Tokyo 2020 Holds Second EB of 2017 -- Monday Memo

(ATR) Leaders of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics gather in Japan’s capital on Friday, March 24 to discuss challenges facing its project.

The Tokyo 2020 executive board meeting marks the second such gathering of 2017 following a meeting on Feb. 1.

Agenda topics at the meeting will likely include decisions taken at the IOC Executive Board meeting that concluded in PyeongChang, South Korea on March 17. IOC executives voted to allow Fukushima to stage a qualifying game of baseball and softball, a decision Tokyo 2020 welcomed.

Tokyo 2020 will also likely discuss the ongoing controversy at the Kasumigaseki Golf Club and its restrictive gender policy. The IOC said during its visit to PyeongChang that it would change its golf venue if the club did not accept a gender equal policy. The golf club is due to hold its own board meeting in the coming weeks to discuss the issue.

The Tokyo 2020 budget will also be subject to further discussion as organizers continue to try to minimize costs. A status update on Japan’s National Stadium is also expected at the meeting.

A press conference will immediately follow the meeting.

World Baseball Classic Down to Final Four

The fourth champion of the World Baseball Classic will be crowned Wednesday, March 22 in Los Angeles.

The 16-team baseball tournament is now down to its final four teams following two rounds of round robin play that began on March 6.

The matchup between the Netherlands and Puerto Rico kicks off the semifinals on Monday, March 20 at Dodger Stadium. Japan will take on the United States on Tuesday, with the winner of each game heading to the finals on Wednesday.

The Netherlands has never finished higher than fourth in the WBC while Puerto Rico is looking to better its runner-up finish to the Dominican Republic in 2013. Japan is seeking to secure its third WBC championship at the fourth edition of the tournament. The United States is hoping to claim its first WBC title while playing on home soil.

Uganda Hosts IAAF Cross Country Champs

The biannual World Cross Country Championships begin March 26 in Kampala, Uganda.

The competition organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations will feature 557 athletes from 60 teams. The IAAF says this year’s competition will have the greatest turnout seen in the sport since 2006.

Four of the athletes in the championships will represent the Athlete Refugee Team guided by Tegla Loroupe who also led the Refugee Olympic Team at last summer’s Rio 2016 Olympics.

The championships include a mixed relay race, under-20 men’s and women’s races as well as adult men’s and women’s races. The mixed relay is a new innovation from the IAAF that will comprise of two men and women from each team running a two-kilometer circuit. The IAAF says 13 countries will compete in the event.

Special Olympics Conclude in Austria

The 11th edition of the Special Olympic World Winter Games comes to a close this weekend in Austria.

The world’s largest sports and humanitarian event of the year is currently underway in the cities of Graz and Schladming, the second time the event has been staged there.

The games began on Tuesday, March 14 with more than 3,000 athletes from 110 countries participating in the quadrennial event. Athletes are competing in nine winter sports including alpine skiing, cross country, figure skating, floor hockey, floorball, snowboarding, snowshoeing, speed skating and stick shooting.

Dancing and the Motor Activity Training Program (MATP) are also included on the program as demonstration events.

"Austria was the first country outside the U.S. to host a Special Olympics World Games and helped us show the world the gifts and talents of our Special Olympics athletes," Special Olympics chairman Timothy P. Shriver said in a statement.

"It is fitting that we would return to a country that has demonstrated its commitment to people with intellectual disabilities for decades and will embrace our athletes from around the world."

The 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games conclude on Saturday, March 25.

Written by Kevin Nutley

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