of 52.64 in Beijing set both a new Olympic and Jamaican record.

Canada Selects World Hockey Championship Officials

Hockey Canada has selected NHL team officials Pierre Gauthier and Joe Nieuwendyk assistant general managers for Canada’s men’s national team for the 2009 IIHF World Championship in Bern and Zurich, Switzerland April 24 to May 10.

Gauthier, the assistant general manager of the NHL’s Montreal Canadians, has previously served as general manager for Canada’s gold medal-winning team in 1997 and its silver-medal winning squad in 1996 at the World Championship. He was also a co-general manager for the Canadian team at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

Nieuwendyk, a special assistant to the general manager with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, retired as a player from the NHL after a 19-year career in which he played for three Stanley Cup-winning teams (Calgary in 1989, Dallas in 1999, New Jersey in 2003) and played for Canada at the 1998 Winter Games.

Edinburgh Honored for 2008 World Cross Country Meet

The 36th IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland won the Event of the Year Award at the Sunday Mail/sportscotland Scottish Sports Awards in Glasgow.

The IAAF World Athletics Series event, which attracted 17,000 fans to Edinburgh’s Holyrood Park March 30, was one of the biggest global sporting events ever to be staged in Scotland.

Ethiopia swept the individual titles at the World Cross Country Championships, with Kenenisa Bekele winning the men’s title and Tirunesh Dibaba the women’s crown.

Other winners at the Scottish Sports Awards included tennis player Andy Murray (Inspirational Performance of the Year), cyclist Chris Hoy (Sports Personality of the Year) and Sir Alex Ferguson (Lifetime Achievement Award).

Briefs…

…FIS has launched a new FIS Ski Jumping World Cup web site, www.fisskijumpingworldcup.com, to provide year-round coverage of the sport. The new ski jumping Web site joins Web sites for the Audi FIS Alpine Ski and LG Snowboard FIS World Cup, which debuted in October. All three sites provide detailed information on the athletes, including profiles, behind-the-scenes reports, blogs and lifestyle information as well as live and delayed streaming from competitions, continuous new coverage and in-depth information on the venues.

…Finland has invited 23 players to its training camp for the 2009 IIHF World Women’s U18 Championship, which will be held Jan. 5 to 10 in Fussen, Germany. The team will hold a training camp in Vierumaki, Finland Dec. 17 to 21, where they will play a tune-up game against U.S. team Adrian College as well as one against a Finnish men’s junior team consisting of players born in 1995. The roster will eventually be cut to 18 players and two goalkeepers. Finland finished sixth at the inaugural World Women’s U18 Championship in Calgary, Alberta last winter.

…The International Badminton Federation will begin to award more prize money to the winners in its doubles event than to players in the singles events. The IBF made the decision at its recent Badminton World Federation Council meeting in Seoul, South Korea. Winners of the men’s, women’s and mixed doubles competitions will received a prize of $42,000 for each pair, while men’s and women’s singles winners will get $40,000.

…Juan Carlos Castano Moreta has been elected president of the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) at the organization’s extraordinary General Meeting in Madrid, Spain Dec. 6.

Written by Greg Oshust.