On the Scene in Acapulco -- New Events for 2014: Mountains Still to Climb

(ATR) IOC President Jacques Rogge gives some hints about how he will choose new events for the Sochi Olympics.

He said the 11 events, including women's ski jumping, are provisionally on the program, which indicates they must convince him they deserve to stay there.

Ultimately, Rogge said, he will consult with the experts on the Olympic program commission and make his decisions after the World Championships in each event are concluded. "There might be an event provisionally retained today that might not be at the end of the process," he said.

The other events hoping to take part in 2014 are ski halfpipe (men and women), ski slopestyle (men and women), snowboard slopestyle (men and women), biathlon mixed team relay, figure skating team event and luge team relay.

Israel-Palestine Talk

Representatives from the NOCs of Israel and Palestine met in Acapulco and have agreed on the issues that have to be solved and on bilateral support and exchanges that could be carried out. They will meet again in Lausanne very soon, said Rogge, who made a goodwill tour of Israel, Palestine and Jordan.

One of the most pressing issues is that athletes from Palestine have difficulty traveling back and forth from international competitions. Rogge said he has spoken to Israeli president Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Both pledged to find a solution," he said.

Development of sport and funding are other topics the two NOCs are discussing.

Panama Suspension

Rogge said that "regrettably" the IOC has suspended the NOC of Panama, effective at the next EB meeting Jan. 11 to 12, 2011, unless a solution is reached in a dispute between two groups both claiming to be the legitimate NOC. "We'll try to find out who's who," Rogge said.

He has asked Mario Vazquez Rana, president of ANOC and PASO, to initiate talks with the two parties in hopes of finding a solution.

Panama was suspended before the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro because of a similar conflict, but was subsequently reinstated.

Empathy for FIFA

Theethics troubles roiling within FIFA have brought comparisons to the 1999 IOC scandal involving Salt Lake City.

Rogge said FIFA president Sepp Blatter called him when two executive committee members were accused in a bribery sting, and consequently suspended. "I encouraged him to do what he has done and try to clean out as much as possible," Rogge said.

He said he believes the IOC reached the right conclusions to "something that was very unpleasant" in taking measures and changing its rules in the wake of Salt Lake City. "The IOC came out as a better and more transparent organization," Rogge said, "and I hope also that is the case with my friends in sport."

He said he hopes these protections would prevent another scandal within the IOC, but added, "You never say never in life. Cheating is embedded in human nature today. I'm saying we are very vigilant. We have strict rules and I believe this protects us as much as possible, but you can never say never."

US-IOC Relations

Rogge disclosed that he expects the IOC to start negotiations with a U.S. television broadcaster in the first or second quarter of next year.

"We have an appealing organization for these broadcasters and I believe it's going to be a very competitive discussion to see who the winner will be," he said.

The IOC awarded two small events to the U.S. Olympic Committee: the International Athletes Forum, which will be held in Colorado Springs, and the Women in Sport convention, which will take place in Los Angeles.

Rogge said the events "allow us to come back to a continent we have not been very much" and noted that they "give us more universality."

They also bring the U.S. back onto the international hosting scene after Chicago's shocking first-round elimination in the race for the 2016 Olympics. However, Rogge said he did not think Chicago was an issue any longer. "There might have been an emotional issue for some time," he said. "I think our American friends were very gracious in accepting the decision of the IOC."

Organizing Committees Full Speed Ahead

The IOC was delighted by reports of the organizing committees of London, Sochi and Rio, Rogge said.

"We are pleased by the quality of preparation and also by the speed of the work," he said. "All lights are on green."

ATR coverage of the ANOC General Assembly

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From Karen Rosen in Acapulco