IOC President in Korea for Taekwondo Championships - Federations Focus

(ATR) The 2017 WTF World Taekwondo Championships will be wrapping up on Friday.

IOC President Thomas Bach will be in Korea for the closing of the championships as part of a trip to Asia. He is to meet with delegations from World Taekwondo and the rival International Taekwondo Federation during his visit.

Sequestered in Muju, more than three hours by car from Seoul, athletes have returned to the spiritual home of the sport for the first time since 2011. The competition is being held at the Taekwondowon, a complex built by the South Korean government as a home for all taekwondo in the country.

A refugee team is one of 184 delegations participating with a total of 971 athletes. It is the largest participation at a world championship for the sport. The competition began on June 24 in eight weight classes in both men’s and women’s taekwondo.

AIBA Lands Main Official Sponsor for Men's World Championships

The German car manufacturer Borgward is the main official sponsor for the 2017 AIBA Men’s World Championships.

The year’s biggest boxing tournament will be held in Hamburg, Germany from Aug. 25 to Sept. 2.

Borgward, one of Germany’s historic automobile companies, is seeking to re-launch in 2018.

The agreement includes significant financial support for the competition as well as the use of Borgward’s newly developed SUVs for transport during the tournament.

"We are delighted to have secured Borgward as our main sponsor for this year’s AIBA World Championships. The agreement shows that the hard work AIBA has done to build boxing’s stature is being recognized in new and exciting markets, and we welcome Borgward to the AIBA Family for these World Championships and beyond as yet another high-level partnership that will benefit our sport at all levels," AIBA President CK Wu said in a statement.

AIBA says Borgward will benefit from global exposure through live television coverage, highlights packages and social media campaigns. The Borgward Boxer of the Tournament will be voted for by AIBA Twitter followers at the end of the competition.

ISSF Signs Off on 2020 Olympic Program

The Tokyo 2020 Shooting Sport Olympic program has been approved by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Extraordinary General Assembly (EGA).

The EGA had been called to discuss recommendations made by the ISSF Executive Board to amend the shooting events program for Tokyo.

Earlier this month, the IOC Executive Board had given its approval on the ISSF proposal to replace three men-only events (50m Rifle Prone, 50m Pistol and Double Trap) with three mixed team events (10m Air Rifle, 10m Air Pistol and Trap). As part of Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC’s strategic roadmap for the future, mixed team events were encouraged as a means of ensuring gender equality.

Besides signing off on Tokyo 2020, the EGA also approved the creation of a new forum to ensure an ongoing and collaborative review process for all shooting events – including the ones replaced – beginning with the 2024 Olympic Games.

"We want to push forward and ensure that we are working with the IOC to drive change and shape our sport’s Olympic future," President Olegario Vázquez Raña said in a statement.

"The forum will bring the ISSF family closer together and ensure that everyone has a voice in the recommendations for 2024 and beyond.

FIL Secretary General Stepping Down

The International Luge Federation (FIL) will be electing a new Secretary General for the first time in 24 years in 2018.

Svein Romstad of the USA announced during his report at the 65th FIL Congress in Constanţa, Romania that he will not stand as a candidate at the next Congress in Bratislava.

Romstad was elected as secretary General in June 1994 at the FIL Congress in Rome, the same year as Josef Fendt (GER) succeeded the late founding President Bert Isatitsch.

During the Congress, the FIL elected Norbert Hiedl as the first Ethics Officer of the federation.

The 68-year-old lawyer from Waltrop in Germany will oversee adherence to the federation's Ethics Code introduced at the 2016 Congress.

Dutchman Ben Heijmeijer was elected to replace Hiedl as the Chair of the Court of Arbitration.

The FIL also announced during the Congress that its main and title sponsor Viessmann as well as Eberspächer signed contract extensions until 2022.

IWWF Visits Pyongyang for Peace & Sport

The International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) recently completed a two-day coaching seminar in Pyongyang, North Korea.

The training was part of an initiative by the Peace & Sport, the Monaco-based organization which works to make sport a vehicle for tolerance, respect, sharing and citizenship.

The IWWF says North Korea's Waterski Association, following a period of hibernation, has ambitious plans designed to bring the country back into the international stage.

"They are keen to develop new facilities on the Taedong River, located in a prime position near the center of Pyongyang. They are currently building a hostel for their athletes on the banks of the river together with a new water sports headquarters. We are fortunate to have visited when we did in order to provide recommendations regarding the development plans for the new facilities," IWWF Homologator, Nigel Talamo said in a statement.

The IWWF donated a waterski, wakeboard, handles and ropes to their hosts and athletes.

Written by Gerard Farek

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