Rio Qualification Up-for-Grabs at FIG Trampoline Championships -- Federations Focus

(ATR) Sixteen gymnasts can secure their country a place at the Rio 2016 Olympics at the 2015 Trampoline Gymnastics world championships.

The championships open Thursday, Nov. 26 in Odense, Denmark as 205 gymnasts from 40 countries compete for the 14 world championships titles up-for-grabs.

Trampoline gymnastics has been on the Olympic program since the Sydney Olympics in 2000. At the final on Sunday, eight women and eight men will earn the opportunity to compete in the fifth edition of individual trampoline at the Olympics.

Gymnasts will also compete in the synchronized trampoline, tumbling and double-mini disciplines of the sport at the championships. Although these events are not featured on the Olympic program, athletes can earn qualification to the 2017 World Games in Wroclaw, Poland.

Those who do not earn qualification to Rio 2016 in this event will have another opportunity at trampoline’s Olympic test event on Apr. 20. The test event is the final chance for trampoline athletes to qualify for the Games.

Russia 2018 Reviews Preparations for World Cup

The Russia 2018 Local Organizing Committee met for the seventh time in Moscow on Nov. 24 to review the achievements and preparations for both the 2018 World Cup and 2017 Confederations Cup.

Prior to the management board meeting, leaders of the LOC saw first-hand construction of the Luzhniki Stadium, the venue set to host the opening and final matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The meeting was attended by Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko who provided an update on the preparations for the two major tournaments as well as the LOC’s milestones for 2016.

"The experience the LOC has picked up during the preparation and hosting of the Preliminary Draw for Russia 2018 will be useful as we organize the next official tournament events: the Confederations Cup 2017 draw, the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Final Draw for the 2018 World Cup," said Mutko.

The Confederations Cup will utilize four of the 12 World Cup venues in Russia, playing matches in Kazan, St. Petersburg, Sochi and the Spartak Stadium in Moscow.

The LOC confirmed the dates of the Confederations Cup draw and the final draw for the 2018 World Cup at the meeting, choosing Nov. 26, 2016 and Dec. 1, 2017 respectively.

The Confederations Cup will take place from Jun. 17 to Jul. 2 while the World Cup will be staged from Jun. 8 to Jul. 8 one year later.

Innsbruck Opens Viessmann Luge World Cup

The Viessmann Luge World Cup season opener is slated to begin Nov. 28 at the Olympic track in Innsbruck, Austria.

The event will serve as a test run for the upcoming International Luge Federation (FIL) world championships in 2017. The championships will be hosted in Innsbruck for the fifth time, following its current ten-year pattern of hosting the event.

The 2016 edition of the event will wrap-up the world cup season that gets underway Nov. 28 in Innsbruck. The 39th world cup season features nine luge races spread throughout six countries.

More than 150 athletes from 25 countries have registered for the season. This year marks the first time the FIL will provide live streaming coverage of all of the world cup events on its website.

"I am delighted that we are able to provide a service that has been much requested, and which represents a significant step forward in terms of the media coverage of our sport," said FIL President Josef Fendt.

China to Host 2018 Senior Fencing World Champs

Wuxi, China was selected as the host of the 2018 Senior Fencing World Championships at the annual congress of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) in Guangzhou, China.

The 122 national federations present at the annual congress also voted to host the 2018 Veteran’s World Championships in Livorno, Italy and the 2017 Junior and Cadet World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

The members of the congress also adopted the FIE code of ethics, modeling its rules after those of the IOC.

The federation is also striving to achieve more gender equality, approving a measure to guarantee at least 30 percent of the executive committee be comprised of women.

Andrea Bocelli Named Ambassador for World Judo

Renowned artist and classical Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli has been named as an ambassador to the International Judo Federation (IJF).

"This is a great honour for the international judo community to have such a great person, human being and artist as the new IJF ambassador," said IJF president Marius Vizer.

Bocelli has recorded 14 albums in his illustrious career, selling more than 150 million records worldwide.

Written by KevinNutley

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