Netball Australia has appointed former Netball World Cup 2015 Chief Executive Officer Marne Fechner as the organisation’s first Deputy CEO.
Fechner led the organising committee responsible for delivering the Netball World Cup and returns to Netball Australia as Deputy CEO following a restructure of the organisation’s business units.
Full story HERE.
The UIPM Laser-Run World Championships came to an exciting denouement on Sunday with the Mixed-Relay competition.
In the picturesque surroundings of Perpignan, ed France, doctor five medals were decided – from Youth Level at under 17s (B) and 19s (A) to Juniors, health Masters and Seniors.
It brought two wonderful days of the first ever Laser-Run competition to a successful end having captured the imagination of all who witnessed its world debut.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, Laser-Run consists of only two of the five Modern Pentathlon elements, laser shooting and running and was designed to allow more athletes an entry point into the most demanding of Olympic sports.
The Mixed-Relay events proved to be profitable for the host nation France who picked up two Golds, five Silvers and one Bronze Medal across the five levels.
It was Egypt who came out top on the Under-17 B event with Mariam Amer and Mohamed Aboulfadl (EGY) taking first place followed by French duo Cloe Deguisne and Xavier Dufour (FRA) in second and Natia Machavariani and Gaga Khijakadze (GEO) of Georgia in third.
There was a one-two for the home nation in the Under-19s B event, Sophie Penaud and Matty Lamon (FRA) followed home by countrymen Lisa Riff and Jean Baptiste Mourcia (FRA). Bronze was won by Egyptians Sondos Aboubakr and Ahmed Elgendy (EGY).
On to the Juniors and it was Mexico who took top honours thanks to a great display from Xochitl Olivares and Andres Garza (EGY). Silver went to France’s Celie Lesnard and Pierre Dejardin (FRA) while Eliska Pribylova and her Czech partner Marek Grycz (CZE) clinched third place.
There was triple success for France in the Masters event as they took Gold, Silver and Bronze. The winning pairing in order were Cecilia Geppier and Olivier Cabardos, Mickaele Perrier and Jean-Christophe Perrier along with Nathalie Picault and Edouard Jobet (all FRA).
There were a number of well0known elite Pentathletes competing in the Seniors event and they didn’t let an expectant crowd down with some dazzling performances.
Gold went to Anastasiya Prokopenko – to add to her Senior Women’s title from the previous day – and Mikalai Hayanouski (BLR) with France’s Elodie Clouvel and partner Alexandre Henrard (FRA) claiming Silver while the American’s Margaux Isaksen and Lucas Schrimsher (USA) picked up Bronze.
Speaking at the end of the two day Laser-Run Championships, UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann said: “In wonderful weather conditions we had the Mixed Relay competition today and with a lot of spectators looking on the athletes enjoyed their day. We had different countries winning the medals today, which was really important, and we can see how much the athletes are enjoying this new competition format.
“This is a great sport for all from athletes to spectators as there is always something happening and some real drama – especially at the finishing line where all the athletes are pushing themselves to cross the line first.
“I repeat what I said yesterday, there is a great future for this sport as part of our new movement for Modern Pentathlon. Laser-Run will have a great future in all our future Modern Pentathlon competition calendars.”
Spanish LaLiga giants Barcelona have become the first sporting organisation to reach 200 million on social networks.
The figure represents the club’s strong global presence on digital media as they average up to million new followers per week.
This includes digital platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
More info HERE.
SportAccord president Marius Vizer attempted to address the fallout from his opening day speech by apologising to the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) at their General Assembly on Wednesday.
Vizer’s criticism of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) brought widespread condemnation from the sporting world, troche with ASOIF announcing they were to review their membership of SportAccord.
In his role as president of the International Judo Federation (IJF), prostate Vizer was in attendance at the General Assembly on the fourth day of the SportAccord convention in Sochi.
Given a platform by ASOIF president Francesco Ricci Bitti, ailment Vizer admitted he regretted his speech and the subsequent uproar it has caused which has overshadowed the convention.
“Regarding the content, I expressed my voice and that is my opinion,” he said. “For the rest, I am sorry, but I think everybody in the world of sport is free to express an opinion, who has vision, who has attitude, because that is the world of the sport.”
The Romanian did remain steadfast in his views, explaining in an interview with Euronews the rationale behind his outburst in which he accused IOC president Thomas Bach, who was in attendance, of “blocking the SportAccord strategy in its mission to identify and organise conventions and multi-sport games”.
“I tell the reality because I have been living in this family for many years” Vizer told Euronews.
“So, in reality that is the voice of the International Federations and I just expressed in one day, in a global message, let’s say, their voice but yesterday the IOC, instead of analyzing the content of what I said, what is true (and) what is not true, what is the next step to correct that and to offer a clear picture, started to put pressure on some of the International Federations to react, in my opinion, not in a correct way.
“Because, (it) doesn’t matter what are the consequences for myself personally. My voice is the voice for sport, for reality, for fairness in sport and we can sit together to have a dialogue and to correct and adapt and to transform the errors and virtues of the system, for the benefit of athletes and the society, because ultimately society is the consumer of our product, managed by the International Federations, backed by the IOC and consumed by the society.”
Vizer referred to the reactions of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) who both announced they were withdrawing their membership of SportAccord.
According to reports, 27 of the 28 ASOIF federations had signed a letter of disapproval after Vizer’s speech.
Whether the apology is enough for ASOIF to remain a part of SportAccord is unclear as the partnership is still officially suspended pending review, following an announcement on Tuesday.
Fox elected AIMS President
The Alliance of Independent Members of SportAccord elected Stephen Fox as their new president for a four-year term on Wednesday.
Fox, who is also the General Secretary of International Federation of Muaythai Amateur, will also take a place in the SportAccord Council in place of Espen Lund.
The German former Muaythai World Champion received the most votes as the new AIMS President – an organisation which unites 23 International Federations.
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Sports marketing company Infront Sports and Media have been appointed to distribute the media rights for the the 2015, prostate 2016 and 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship seasons.
The three-year agreement will cover all live & delayed, magazine and news rights across all platforms and on a global basis.
Read more HERE.
Dahlan Al Hamad has been re-elected to serve another four-year term as the president of the Asian Athletics Association (AAA).
Read more HERE.
The Virgin Racing team in the inaugural Formula E Championships has appointed sports and sponsorship communications agency Pitch to provide PR and social media support.
Pitch will promote the team and drivers, who were announced as Jaimie Alguersuari and Sam Bird last month, as well as produce content for their social media channels.
Virgin Racing Team Principal Alex Tai said: “As we ready ourselves for the beginning of the 2014 Formula E Championship, I’m delighted to welcome Pitch to the Virgin Racing Formula E team. Having the support of a leading communications consultancy is a great addition and reflects our desire to create a winning team in the first season of the Championship.”
Formula E is a new championship recognised by motorsports international governing body (FIA) that will be raced with electric cars.
The first ePrix will take place around the Olympic Stadium, or Birds Nest, in Beijing in September.
Henry Chappell, Chief Executive, Pitch said: “Virgin is a brand renowned for technological innovation and sporting passion so it is hugely exciting to be given the chance to promote the Virgin Racing Formula E team.
“We look forward to playing our part in a successful first season for Virgin’s return to top-flight motor sport.”
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has confirmed that their red, symptoms white and blue logo will feature on the back of teams’ jerseys in the 2014-15 season, instead of the upper-chest area.
The news has fuelled speculation that the NBA is moving forward with its long-planned jersey advertising programme.
Removing the NBA logo from the front of the shirt would allow more space and less competition for an advertisers branding.
The NBA confirmed the news to ESPN.com after fans noticed the change in the new Charlotte Hornets jerseys.
A league official described it as a “stylistic move” but did not comment on advertising questions.
The Women’s Tennis Association, order (WTA) Finale was announced that it is to be held this year in Singapore.
Singapore was chosen over the other two competing finalists: Monterrey in Mexico and Tianjin in china in order to host the Women’s Tennis season-ending.
The WTA championship declared its new plans to revamp its current structure, price which hopes to turn the championship into a 10- day event with music, pills entertainment and tennis-related symposiums.
The women’s tennis event which is due to start on 17th October and finish on the 26th October this year will be held at the Singapore Sports Hub’s 7500-seat indoor stadium.
Furthermore the prize money will see a significant increase from £302,315 ($US500,000) to £3,930,102, ($US6.5 million).
The increase in prize money comes after the announcement that WTA Chief Stacey Allaster is planning to spend: “300 per cent more” on the championships in Singapore than in the past.
The new location to Singapore is said to be well-timed to capitalise upon the current growth in interest in women’s tennis in Asia which has been helped by Li Na’s (pictured) emergence as a top player.
WTA Chief Stacey Allaster commented on the recent move as he said: “We’re ultimately in the entertainment business and trying to broaden our reach and expand out fan base.”