Monday Memo -- Handball Congress Safety; Ice Hockey, Taekwondo World Champs; Garmisch Vote

Handball Congress

International Handball Federation chief Hassan Moustafa issued a statement that the May 3 and 4 IHF Congress in Marrakech, Morocco will be safe.

On April 28, a bomb exploded in a café in the city, and a wave of protest has swept north Africa and the Middle East.

"The organizational procedures of the Congress, which is under the patronage of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, are under complete control" IHF said on its website.

"All participants of the Congress will be secured during all events, meetings and social activities from their arrival to their departure. This security will be on the highest possible level and it will have the highest priority."

According to the statement, Morocco’s interior minister "will be monitoring" the congress for delegates’ safety.

2018 Referendum

Voters in Garmisch-Partenkirchen head to the polls Sunday to vote on whether or not the alpine towns should host the 2018 Olympics with Munich.

A petition drive calling for a referendum on the Olympics gathered enough signatures to be placed on a May 8 ballot. Along with the chance to vote against the Olympics, another option will be to vote in favor of staging alpine events.

Munich 2018 bid leaders said in a statement on March 30 they are confident in the outcome.

"The people of Garmisch-Partenkirchen impressively proved their passion for winter sports during the Alpine World Ski Championships last month. Polls in the recent past have shown that the large majority is in favour of the Games. Munich 2018 is looking forward to the referendum with optimism."

Should citizens reject the Olympics, it could be catastrophic for the Munich bid. Anti-Olympic groups have dogged the Winter Olympic bid.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, located about an hour south of Munich, with a population of about 27,000, is well-known as a winter sports mecca. The 2011 FIS alpine skiing world championships were staged in February.

The city’s Olympic heritage goes back to 1936 when it hosted the fourth Winter Olympics.

World Championships

The World Taekwondo Championships run through Friday in Gyeongju, South Korea. Around 1,700 athletes and officials will participate in the championship.

Action in the men’s ice hockey world championships began Friday in Slovakia. Competition runs until May 15. Sixteen teams qualified. The Czech Republic is the defending champion. Representatives from the three 2018 bid cities will all be present for the championships.

Written by Ed Hula III.