IOC president Jacques Rogge says the Olympic Movement is benefiting from closer ties with the European Commission. (Getty Images)IOC Strengthens Links with European Commission
IOC President Jacques Rogge says the Olympic Movement is benefiting from closer ties with the European Commission following his latest meeting with EU sports commissioner Ján Figel.
“Organized sport has a unique and important role in society. By working together, we can improve our ability to bring the benefits of sport to the European Union and find more effective ways to combat doping, illegal betting and other threats to sport,” he said following the Monday summit in Brussels, Belgium.
The meeting allowed for an exchange of views on topics currently on the EU agenda for sport. They include: financing of sport; the fight against doping; the implementation of the White Paper on Sport and the launch of preparatory action in sport financed from this year's EU budget.
Also discussed were next steps to continue dialogue with the sport movement, in view of the next EU Sport Forum to be held in April 2010 and of the possible entry into force of the sport provisions of the Lisbon Treaty.
Nine members of the Olympic Movement were also involved in the meeting with Figel and his team.
The group included: Mario Pescante, IOC Executive Board member and chair of the international relations commission; Patrick Hickey, President of the European Olympic Committees; Hein Verbruggen, IOC honorary member and president of Sportaccord (formerly GAISF); René Fasel, president of the Association Association of International Olympic Winter Federations; and Denis Oswald, president of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF).
Also present were FIBA secretary general Patrick Baumann, Rogge's chief of staff Christophe de Kepper, EOC EU office director Folker Hellmund and FIFA director of international relations Jérôme Champagne.
The meeting was a follow-up to one organized in Lausanne in January. Rogge and Figel, together with other representatives of the Olympic Movement, discussed issues such as the autonomy of sport, betting concerns, the application of EU competition law and of free Moscow has been selected as the host of the 2010 European Youth Olympic Games trials. (Getty Images) movement principles in sport, and the fight against doping.
Figel said he was pleased “the positive spirit of cooperation created in Lausanne at the beginning of the year continues to shape the dialogue between the commission and the sport movement.”
This year’s two summits bringing together Olympic stakeholders and EU officials come in the wake of the European Council Declaration on Sport announced in December, 2008. This called for the strengthening of dialogue between EU heads of state and Government, the IOC and representatives of the world of sport.
Moscow to Host 2010 European YOG Trials
Young European athletes hoping to compete at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore must travel through Moscow first as the Russian capital was selected to host the European Olympic Youth Trials in May, 2010.
"I am extremely happy and honored that the city of Moscow will be hosting such an important event, where the best young athletes in Europe can come together to follow their dreams of competing in such a prestigious competition as the Youth Olympic Games," Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov said.
European Athletics President Hansjörg Wirz said, "We believe Moscow will put on a fantastic competition and I am looking forward to seeing the best of Europe's youth athletes competing for a place in the Youth Olympic Games."
Briefs…
…The New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) is searching for 21 athletes to take part in the celebrations of its 100th anniversary. NZOC has found 976 out of 1111 Olympians who competed between 1964 and 2004. A total of 114 have died and the remaining 21 Olympians have yet to be found.
…The engineers who designed Beijing’s Water Cube aquatics venue won Great Britain’s top engineering award. The firm that designed the Water Cube venue for the Beijing Olympics won the U.K.’s top engineering award. (Getty Images) Five engineers at the UK-based Arup engineering firm won the MacRobert prize, which includes a cash prize of more than $80,000 and a solid gold trophy.
…The Bahrain Olympic Committee has a new executive board, joining recently elected BOC chief Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa. According to local media, 11 sports leaders were running for the seven open slots on the board, with presidents of the basketball, cycling, football, handball, weightlifting and bodybuilding federations, along with two other individuals, earning a seat on the board.
Media Watch
National Public Radio aired its second look at the construction challenges for the Sochi Olympics.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105162265
The Washington Times continues its second round of predictions of rosters for Olympic hockey teams.
http://washingtontimes.com/weblogs/in-the-room/2009/jun/09/a-look-toward-vancouver-20/
Written by Written by Mark Bisson and Ed Hula III
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