(ATR) Gianni Merlo will serve for a fourth and final term as International Sports Press Association (AIPS) president.
Merlo, from Italy, was re-elected Friday on the final day of the 80th AIPS Congress, which was held in South Korea this week. Esat Yilmaer of Turkey was re-elected first vice president while Jura Ozmec of Croatia, running unopposed, takes over as treasurer from Austria’s Michael Kuhn.
They will lead the AIPS Executive Committee, which also includes seven vice presidents and 13 other members, for the next four years.
Following the elections, the Congress addressed a number of issues affecting sports journalists, including the ongoing problem of skyrocketing costs for official accommodation at major sporting events.
Merlo also voiced his disapproval with the International Olympic Committee policy that had denied the bid cities for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games the opportunity to attend the AIPS Congress.
"In the spirit of Agenda 2020, the IOC should open its doors to all international media, and accept the fact that not all journalists and media across the world are able to travel to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne for the Coordination Commission or for Evaluation Commission visits in Los Angeles and Paris in this case," Merlo said.
He told the Congress that he had written to IOC President Thomas Bach about this specific issue.
The Congress began with two days in Seoul before more than 200 international sports journalists from more than 100 countries traveled to PyeongChang for the final two days.
On Friday, the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) gave an overview of the current preparations for the upcoming Winter Games.
The visit also included trips to the venues in both the mountain cluster and coastal cluster for the 2018 Games.
Written by Gerard Farek
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