More Women, Martin Sorrell Join IOC Commissions

(ATR) The IOC adds more women and a well-known advertising expert to the roster of IOC commissions for 2018.

The list of commission appointments for 2018 includes 30 more women than last year. That brings the number of female members to 42 percent of the 488 commission slots. Of the 26 commissions, only five are headed by women.

The commissions list released Aug. 8 is a few months later than usually disclosed each year. While no reason was provided, IOC President Thomas Bach was preoccupied for the first quarter of the year with the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

The IOC announcement does note that due to the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in October, the usual week of commission meetings in November will be shifted to January 2019. The commissions will meet again in November 2019 to go back on track to the regular schedule.

There is one new commission from 2017, for the 2022 Youth Olympic Games, headed to Africa, location TBA. IOC vice president Ugur Erdener of Turkey heads the group.

South African media executive Anant Singh is the one new chair. He was named to take over the Communications Commission from Camiel Eurlings, who left the IOC last year. Singh was elected to the IOC in 2016.

Making his debut on the Communications Commission is Martin Sorrell. The founder and former chief of advertising and pr behemoth WPP is now creating a new media company in London. Sorrell has regularly advised the IOC on communications issues and has been a speaker at IOC meetings.

The IOC says the increase in female commission members as well as the selection of new members from Asia and Africa is theresult of recommendations generated from Olympic Agenda 2020.

This represents an increase of 16.8 percent in female participation compared to 2017 and an improvement of 98 percent since 2013.

The changes also include increases in the number of members from Africa and Oceania.

"The IOC is continuing to increase female participation and geographical representation at every level of the Olympic Movement," said Bach in a statement.

"We have made significant progress in the past few years and this work will continue. Universality is at the heart of the Olympic Movement, and it is this strength through diversity which unites us all," he says.

While there are a number of new names selected for the commissions, the membership of many of the panels doesn't vary much from year to year. IOC members make up the majority of most of the commissions. NOC leaders, athletes, federation officials and experts from a range of professions fill in the ranks.

They are volunteer positions, but air travel and other costs are covered by the IOC, including per diem.

Some commissions have grown large. The Public Affairs and Social Development Through Sport and the Athletes’ Entourage Commissions have ballooned to 37 members. The Sustainability and Legacy Commission has 32 members, 29 for Olympic Education.

The five member Audit Commission headed by Pierre-Olivier Beckers is the smallest.

The commissions vary in their opaqueness. All meet behind closed doors without published agendas. Few issue any reports for public review and comment. Commission findings make their way to the Executive Board which handles any decisions that might be needed.

Reported by Ed Hula.