Bobsleigh Boss Re-elected for Third Term

(ATR) Ivo Ferriani on Wednesday swept back into office as president of the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation.

At the IBSF Congress in Rome, the Italian IOC member secured 38 of the 43 votes from delegates of the national federations, defeating the challenger Fritz Burkard of Switzerland to win a third four-year term.

Burkard, an IBSF para-sport committee member, was a rank outsider to oust Ferriani and got five votes.

There were also elections for the IBSF’s vice-presidents, who will serve from 2018 to 2022.

Andreas Trautvetter of Germany was re-elected to head financial & corporate affairs. Darrin Steele of the USA returns as vice-president for sport, while Monaco’s David Tomatis is back in position as head of marketing & events.

Stefaan Freeling of Belgium succeeds Britain’s Adam Pengilly as vice president of international affairs.

Also new to the IBSF’s top table is Poland’s Przemyslaw Piesiewicz, who becomes vice-president of communications, taking over from Russia’s Georgy Bedzhamov. The new VP of legal affairs is Latvia’s Martins Dambergs, who succeeds Ben Sandford.

"I feel very honored and just want to say thank you to all delegates that you give me the chance to serve you for another four years", said Ferriani after the election. "Thank you also to the leaving members of the Executive Board for their work and dedication to our sport. A warm welcome to the newly elected Vice Presidents – I look forward to work with you and I am excited to see what we can achieve.

"Now it’s time to go to work, continue projects, pursuing new ideas and meet the challenges that lay ahead us to make our sport even better.

"Do not hesitate to raise your hand and tell us your needs as this federation is your federation. I look forward to slide into the future with you!"

The Rome congress kicked off on Tuesday with reports on the past Olympic season and a look ahead to future events.Organizers of the Bobsleigh & Skeleton World Championships 2019 in Whistler, 2020 in Altenberg, 2021 in Lake Placid and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing reported on preparations.

The bobsleigh and skeleton federation’s annual meeting brought together around 150 participants, including delegates from 41 national federations, race organizers, track representatives and IBSF personnel.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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