Olympic Newsdesk - Volleyball Suit Ends, YOG Medal, Olympians at Oscars

Volleyball Reimburses Goijman

Mario Goijman will be partially reimbursed for his legal expenses in a multi-year legal case against FIVB, the international volleyball federation, in exchange for ending the legal dispute.

The Argentinean filed a lawsuit in 2002 in a Swiss court, where the federation has its headquarters, He accused then-FIVB president Ruben Acosta and then- secretary general Jean-Pierre Seppey of corruption. Seppey has moved on to form the World Volleyball and Beach Volleyball Federation, a rival to FIVB. Acosta retired in 2008.

Goijman launched the suit after the 2002 world championships in Argentina, which Goijman organized as the head of the national federation. Goijman says FIVB did not pay the organizing committee their share of broadcast revenues. Goijman alleged he had to cover the loss with his own money.

And he says settling the debts is why he struck a deal with FIVB. He is out of money.

"I am in an extremely difficult economic situation now. I have spent around 500,000 US dollars fighting corruption in the FIVB, and the Banco Credicoop in Argentina is executing my guarantee for a loan of around 200,000 US dollars to the 2002 World Cup Organizing Committee," Goijman told online publication Play the Game.

"I accepted this deal because my situation was so critical that I needed whatever possible to reduce my crisis."

As part of the deal, the two sides signed a confidentiality agreement.

As a result of his campaign against FIVB, Goijman was kicked out of office at the Argentine volleyball federation and banned by FIVB.

Acosta stepped down as FIVB president after the Beijing Olympics. Jizhong Wei is the current president who says he is working to bring greater transparency to the federation.

Yes, Youth Can

"Yes, Youth Can" is the name of the medal design for the inaugural Youth Olympics Games taking place this August in Singapore.

The IOC announced on Monday that the design from Canadian Setsuko Fukuzawa of Montreal won an international contest to be the first medal design for the YOG. Her design includes a representation of the Greek God of victory, Nike in the form of the letter "Y," which symbolize youthfulness. The design also includes the five Olympics rings.

"I wanted the design to be very clean and modern; for me this means simplicity to deliver a clear message. ‘Yes, Youth Can’ represents every young athlete in a victory stand, celebrating. Simple, but powerful," Fukuzawa said.

"It reflects the participants at the Youth Olympic Games: they will face challenges, believe in themselves and go beyond their limits. I wanted to design something that would make winners of this medal remember and feel the moment they won it. I hope that, from my design, people can feel the energy and excitement.”

“Yes Youth Can” received 3,881 votes during the first round of public voting via the internet. The entry then was on a shortlist of 10 medal designs where an IOC jury selected Setsuko’s design as the overall winner.

The inaugural YOG will take place from August 14 to 26.

Peace and Sport Helping Haiti

Peace and Sport is assisting the Haitian Olympic Committee to rebuild the country through sports following the devastating earthquake earlier this year.

HOC is leading programs in camps for people displaced by the Jan. 12 earthquake. HOC is supervising sports programs in camps for the 50,000 young people. HOC also runs a program combating violence and discrimination against girls in these camps, through sports and education. On Monday, HOC empowered the Peace and Sport to support these programs.

Peace and Sport is collecting new andused sports equipment to send to Haiti. Also the organization is working with sports governing bodies, major sports clubs and international companies to collect donations to send trainers to the country.

"The appeal for mobilization that we are launching today should very quickly allow us to gather enough equipment to enable the HOC to accomplish its mission. The needs we have identified are simple, accessible and realistic. The programs will therefore be easy to implement if everyone is involved, giving all possible means, Joël Bouzou, President and Founder of Peace and Sport, said.

"Every bit helps to restore familiar landmarks, rules, a framework for life and give hope to children and adolescents who have lost everything in Haiti," he said.

The International Chess Federation and the International Table Tennis Federation are sending 500 chess sets and 50 table tennis kits to Haiti. Both federations are partners with Peace and Sport.

New Glasgow 2014 Logo

The letter G” is at the heart of the new logo for the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Organizers unveiled the logo at the Scottish Exhibition Conference Centre Monday.

"Today is a big milestone for everyone involved in the planningof Glasgow 2014 as the unveiling of the new brand symbolizes the start of a new and exciting journey towards the Games," John Scott, Glasgow 2014 chief executive said. "We now need to raise the revenue required to help stage the Games through selling the rights to the brand identity as sponsorship. I am confident its distinct style, its inherent element of fun and flexibility for both on and off line, will attract organizations wishing to be associated with the Commonwealth Games to become our sponsors."

Barcelona Hosts Global Sports Forum

The second Global Sports Forum is underway in Barcelona. The forum is designed to be a place where international sport leaders gather to debate all topics related to sport.

Four main themes were selected for this year’s event: sustainable development, the digital age, new world map of sports and youth integration.

Starting on Monday, the forum concludes Wednesday at the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya.

Some of the top scheduled speakers include former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, International Rugby Board chairman Bernard Lapasset, and Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa President Lasanna Palenfo.

SPORTELAsia Taking Place in Singapore

SPORTELAsia is underway in Singapore.

SPORTELAsia brings together executives from international sports media for a 3-day conference to discuss ways to expand their business.

The Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee and the Singapore Sports Council will both hold conferences at the event ahead of the 2010 Youth Olympic Games.

The program also includes networking events, exhibitions and workshops.

SPORTELAsia also partnered with Eurodata TV Worldwide to present the winner of the 1st Asian/Pacific Sport TV Audience Award.

The award was presented to the sports event that had the highest ratings in the Asia-Pacific area. Cricket Twenty20 International 2009 won with more than 32.2 million viewers.

To subscribe to Around the Rings Click Here

Written by Ed Hula III and Sam Steinberg.