Delegates from 22 countries within the Mediterranean basin were present for the General Assembly, where the Maltese Olympic Committee was represented by Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco (President) and Joseph Cassar (General Secretary).
The main issue on the agenda was the election of the city to host the 17th edition of the Mediterranean Games.
The three cities who presented their bid for 2013 were Mersin (Turkey), Rijeka (Croatia) and Volos (Greece). From the votes cast in the first round, Mersin got 13 votes, Rijeka 24 votes and Volos 31 votes.
With Mersin eliminated for the final tie, Rijeka obtained 34 votes, and Volos got 37 votes and the right to host the 17th edition.
The assembly paid tribute to leading administrators in the history of the Mediterranean Games – namely Mr Claude Collard, former President for 30 years, and Nikos Filaretos, former General Secretary for 20 years, who both passed away earlier this year.
The International Committee of the Mediterranean Games attributed the Order of Merit, posthumously to Mr Arthur Takac who in 2004 passed away in tragic circumstances. Mr Takac was one of the leading figures, not only where the Mediterranean Games are concerned – he was the man behind the 1979 edition in Split – but was also instrumental in innumerable international events and competitions.
ICJM President Mr Amar Addadi presented Mrs. Takac with the award. Also present was Mrs Collard.
President Mr Addadi, presented his detailed report, which included an update on the organisational aspect of the 16th Games to be held in Pescara in June – July 2009. Reports from the General Secretary – Mr Minos Kyriakou and Treasurer – Mr Kikis Lazaridis were approved. The delegates had the opportunity to visit the various sites and facilities which, within 20 months, will host the Games. As work has started on the building of the athletes’ village, the assembly drew the attention of the Organising Committee in order that the renovation and upgrading of certain venues, including the Stadio Adriatico where the Opening and Closing ceremonies and football and athletics finals will be held, will be terminated in due time.
At the end of the assembly, the Olympic Committee of Montenegro was approved as a new member in the Mediterranean family.
Present for the assembly were various international sports personalities, namely weightlifting Olympic Champions Piros Dimas (Greece) and Halil Mutlu (Turkey), European Athletics athlete of the year Vlaska Blasic (Croatia), as well as various IOC members.
The MOC delegation was prominent in various meetings, in particular Mr Farrugia Sacco who, besides being a member on the Executive Committee of the ICMG, is also Chairman of the Marketing, Comm-
unication and Technology Commission.
Also present for the assembly was Charles Camenzuli, MOC Media Director. who is Secretary General of the ICMG Media Commission and who was responsible for the media accreditation during the assembly.
* * *
MIA Olympic Special – What’s On
Friday, 9 November on E22 at 9pm, Sunday, 11 November on E22 at 10am (RPT) and on TVM at 525pm, and Monday, 12 November on E22 at 2.30pm (RPT) will feature the following:
Featured event – Badminton Junior National Championships
The Junior National Championships were held at the Cottonera Sports Complex on the 1 and 2 November.This event featured male and female junior players who competed in various categories, namely in the Under-13, Under-16 and Under-19.
Highlighted events – Malta Darts Championships/ Equestrian
The Dolmen Hotel was the venue hosting the Malta Darts Championships. This year’s event was a success once again with good participation and level of play. The tournament was held between Sunday 28th October and Thursday 1st November.
The Maghtab Riding Club held the Malta Jumping Championships during the last weekend of October. The Equestrian event is an elegant sport which is also gaining momentum on our islands.
Watch more on these events on MIA Olympic Special.
Olympic archive section
In this interesting Section MIA Olympic Special takes us down memory lane and relives the interesting moments of the previous Olympic Games as a build up for the Beijing 2008 Games.
Schedules are available every week on www.nocmalta.org and on The Malta Independent newspaper every Tuesday. Produced in collaboration with E22.
* * *
IOC president expresses confidence that China will alleviate pollution concerns
The air pollution situation at the Beijing Olympics will be “perfectly manageable,” International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge has insisted.
Just last week, IOC inspection team leader Hein Verbruggen called air quality in the city “a big problem.”
“The Chinese are doing everything they can to alleviate that,” Rogge said during a trip to the United States, that will now move to Chicago. “We believe that what they are doing now will yield good results by August of next year.”
Rogge said he expected that measures taken by China will make a major difference. Those actions include converting plants from coal to natural gas, planting millions of trees, and reducing the number of cars driving in the city by about one million and slowing down the production of some manufacturing plants during the games.
The IOC is setting up more than 20 test sites around Beijing that will measure air quality, Rogge said. Readings taken overnight will allow officials to make a decision each morning on whether to postpone the outdoor endurance events that would be most affected by pollution.
Rogge played down the significance of postponing events, noting that weather conditions long have forced changes in the schedule, from fog pre-empting downhill skiing to heat delaying the marathon.
“This is not something exceptional,” he said.
Rogge also said he was heartened by recent comments from World Anti-Doping Agency chief Dick Pound praising China’s progress in reining in its once-notorious doping problems.
“I believe that the Chinese are far too intelligent to indulge in doping because they want to have the best possible games,” Rogge said. “They want to be proud of the games, and the only thing that could taint the games would be a doping event.”
The IOC already is dealing with the fallout of an athlete admitting doping at a prior Olympics after Marion Jones confessed last month to using performance-enhancing drugs before the 2000 Sydney Games. The IOC received her five Olympic medals Tuesday, Rogge said, and is waiting for the recommendation from the IAAF to disqualify Jones before stripping her of her titles.
Her 100-metre gold medal would go to the second-place finisher, Greece’s Katerina Thanou, who has since become embroiled in her own doping scandal.
She was suspended for two years after failing to show up for a doping test before the 2004 Athens Games. Rogge said the IOC executive board would discuss the Thanou situation during its December meeting.
Rogge added that the IOC will be consistent in its stance that relay teammates of disqualified athletes also must surrender their medals. Jones won gold in the 1,600-metre relay and bronze in the 400 relay in 2000.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has ruled relay teammates of a disqualified athlete from the 2000 Games could not be stripped of their medals because the IAAF’s rules at the time did not call for it.
In that case, the IAAF recommended that members of the US men’s first-place 1,600 relay team lose their medals after Jerome Young was ruled to have been ineligible for an earlier doping offence.
Rogge said the US Olympic Committee does not plan to appeal in the Jones matter as it did on behalf of Young’s teammates. But Jones’ teammates could appeal individually.
Rogge pointed out another difference between the two cases: Young tested positive for steroids previously, but not at the 2000 Games, while Jones admitted doping during the Olympics.
“She had an unfair advantage running in the relay,” Rogge said.
* * *
Beijing Youth Camp – MOC to choose one boy and one girl
As part of the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing, China, the Maltese Olympic Committee (MOC) will be sending two Maltese youths to attend the Beijing 2008 Olympic Youth Camp (OYC). About 800 teenagers from across the world will attend the Olympic Youth Camp (OYC) during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Every National Olympic Committee can send a girl and a boy between the ages of 16-18 years old to Beijing. The MOC is looking for future leaders who are up to the challenge and wish to get involved in the field of Sport in Malta. These two youngsters will be selected through a project based competition.
The MOC is inviting all post-secondary schools students and youths to participate in this unique, once in a lifetime opportunity. Youths can come up with any sport related project – whether for their school, their community or for their family and friends. Project proposals will be short-listed for actual implementation. The best projects from one boy and one girl will win them both a free trip and participation at this Olympic Youth Camp in Beijing during the Olympic Games.
More information will be made available in due course on the MOC website www.nocmalta.org and through the post-secondary schools. Youth applicants and post-secondary teachers who wish to know more about this opportunity, or who wish to obtain the official application forms may also contact the MOC on 2133 2801. The deadline for submitting applications will be on 31 December 2007.