AIBA World Championships in Russia -- Federation Focus

(ATR) Boxers from around the globe are making their way to Ekaterinburg, Russia for the 2019 AIBA Men’s World Championships.

Ordinarily an event with implications for Olympic qualifying, that will not be the case for 2019. The IOC has suspended AIBA from organizing the Olympic tournament, including the qualification stage.

Nonetheless, 450 boxers from 87 countries are expected in Russia for the 12-day event.

In October, Russia will also host the 2019 Women’s World Championship.

IOC Sets Schedule for Boxing Qualifications

The IOC has named five cities to host the qualifying rounds in boxing for Tokyo. All dates are in 2020.

Asia/Oceania will be in Wuhan, China, Feb. 3-14.

Dakar, Senegal hosts the African rounds from Feb. 20-29.

Europe qualifying is in London from March 13-23.

Buenos Aires handles the Americas from March 13-23.

A final worldwide qualifier takes place in Paris May 13-24.

A total of 286 boxers will be selected for Tokyo, the same number of Rio. But the men’s field is reduced by 64 slots to make room for tripling the number of female boxers to 100.

Curling Considers Shorter Games

World Curling Federation holds its annual assembly in tropical Cancun, Mexico Sept. 4-6. As many as 61 national federations are expected.

One of the top items on the agenda will be reducing the length of games says WCF President Kate Caithness.

"Since the introduction of mixed doubles at the Olympic Winter Games the need to comprehensively consider the length of curling games at the top level has become increasingly clear.

"A variety of views are held on this topic, therefore, involving our Member Associations in this process is essential. The Congress in Mexico is an opportune time to continue consulting with them," she says.

The discussion will likely center on trimming the number of ends in a game from ten to eight.

ITF Expands Davis Cup

The ITF announces an expansion of the Davis Cup Group I and Group II competition, replacing the regional ties currently being played with a worldwide format beginning in 2020.

As part of the changes revealed on Wednesday, the ITF will introduce an additional playoff round for both World Group I and World Group II that will be held alongside the Davis Cup by Rakuten Qualifiers in March 2020.

The expanded structure, which follows extensive consultation with national associations, will ensure more nations are able to compete on a worldwide basis, with more opportunities for home-and-away ties against a wider variety of opponents.

From 2020, there will be a clear progression for teams, with automatic promotion and relegation at all levels of the competition.

There will be no change to the structure of Davis Cup Group III and Group IV which will continue to be played as week-long regional events on a round-robin basis.

"We are committed to working with our member nations to ensure that the format of the competition, at all levels, maximises its potential for success and growth," ITF President David Haggerty said in a statement. "This expanded format elevates these levels to reflect the evolution of this global competition."

Haggerty faces challengers Dave Miley, Ivo Kaderka and Anil Khanna in theITF presidential election, which is scheduled to take place at the federation’s AGM in Lisbon on Sept. 27.

Commonwealth Games Federation 'Refreshes' Strategic Plan

The Commonwealth Games Federation launches what it calls a refresh of the Commonwealth Sport Movement’s strategic plan at the CGF general assembly in Rwanda.

Transformation 2022 was originally unveiled in 2015 but has been updated for the period covering 2019-2022 after what the CGF says was "detailed member consultation" following last year’s Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.

The refresh establishes a new strategic priority that focuses on athletes and sport for social change and includes the future formation of the Commonwealth Sport Foundation.

To compliment the Transformation 2022 Refresh, the new CGF brand and logo was formally showcased for the very first time to delegates at the GA in Rwanda.

The "Commonwealth Sport" brand was developed in close consultation with the 71 Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs) and created by RBL agency in the UK.

"The Transformation 2022 Refresh will ensure the Commonwealth Sports Movement is in the best possible position to capitalize on the opportunities and mitigate possible risks that lie ahead in a rapidly changing world," CGF CEO David Grevemberg said in a statement.

"It is an important time to galvanize and drive the positive impact of sport on society which is why we have updated and launched an exciting new Commonwealth Sport Brand to keep pace with our ambition."

Written by Ed Hula and Gerard Farek

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