ISU Candidate's Manifesto - Federations Focus

(ATR) International Skating Union Presidential candidate Didier Gailhaguet is releasing another part of his manifesto for the federation's future.

Gailhaguet, who is president of the Federation Française des Sports de Glace and a member of the Administrative Council of the French National Olympic Committee, announced his candidacy for ISU president in October 2015.

His latest press release includes ideas on revamping ISU events and considering new formats, updating the international events calendar and bringing together different disciplines so a festival-style event will be more broadcaster-friendly.

Gailhaguet also wants to abolish anonymous judging in figure skating.

"It is important to continue the program to professionalize our sport and central to that is the abolishment of anonymous judging in Figure Skating disciplines," he said in a statement.

"To uphold the integrity of fair competition and to ensure full transparency, I believe judges need to be protected but also open with their scores – which will also help the watching public to understand our disciplines better."

Gailhaguet was suspended for three years by the ISU in 2002 and banned from the 2006 Turin Games after being at the center of a judging scandal at the Salt Lake City Olympics.

The election of the ISU president will take place in June 2016.

A Potential Challenger for UCI President in 2017?

The President of the French Cycling Federation and the European Union Cycling apparently has eyes on a bigger prize.

David Lappartient, in an interview with Cyclism’Actu, says being the head of the International Cycling Union is a position he covets.

"I’ve never hidden that governance of world cycling is something exciting. Certainly in the future, the presidency of the UCI could interest me. The question is: when?"

Brian Cookson is in the middle of his four year term as UCI president, having defeated incumbent Pat McQuaid in September 2013 after an acrimonious campaign.

IOC President Attends World Archery Indoor Championships

Athletes from 21 nations and four continents participated at the 12th World Archery Indoor Championships in Ankara, Turkey.

IOC President Thomas Bach was among those who attended the event, which covered seven days. He handed out medals during the recurve junior and senior victory ceremonies.

Bach had never seen the discipline of indoor archery in person before but came away impressed.

"It was very interesting and there were very close finals with all the shoot-offs," he said in a statement. "It was good to see this format."

"It’s a different atmosphere. It’s good to have the spectators very close by and this creates a very special atmosphere for indoor archery," added President Bach.

The finals were held in a purpose-built archery arena which bronze medalist and three-time Archery World Cup champion Brady Ellison described as "awesome."

Taekwondo Athletes to Compete in National Colors at Rio 2016 for First Time

The World Taekwondo Federation will allow Olympic athletes competing at Rio 2016 to wear different colored pants, representative of their national team color, for the very first time.

The WTF, in a statement, said that the decision is part of the federation’s commitment to delivering a new and exciting spectator experience at the upcoming Olympic Games.

"The introduction of colored pants for athletes will transform the look of competition, adding to the vibrant, carnival atmosphere in Rio, and will give athletes an even greater sense of national pride as they compete for their countries."said WTF president Chungwon Choue.

The WTF has set a deadline of April 30 for each member national association to decide on one color, including white, which all of their athletes will wear at Rio 2016.

The federation says the splash of color will also allow the fans in the stadium and those watching from home to easily identify the athletes competing.

Written by Gerard Farek

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