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O2 goes From Zero to Hero
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Chairing the Convention: A Great Sport
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Sport in the Toughest Environment
THE
DAILY Issue 2 05|04|2011
www.sportaccordconvention.com
FEDERATIONS CALL FOR GREATER COOPERATION Today at the Convention Enjoy a hearty breakfast this morning as preparation for a hectic day ahead as the SportAccord Convention steps up a gear. Today features a packed agenda – including Law Accord and the City Forum – and culminates in the opening ceremony this evening. Highlights of the day include: ■ Law Accord, in which legal issues critical to the sports movement will be discussed. 0900 – 1200 Park Plaza County Hall. ■ City Forum offers a wide-ranging discussion on issues relevant to cities hosting or keen to host sporting events. 1300 – 1700 Debating Chamber of London’s County Hall. ■ ARISF General Assembly. 0900 – 1200 Westminster Ballroom 2. ■ IWGA Annual General Meeting. 1300 – 1800 Westminster Ballroom 2. At 1730 there is an exhibition showcase cocktail in the exhibition area before delegates begin boarding ferries to take them down the River Thames to the SportAccord Convention opening ceremony. The opening ceremony, at the O2 Arena begins at 2000. Departures begin at 1800.
International sports federations should stand up for their independence, delegates at SportAccord Convention heard yesterday. Addressing the Association of Summer Olympic Federations’ (ASOIF) 35th General Assembly, Executive Director Andrew Ryan said there had been “many more cases of threats to the autonomy of member federations” over the past year. Governments were increasingly inclined to try to intervene and recent attempts to do so had occurred in countries including India, Israel and the Netherlands Antilles. These had included attempts to limit the number of terms that individual members of federations could serve and to bar anyone with criminal records from serving on such bodies, he said. These attempted interventions or suggestions were frequently well-intentioned, but federations had to ensure that they were not simply imposed on them, said Ryan. There was a danger, he warned, that
government suggestions on minor matters could progress to interventions on much more serious issues. Clarifying the roles and responsibilities between organisations had also led ASOIF to set up a working group to resolve some confusion over its duties and those of the SportAccord association. As a result, a document had been drawn up setting out ASOIF’s core role and responsibilities to its members. There was a call from the floor of the General Assembly for better co-ordination between the two organisations. ASOIF and SportAccord co-operated, but there were occasions when there had been duplication of effort, one delegate said. For example, two conferences on betting were held just three weeks apart – one by SportAccord and another between ASOIF and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). However, discussions had been held between ASOIF and the IOC and he was
confident such situations would not happen again. Among other issues touched upon at yesterday’s General Assembly was the lack of interest in trying to establish a top-level ‘dot sport’ internet domain name for sports-related bodies. “Quite a lot of federations said they didn’t want it and it’s gone back to SportAccord to see if they want to go ahead with this,” said Ryan. ■
NEWCOMERS TOAST SPORTACCORD CONVENTION Cheers. A group of first-time delegates to the SportAccord Convention raised a glass yesterday evening to a busy and rewarding week ahead. The Firstcomers Cockail reception was a hit at last year’s event and it was decided to repeat it this year. It was held at the Park Plaza County Hall.