IOC ACTIVITIES

TOP PARTNERS

With less than a year to go until the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Worldwide Olympic Partner OMEGA has unveiled the timing equipment that will be used during the competitions that will start on 8 February next year. Press release at www.olympic.org (News section).

INTERNATIONAL SPORTS FEDERATIONS

SUMMER IFS

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has announced the launch of the official site of the 2013 edition of the Under-19 World Championship for Women. www.lithuania2013.fiba.com offers the latest information and news on the tournament, which will be held from 18 to 28 July in Panevezys and Klaipeda (Lithuania). Info at www.fiba.com. 

The spring 2013 issue of the International Tennis Federation (ITF)’s quarterly magazine, ITFWorld, has just been published online. Read the 32-page magazine here. Press release at www.itftennis.com. 

The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) has launched a new event in the Sport for All framework. This event combines running and shooting. Detailed info at www.issf-sports.org.

NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES

In the framework of the “Printemps de la Francophonie en Albanie”, and to celebrate what would have been the 150th birthday of Pierre de Coubertin, the Albanian NOC organised an exhibition and a conference, in partnership with the French Embassy in Albania and the French Alliance of Tirana. The exhibition, entitled “150th birthday of Pierre de Coubertin: the life and work of a humanist” was inaugurated in the presence of NOC Secretary General Stavri Bello, and cultural advisor at the French embassy Hubert Le Forestier. This exhibition will travel to other cities in Albania. The “Pierre de Coubertin, the Olympic Games and the Olympic values” conference brought together almost 100 youngsters aged 14 to 18 from Tirana. Two drawing and essay competitions were organised on the themes of Coubertin’s philosophy and the Olympic Movement. Info at www.nocalbania.org.al. 

The Bahraini NOC has informed us about the publication of a book entitled “Journey and Giving” by Yaqoub Yousef Al Lahdan. This reference book documents the history of the Olympic and sports movement in general and in Bahrain in particular. In addition, Bahrain will host in 2014 the Regional Forum for West, Central and South Asian NOCs organised by Olympic Solidarity and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).  

The Brazilian NOC has announced the launch of the English version of its website: www.cob.org.br/en. Web users from across the world will thus be able to read about the NOC’s activities, history and projects. 

The Colombian NOC has a new Executive Committee for 2013-17. Baltazar Medina has been re-elected as President. Info at www.coc.org.co. 

Alejandro Blanco has been re-elected as the Spanish NOC’s President for a third consecutive term. Theresa Zabel, Víctor Sanchez Naranjo and Juan Domínguez were also confirmed in their positions as First Vice-President, Secretary General and Treasurer respectively, at the NOC’s extraordinary General Assembly.  Info at www.coe.es. 

Hungarian NOC President Zsolt Borkai recently hosted European Olympic Committees (EOC) President and IOC member Patrick Joseph Hickey, who was accompanied by EOC Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi. Discussions focused on current issues in the Olympic Movement in Europe as well as the European Youth Olympic Festival, which will be held in 2017 in Győr (Hungary). International Judo Federation (IJF) President Marius Vizer, International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) President Tamás Aján and European Judo Union President Sergei Soloveychik were also present. Info atwww.olympic-hun.org.

At it latest elective General Assembly, the NOC of São Tomé and Príncipe re-elected its President, João Manuel Da Costa  Alegre Afonso, for a third term. An Executive Bureau was elected for the period 2013-16. A Technical Committee was also created – its mission being to evaluate the projects submitted for financing by the NOC. 

The Elective General Assembly of the Sudanese NOC has re-elected Hashim Haroun Ahmed as President and appointed Kamal Hamid Shaddad as Honorary President.

ORGANISING COMMITTEES FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES

SOCHI 2014

On 2 April, as part of International Children's Book Day, the Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (Sochi 2014), has unveiled the Sochi 2014 Alphabet. A product of the education system, the project is aimed at familiarising web users with the history of the Olympic andParalympic Games in an entertaining format. Russian and English versions of the Alphabet are available at  www.sochi2014.com/en/games/education/alphabet/). In addition, a meeting took place between schoolchildren and famous Russian athletes, who told them about the books that had helped shape their lives. Info at www.sochi2014.com. 

RECOGNISED ORGANISATIONS

Rory Cooper has been elected the recipient of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC)’s Paralympic Scientific Award. He will receive his award at the VISTA2013 conference, which will be held in Bonn (Germany) from 1 to 4 May. Cooper is the founding director of the Human Engineering Research Laboratories at the University of Pittsburgh (USA) and has contributed to the Paralympic movement as an athlete, coach, event organiser and sports scientist. Press release at www.paralympic.org.