The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has awarded the broadcast rights for the Olympic Games in 2010 and 2012 to Rádio e Televisão Record S/A (TV Record) in Brazil.
The agreement marks a significant revenue increase on the agreement negotiated for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and will include coverage of both the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and the London 2012 Olympic Summer Games.
The IOC negotiated directly with TV Record and not through the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana pool.
TV Record, a privately owned, free-to-air channel in Brazil, will offer increased coverage of the Olympic Games across a number of TV channels. The organisation will also acquire the rights to air the games across all media platforms, including TV, cable, satellite, internet and mobile telephones.
Speaking about the partnership, IOC President Jacques Rogge said: “Free-to-air coverage is a very important principle for the IOC, as set out in our Olympic Charter. By reaching this important new agreement with TV Record, the IOC will ensure that as many people as possible are able to enjoy the Olympic Games and the Olympic experience in Brazil”.
Commenting on the deal, IOC Executive Board member Richard Carrión, who led the negotiations, said: “The IOC and TV Record are delighted to announce a new partnership beginning in 2010. TV Record impressed us both in its passion for the Olympic Games and its commitment to the values of the Olympic Movement. Brazil is a key market for the Olympic Movement in South America and this agreement signifies an exciting new period both in exposure and revenue for the Olympic Movement as a whole. We very much look forward to working with TV Record for the first time and to ensuring increased coverage of the games is brought to sport fans in Brazil.”
Speaking about the agreement, Honorilton Gonçalves, CEO of Rede Record De Televisão, said: “TV Record is delighted to have been awarded the Olympic broadcast rights for this premium event. We look forward to beginning a new and successful relationship with the IOC and are dedicated to the advancement of the Olympic Movement and sport in general. We are committed to providing exciting comprehensive coverage of both the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Games in Brazil across all platforms”.
Association News: Malta Federation of Bowls Clubs
Victor Zahra, President
Victor Zahra, President
It was way back in the year 1984 that Malta became affiliated to the Confederation of International Bowls (CBA).
This happened when a Maltese delegation was invited to attend a meeting to discuss matters with other international delegates in Italy regarding the possibility of Malta forming part of the CBA.
Colin Cauchi the then president and Anton Attard, his contemporary secretary of the Federation of Bowls Clubs, were the two nominated persons to travel to Milan for further discussions.
The two Maltese officials had talks with current president, Avv. Giovanni Baggio, vice-president Piero Mutti and auditor Giovanni Pauzieri. In fact, it was Pauzieri’s idea to invite the Maltese delegation, having seen the game of Maltese bowls being played at San Gwann, during one of his regular annual visits to Malta.
After having discussed the meetings held with officials from the CBA with the Council of the Federation of Bowls Clubs, a formal request was presented.
This was unanimously approved and Malta was the sixteenth nation to be accepted as a full member.
To commemorate our accession to the CBA, Italy’s National Bowls Team (Raffa), which had just been crowned European and World Champions, visited Malta in September 1984 to introduce to Maltese bowls enthusiasts the international game of bowls.
Four provisional lanes were prepared at Paola Tarxien Bowls Club and several exhibition matches were held. Later on Malta was also affiliated to the European Bowls Association.
From 1985 onwards, the Malta Bowls team took part in almost all competitions of international level organised by the World Bowls Confederation and by the European Bowls Federation. Twice in the World Championships for individuals – Lugano (Switzerland) 1988 with players Joe Licari and Joseph Tonna, San Marino (Italy) 1997 with player Joseph Demanuele. Five times in World Teams Championships – Milan (Italy) 1985, Buenos Aires (Argentina) 1987, Milano (Italy) 1989, Lugano (Switzerland) 1991 and Nuoro (Sardegna) in 1995. Malta also participated once in the World Clubs Championships in Cagliari (Sardegna) in 2001. With regards to European Championships, Malta participated in eight editions – San Marino 1986, Verona (Italy) 1988, Warsaw (Poland) 1990, Budapest (Hungary) 1992, Augsburg (Germany) 1994, Split (Croatia) 1998, Spoleto (Italy) 2000 and Stuttgart (Germany) 2006 where the Maltese National Team finished in the best ever placing, 4th behind World Champions Italy, Austria and Switzerland.
Besides all these championships, there were several other friendly tournaments and training camps that Malta took part in, namely those of Lecce, Bolzano and San Marino, on many occasions.
In the GSSE San Marino 2001, Stefan Farrugia won the first ever Gold Medal in Bowls and in Bari (Italy) 1997 Mediterranean games, David Farrugia and Joseph Demanuele, under the experienced national coach Arthur Darmanin, won the prestigious bronze medal.
This year the XII Games of the Small States of Europe are being held in Monaco from 4 to 9 June.
The bowls competitions will take place at the Rocher Bowls Club and will be according to the rules fixed by the Confederation of World Bowls Sport (CMSB) and the GSSE Technical Rules.
This year two events are available – Raffa and Petanque. Malta will be participating in the Raffa competition with two athletes, since each country can only register two athletes for each event.
Both events are for individual players and each tournament will be played in two groups. Each competitor will play against all the other group competitors in succession, to establish a ranking order. All matches will be won on attaining a 12 point score.
The Raffa competition starts on Monday 5 June from 8am until 6.15pm and continues the following day with the same timetable, and finishing that same evening with the final and match for third and fourth place.
On arrival on Sunday 4 June the Maltese team will be having training sessions on the proper pitches between 3pm and 6pm.
With regards to the other competing countries, it seems that these are well known to our players, having met each other on various occasions in friendly and international competitions.
These countries are Monaco (the host country), Liechtenstein and San Marino; Malta visited and played San Marino several times, with mixed fortunes. Surely, we still have very fresh memories of the gold medal won against the San Marino player in 2001 when the games were held on their home soil.
Regarding Liechtenstein and Monaco, Malta competed against these countries on several occasions, and always emerged as winner.
We are hoping that this year will follow suit. Of all these three countries, surely San Marino is known to be the dominant country. In actual fact, one of their players, Giuseppe Frisoui, who is a very hard nut to break, had an extraordinary year of results. But one always hopes for the best.
The Maltese players, under national coach Arthur Darmanin are presently training hard every day, including weekends, at the National Pool Complex Hall, with the works having been finished and generously paid for the by the Kunsill Malti ghall-iSport.
Preparations for a training camp in Italy, in conjunction with Maltese Olympic Committee as part of the MOC/CONI Technical Agreement, are well under way. A quadrangular tournament between Malta, Cyprus, Tunisia and Turkey is also being proposed for the month of August 2007 most probably in Nicosia, Cyprus, however, negotiations are still in the initial stages.
Due to need of proper premises, the Federation of Bowls Clubs has had to temporarily postpone acceding to a request from the Italian Federation to send over to Malta two complete bowls lanes, including their installation, at their own expense.
It is sincerely hoped that the venue problem will be solved in the not too distant future since, with these two pitches installed, Malta would benefit not only by improving the level of the game of bowls but also from the touristic aspect, as plenty of bowls followers overseas have shown great interest in visiting Malta.
MIA Olympic Special – What’s On
Thursday 12 April on TVM at 5pm, Friday 13 April on E22 at 9pm (rpt), Sunday 15 April on E22 at 10am (rpt) and Monday 16 April on E22 at 2.30pm (rpt) will feature the following:
GSSE Section – Sailing
The 12th edition of the Games of the Small States of Europe will be taking place from 4 to 9 June 2007 in Monaco. The discipline of sailing was first introduced at the Monaco Games back in 1987, where Chris Grech won a silver medal and Jean Paul Fleri Soler took bronze. In the next edition in Malta in 1993 Jean Paul Fleri Soler won Malta’s first sailing gold medal.
At these same games Henry Tabone won a silver and Andrew Wilson and Mario Aquilina won bronze. Mario went on to win a bronze medal again in the Iceland 1997 edition, Andrew Wilson took silver.
At the Malta 2003 games two gold medals were won by Mario Aquilina and Benji Borg.
Peter Valentino won a silver and Matthew Fleri Soler a bronze. Find out in this interview about the experiences of Jean Paul Fleri Soler and Mario Aquilina at these games.
Featured Event – An overview of the GSSE Games
The Games of the Small States of Europe first took place in 1985 in San Marino, and are held every two years.
These Games are important for the smaller member states as they provide an opportunity for athletes to come together to share their cultural experiences and establish common goals and strengthen links of friendship across boundaries, while at the same time competing in a good sports competition. Find out how these games started and what were Malta’s achievements over the years.
MOC Director
Dr Kirill Micallef Stafrace is the MOC Director of Marketing, and is responsible for the planning and execution of the MOC’s marketing programme. He is also responsible for the relations with sponsors.
Dr Micallef Stafrace also safeguards the emblem and marks of the International Olympic Committee and of the Maltese Olympic Committee.
In addition he is chairman of the medical commission. Find out more about Dr Kirill Micallef Stafrace’s role within the MOC in this short interview.
The schedule is available every week on
www.nocmalta.org and on The Malta Independent newspaper every Tuesday. Produced in collaboration with E22.
Athletes’ profiles:
Nicolai Portelli
Age: 25 years
Sport: Athletics
Discipline: Track: 400m, Relay Team
Club: AS Libertas
Started: 1994
Job/Student status: Account Executive
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE:
European Cup 2006 Novi Sad, Serbia
European Cup 2005 Istanbul, Turkey
Small Nations Games 2005, Andorra
European Cup 2004 Reykjavik, Iceland
University Games 2003 Daegu, South Korea
European cup 2003 Aarhus, Denmark
U/23 European championships 2003 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Small Nations Games 2003 Malta
European cup 2002 Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro
Fisec 1996 Somerset, England
MEDALS WON:
400m GSSE Andorra 2005 (Bronze)
4 X 400m GSSE Andorra 2005 (Silver)
400m GSSE MALTA 2003 (Silver)
4 X 100m GSSE MALTA 2003 (Silver)
4 X 400m GSSE MALTA 2003 (Bronze)
NATIONAL RECORDS:
400m 48.14 seconds
4 x 400m 3.16 minutes
400m 48.98 (Championship Record)
AWARDS:
Malta Olympic Committee Sports Awards 2005 – Bronze award
Malta Olympic Committee Sports Awards 2003 – Silver award
OTHER:
Elite Athlete – Malta Olympic Committee Scheme
400m champion 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003,
Qualified for the semi-final of the 400m at the University Games in 2003
Leading 400m athlete on the island, and unbeaten locally for the past 5 years over the same distance
Nicolai Portelli is a member of the MOC Elite Athlete Scheme which is sponsored by the Malta International Airport as part of the company’s Supporting Malta’s Sport sponsorship policy.
CHRISTINA BORG
Age: 16yrs
Sport: Gymnastics
Discipline: Women’s Artistic
Club: ISC Malta
Started: Age 4
Job: Student
Competitive achievements:
1999
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP COMPETITION (under 10)
3rd All Around
2000
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION, Milton Keynes, England (Participant)
2001
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP COMPETITION (13 and under)
2nd All Around
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION, Milton Keynes, England (Participant)
1st Sliver medal for Maltese gymnast on foreign soil
2002
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP COMPETITION (under 14)
1st All Around
INTERSCHOOL COMPETITION
1st All Around (Juniors)
2003
INTERSCHOOL COMPETITION
1ST All Around (Juniors)
INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY, Dublin, Ireland
1st on Floor, 1st on Vault, 2nd on Beam
2004
INTERSCHOOL COMPETITION
1ST All Around (Seniors)
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP COMPETITION
1st All Around
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION, Gymstars, Malta
1st on Vault, 2nd on Floor
2005
INTERSCHOOL COMPETITION
1ST All Around (Seniors)
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION, Luxemburg
7th All Around
2006
ELITE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
1st on Vault, 2nd on Floor, 2nd on Beam, 3rd All Around
Other:
1997, Chosen to join the national team
1999 – 2001, Attended Summer Training Camp, Milton Keynes, England
2002, Runner-up Sportiva tas-Sena (Under 17)
2005, Attended Training Camp, Marseille, France
2006, Attended ISF World Gymnasiade, Athens, Greece
NICOLETTE SCHEMBRI
Age: 15yrs
Sport: Gymnastics
Discipline: Women’s Artistic
Club: Gymstars Gymnastics Club
Started: St Joseph School Paola (ISC) Age 5
Job: Student
Competitive achievements:
2003
International Competition, Belgium
2004
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION, Gymstars, Malta
3rd on Bar, 2nd on Beam, 1st on Vault, 2nd All Around
2005
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP COMPETITION
3rd All Around
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION, Gymstars, Malta
3rd in Team Competition
International Competition, Italy
2006
ELITE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
1st on Uneven Bars, 1st on Vault, 2nd on Beam, 3rd on Floor, 2nd All Around
Small Island games (COJI) Competition (Participant), Sicily
ISF World Gymnasiade, Athens, Greece (Participant)
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION, Gymstars, Malta (Participant)
Other:
2000 - 2004, Attended Summer Training Camps, Milton Keynes, England
2006, Attended Winter Training Camp, Accademia Accrobatica, Italy