Sport Climbing Signs Marketing Deal -- Federation Focus

(ATR) The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) works to strengthen its marketing and media presence ahead of Tokyo 2020.

The IFSC announced this week a multi-year partnership with Japanese companies Dentsu and Synca Creations.

Dentsu Inc., based in Tokyo, is the world’s largest advertising agency brand and the marketing agency of the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic & Paralympic Games.

Synca Creations Inc. is a Tokyo-based TV production and distribution company which has been a media partner of the IFSC in Japan since 2013.

The agreement grants Dentsu and Synca rights to the procurement and negotiation of incoming IFSC marketing and media deals (media rights for Asia Pacific (excluding China), Latin America and the Caribbean) for IFSC events in the 2019-2023 climbing seasons.

"This historic agreement opens new heights for our sport, new horizons for our athletes and events, and strengthens our presence in Japan ahead of the Olympic Games in Tokyo," says Marco Scolaris, IFSC President, in a statement.

"This milestone deal will enable us to consolidate our organization and invest in key developments to enhance the attractiveness of Sport Climbing and its strong appeal among youth."

In addition to attracting new sponsors and broadcasters, Dentsu and Synca are working alongside the IFSC to improve the production value of IFSC events. The IFSC produces live coverage for television and online consumption of approximately 16 international Sport Climbing events per year and offers live delivery. Additionally, the IFSC distributes 26-minute monthly highlights to over 140 countries on all five continents.

International Floorball Federation Adds Two Members

The International Floorball Federation (IFF) Central Board approved the provisional membership of the Central African Republic and Kiribati.

The Central African Republic is member number 71. The country’s Central Africa Floorball Federation (FCAF), which applied for IFF membership in January, aims to organize national floorball championships and by 2020 to have a national team. There are currently 320 floorball players and 10 floorball clubs in the country.

Kiribati applied for membership last month and is member number 72. There are currently 160 players and five clubs in the country.

The Kiribati Floorball National Federation plans to promote the sport in the outer islands and form more clubs. A major goal is to include floorball as a sport in the Kiribati National Tournament, which is held every two years and funded by the Kiribati government.

ITTF Looking for Host Cities

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has opened the host city bidding process for two Olympic Qualification events ahead of Tokyo 2020.

The World Team Qualification Tournament and the World Singles Qualification Tournament are being branded #Rise2Tokyo.

The World Team Qualification Tournament will take place in January 2020 and will determine nine of the 16 available team spots for the Tokyo 2020 team event as well as 18 individual players for the singles event.

Set to take place during the second half of May 2020, the World Singles Qualification Tournament will contribute between two and eight athletes for the Tokyo 2020 Singles Event.

The Tokyo 2020 Singles Event will feature a total of between 64 and 70 athletes, the remainder of which will qualify through a variety of avenues.

The ITTF also announced this week that Düsseldorf will host the 2020 ITTF Men’s World Cup and Bangkok will host the 2020 ITTF Women’s World Cup.

The Men’s World Cup will be held in the German city between Oct. 16-18, 2020, with the Women’s World Cup taking place in Thailand’s capital the very next week between Oct. 23-25, 2020.

Written by Gerard Farek

For general comments or questions,click here.

25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.