Report
Always moving forward
ICF CONGRESS, BAKU, Azerbaijan,
24 – 26 November 2016
Name: Tony ESTANGUET
ICF Position: 3rd Vice-President
This document is a summary of my action and main achievements since the 2014 ICF Congress in VARSAW. Please refer to my intermediates reports in appendix for more details.
CONTENTS
1 Visits and Meetings since the last Congress
2 Participating, interacting and building bridges
3 Experience sharing with our athletes
4 Building an efficient communication strategy and contributing to the future of canoe
Appendix
Report # 1 – ICF Board of Directors MARRAKESH – March 2015
Report # 2 – ICF Board of Directors CAPE TOWN – November 2015
Report # 3 – ICF Board of Directors MADRID – March 2016
Report # 4 – ICF Board of Directors BAKU – November 2016
Page 1 sur 11 1 Visits and Meetings since last Congress
Main canoeing competitions attended:
2016 Olympics Games (slalom and canoe sprint) – Rio (BRA) – President of the Jury for canoe slalom events 2016 ICF Paracanoe World Championships – Duisbourg (GER) 2016 ICF European Canoe Sprint Olympic Qualifier – Duisbourg (GER)
2015 ICF Wildwater Canoeing Sprint Senior World Championships – Vienna (AUT) – President of the Jury 2015 ICF Canoe Sprint Senior World Championships – Milan (Jury member) – Jury member 2015 ICF Canoe Slalom Senior World Championships – London (Jury member) – President of the Jury
ICF family meetings
Board of Directors meetings: Marrakesh, Madrid and Cape Town Executive board: Marrakesh, Madrid, Cape Town, Milan, Duisburg and Rio
IOC family meetings
1st European Olympic Games (Baku - AZE) 128th 2015 IOC session (Kuala Lumpur – MAS) 2015 General Assembly of Association of National Olympic Committees (Washington – USA) 11th 2015 African Games (Brazzaville – CGO) 2nd Youth Olympic Games (Lillehammer – NOR) 129th 2016 IOC session (Rio – BRA) WADA Executive committee and Foundation board meetings 2016 Paralympic Games (Rio – BRA) 2016 European Olympic Committee General Assembly (Minsk – BLR)
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2 Participating, interacting and building bridges
Because of my representative roles in international organizations, I am able to interact daily with different stakeholders of the Olympic family. I believe it is an effective way to promote our disciplines and therefore always seize these numerous opportunities to serve the ICF’s best interests.
Ensuring canoe’s position in the program of major multisport events
I have the chance to strengthen the position of canoeing, in cooperation with ICF members, in some major past and upcoming regional or world competitions like:
The European Olympic Games – Baku 2015 The SEA (South East Asian) Games – Kuala Lumpur 2017 The ANOC World Beach Games: Ocean-Racing was confirmed in the program (end of October 2016) – San Diego 2019 The 2019 Pan American Games – Lima 2019 The Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games, in accordance with the recommendations of the IOC’s “AGENDA 2020” – Rio 2016, Buenos Aires 2018, Tokyo 2020
Strengthening our links with the Olympic family
Furthermore, I am able, in cooperation with our President, Mr Jose PERURENA, to interact with the Olympic family (IOC members, staff…) about canoeing-related subjects and show them how rich and appealing our sport is.
IOC President Mr. Thomas Bach, with ICF President Mr. José Perurena and myself
Page 3 sur 11 For instance, many of them attended our main championships and/or Olympic and Paralympic events during the last two years. Others even experienced canoeing themselves, like HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and members of the IOC Athletes’ Commission who tried rafting in the Deodoro Whitewater Park during the Games in Rio.
Being close to the Olympic movement can contribute to promoting our sport’s development. For instance, my position within the IOC Olympic Solidarity Commission gives us an accurate understanding of their processes and hereby helps us to better meet their requirements.
Page 4 sur 11 3 Experience sharing with our athletes
As a former athlete and current member of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, I remain personally attached to the athletes’ experience, always making sure that their vision is taken into account in all matters. During this period, I closely worked together with the athlete’s family at various occasions, such as:
IOC 7th athletes’ forum with the presence of Benjamin BOUKPETI (TOG) and Henriette Engel HANSEN (DAN) Meetings with some members of the ICF Athletes’ Commission Supporting ICF athletes’ global meeting in Pau (2015) TIP and “Expand Extend Women canoeing” athletes meeting during each World Cup in Pau: two great moments of open discussions about careers in sports and performance, studies and high-level-performance training… https://youtu.be/VU869XCloU8
Supporting clean athletes: Thanks to my position as a member of the WADA Executive committee, Foundation board, and Athletes Committee, I can help to support clean athletes by contributing to the creation of effective anti-doping programs.
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4 Building an efficient communication strategy and contributing to the future of canoe
Increasing our sports’ visibility and attractiveness around the world is and should remain a priority.
For the past two years, I worked on the following aspects:
Better showcasing our events
I worked with the Olympic Broadcasting Services to identify what could improve the viewers’ experience. One of the tests was to install a tiny on- board camera on each athlete during canoe slalom competitions with a wireless live transmission.
I supported the Canoe Slalom Committee on improving our sport’s presentation on Slalom events, for instance by:
by broadcasting biographies of our athletes optimising “kiss & cry zone” developing a new system of gates to improve judging’s presentation
With some world cup organizers, we organised a brainstorming on how to better showcase our events. It was very insightful to share our best experiences.
I also tried to invest durably some French TV broadcasters in our sport like FRANCE TV or L’EQUIPE 21. As a first step, last year, L’EQUIPE 21 broadcasted more than 15 hours of live coverage for World Cup events (canoe slalom, canoe sprint and paracanoe).
Page 6 sur 11 Working for the legacy of the Deodoro Whitewater Park
In November 2016, I met the Mayor of Rio Mr. Eduardo PAES and proposed to him to experience rafting on the brand new Deodoro Whitewater Park.
It was a great opportunity to work on the long-term legacy that the venue would leave to the Brazilian NF as well as to the local inhabitants. We met again with Mr. Eduardo PAES and the President of the Brazilian NOC - Mr Carlos Arthur NUZMAN - during the Games and discussed this topic further.
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Appendix
Report # 1 – ICF Board of Directors MARRAKESH – March 2015
Report
Board of Directors Meeting Marrakesh, Morocco 21-22 March 2015
Name of the BOD Member: Tony ESTANGUET Function: 3rd Vice President 1. Meetings since last Board Meeting ICF TV coverage: Several meetings with “Olympic Broadcasting Services” (OBS): o Madrid – 11th November 2014 o Pau - 30 th January 2015 o Conference Call – 16th March 2015 IOC family : Meetings with IOC Sport Department, IOC Olympic Games Department, IOC Olympic Solidarity Canoeing family : o Qatar NF – 25th January 2015
th o OCA Secretary General – 12 March 2015
2. Tasks undertaken for this period Explore possible improvements for Olympic slalom coverage for RIO 2016 & beyond Support the ICF Headquarter to define ICF Communication strategy Support ICF committees and their stakeholders to define ICF development program Work on YOG format for the future
3. Issues and Main Points of Report
Summary of OBS discussion: share the project of broadcasting the RIO2016 games. Improve the START and the Finish Line coverage and imagine & test a possibility of having cameras closer to the athletes. Better explain our obligations and rules and try to understand the added value of having cameras in the athlete action.
4. Future Initiatives and Tasks Continue tasks define at point #2. Discussion with the ICF President to define my tasks within the ICF as ExCo member
5. Recommendations
Appendix
Report # 2 – ICF Board of Directors CAPE TOWN – November 2015
Report
Always moving forward
ICF Board of Directors, Cape Town, South Africa, 9 – 12 December 2015 Name: Tony ESTANGUET ICF Position: 3rd Vice-President
1. Visits and Meetings since last Board Meeting Jury Member: 2015 ICF Wildwater Canoeing Sprint Senior World Championships – Vienna 2015 ICF Canoe Sprint Senior World Championships – Milan 2015 ICF Canoe Slalom Senior World Championships – London 2015 ICF Canoe Slalom Final World Cup – Pau For the jury, there was no need to meet during these competitions. All the ICF committees worked very hard to ensure a good competition without any problems.
Marketing aspects: The ICF supplier “TRIDEM SPORTS” was in Pau during the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup. We had two meetings together. TRIDEM SPORTS made a proposal to EDF, French company, about the ICF marketing strategy. Then, we had an exchange with EDF to consider avenues for cooperation between EDF and ICF. Informal Meeting with TRIDEM SPORTS : TRIDEM SPORTS presented a full marketing strategy and proposed the potential partnerships they had in mind. Personal questioning: I believe in a separate sponsoring approach among ICF disciplines. I also believe that we should work closely with organising committees to make sure we could associate effectively ICF potential sponsors.
Athletes’ aspects:
1. Experience sharing with TIP athletes in PAU (France)
During the ICF World Cup in Pau, I took the opportunity to meet the TIP athletes (24 athletes, 5 coaches, 14 nations, 4 continents). The meeting was an interactive and friendly moment around the following subjects: Sport career and performance experience; Double project: studies & high-level-performance training; Experiences and tasks in the Olympic movement;
The exchange was based on questions prepared by athletes. I would like to thank the coaches of the ICF development program involved in this meeting lead by Pierrick GOSSELIN for the great job they did to prepare it.
See more in Video: https://youtu.be/VU869XCloU8
2. Meeting with the members of the ICF athletes’ commission
During the ICF World Cup in PAU, I had the opportunity to meet the two members of the canoe slalom athletes’ commission: HRADILEK Vavrinec (CZE) and DUKATOVA Jana (SVK). This meeting enabled us to prepare the global canoe slalom athletes’ meeting. We also had an exchange on the future of the canoe slalom discipline, in the context of an increasingly competitive international sports environment where different sports compete to attract the attention of the media and of financial partners. We shared the objective to work on sport presentation, communication on digital media and on a new slalom format more spectacular.
3. ICF athletes global meeting in PAU
During the ICF World Cup in PAU, a meeting was organised by HRADILEK Vavrinec (CZE) and DUKATOVA Jana (SVK) with most athletes competing. Alongside with the ICF staff, we made a presentation dealing with the following subjects: Athletes & media issues (social media, online biographies…) Future of canoe slalom in this increasingly competitive international sports environment.
4. IOC 7th Athletes' Forum
It was a pleasure to welcome two Olympic-medallist paddlers among the 100 athletes from 40 countries during the 3 days of successful meetings: Benjamin BOUKPETI (SEN) – Canoe Slalom (IOC - BIO) Henriette Engel Hansen (DAN) – Canoe Sprint (ICF - BIO) The major topic of the forum was to do some concrete recommendations about the implementation of the IOC AGENDA 2020 for athletes.
Olympic movement interaction 1. 1st European Olympic Games in Baku
I went to Baku for the IOC and took advantage of this travel to attend the Canoe Sprint competition. The organisation was perfect, the crowd was there, and overall, it was a great occasion to showcase our sport. The next steps are to keep on working closely with ECA and EOC: - to ensure that Canoe sprint will remain part of the European Games programme in the future; - to include Slalom in the programme. To achieve this, we may consider using the European Games as part of the Olympic Games qualification.
2. 128th IOC session in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
Meeting about SEA (South East Asian) Games : In presence of Mister Shoken NARITA, we met two local and influential members of the Olympic family in order to promote the inclusion of canoeing in SEA Games: Mr Nat INDRAPANA (IOC member) & Mrs Rita SUBOWO (former IOC member and OCA Vice-President).
General Assembly of ASOIF (Association of Summer Olympic International Federations) I attended this meeting with ICF President and ICF Secretary General.
Main conclusions: We had many fruitful exchanges in Kuala Lumpur, both with IOC members and with IF representatives, especially on the IOC Agenda 2020. The IOC made very clear that the implementation of its Agenda 2020 recommendations must be considered a priority for the Olympic family as a whole. For IFs, this especially means: - Playing a key role in the Olympic bidding process, working in close collaboration with candidate cities to see how they could best promote and organize our competitions; - Showcasing our sports to provide the public, the media and the financial partners with a real show; - Organising sustainable events, financially viable and offering a long- term legacy to the host territory.
The ICF, as well as many other IF, must work on these aspects to secure (and reinforce) its position within the Olympic family. Many of my actions were carried out in this perspective.
3. General Assembly of Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC)
I attended the 20th General Assembly of ANOC in Washington (29th and 30th October) where the 1st ANOC World Beach Games was awarded to San Diego (USA) for September 2017. Together with the ICF President, we had a meeting with IOC member and ANOC President, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad AL-SABAH, to speak about the Beach Games, and the potential inclusion of Ocean racing in the programme.
4. 11th 2015 African Games – BRAZZAVILLE
I attended the 11th 2015 African Games and took advantage of this travel to meet our friend Joao Manuel Da Costa Alegre, President of African canoe confederation. This competition is a major event in Africa and it could be a great opportunity for canoeing to be part of it. I would be available to work on this objective with the canoeing family.
5. Several unformal meetings with Youth Olympic Games and Olympic Games organizing committees
During my different travels as IOC member, I do my best to raise canoeing issues anytime I can. For instance, I had exchanges with the Youth Olympic Games and Olympic Games organizing committees of: Rio 2016 (OG) Buenos Aires 2018 (YOG) Tokyo 2020 (OG)
6. IOC presence at 2015 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships
Two IOC members came to see our World Championships : Mr Adam L. PENGILLY (GBR) and Mr Octavian MORARIU (ROU). They enjoyed very much their experience inside the canoeing family.
IOC Sport Director, Mr Kit McConnell, spend half day at Lee Valley center to experience canoeing and share a meeting with the ICF President, the ICF secretary and me. We talked about the future of our sport and he notably insisted on the importance for us to showcase our events, to keep on innovating and to make them spectacular. He also observed the video judgement during the competition.
2. Tasks undertaken for this period TV Broadcast innovation for Canoeing Since my election as ICF 3rd Vice-president, we have worked with Olympic Broadcast Services, that will be the RIO 2016 host broadcaster, to improve TV viewer experience during Olympics. I met them once in Madrid and twice in Pau for some testing sessions. At this stage, we are working on a very small on-board camera on each athlete during competition with a wireless live transmission. Many positions were tested, as follows:
Next step: these kinds of cameras will be tested in live at 2015 canoe slalom Rio test event (end of November).
Research and development: 1. Accompanying of Canoe Slalom committee for improvement of current judgment system
The Canoe Slalom committee did some good improvements during this season, with different technical materials (video tools, small camera on gates…). In London I introduced the full system and backstage of judgment to major slalom athletes and IOC representatives.
2. Accompanying of Canoe Slalom committee for Development of a new Canoe Slalom cross format : During 2015 canoe slalom World Cup in Pau, we tested a new format of canoe slalom competition: the “canoe Slalom Cross”. This format needs to be improved but has already given some good results (emotion, suspense, good TV show …). To me, it may be a great answer to the Agenda 2020 because it meets all the current IOC expectations. To see a short video spot, click here: https://youtu.be/tkXmbln_TIk
3. Development of a new canoe slalom temporary venue
The idea is to propose an infrastructure option to National federations and organising committees to develop the slalom discipline. We can’t afford to have millions dollars invested in a venue for just few days of competitions. The added value of this concept is to offer the flexibility of changing the difficulty of the course for race or training time, moving also the location to have competitions in very popular sites and training in cheaper and more convenient places and also to avoid white elephants by renting or selling the venue to other events if the permanent legacy is not secured or possible.
3. Future Initiatives and Tasks
Sport Presentation on venues during competitions Many things were tested by several organizers and ICF staff during this season: On-site interviews to share athletes’ emotion with the public directly after the finish line; Development of some new TV graphics to show full results on site; Development of some new TV graphics with Athletes’ biographies at the start position.
We need to improve this on-venue presentation, both for the TV spectators and for the audience in the competition area. This should be a goal for the next period: Favouring experience sharing between organizers: we organised a meeting at the 2015 Pau World Cup with representatives of Ivrea 2016, Seu 2016 and Tokyo 2020 to share our ideas. Defining clearly an ICF sport-presentation strategy for all our disciplines.
Accompanying the Development of a new gate for canoe slalom Currently, gate judgment perception is the major weakness for canoe slalom. Since many years, several individuals try to develop solutions (mechanic systems, magnets, sensors…). We need to finalise our solution after RIO 2016, so as to be ready for the following Olympiad competitions. To be sure that we will achieve this decisive goal, we should associate the NF in proposing their preferred option regarding the requirements decided by the Slalom technical committee.
Appendix
Report # 3 – ICF Board of Directors MADRID – March 2016
Report
Always moving forward
ICF Board of Directors, Madrid, Spain, 10 – 12 March 2016 Name: Tony ESTANGUET ICF Position: 3rd Vice-President
1. Visits and Meetings since last Board Meeting Athletes’ aspects - IOC athletes’ commission meeting (Lillehammer – February 2016) During the Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer, an IOC athletes’ commission was held. Among the topics discussed was Rio 2016, more precisely Zika virus and water quality matters. Zika virus To date, more than 1.5 million people have been infected in Brazil, but 80 % of cases result in no symptom, and for the remaining 20%, symptoms only last 2 to 7 days. Besides, there has been an increase in the number of babies with microcephaly, but authorities are trying to determine whether it is linked to Zika. The IOC is working closely with Rio 2016, the WHO and Brazilian authorities to manage the epidemic. It also is important to note that the Rio 2016 Games will take place during the winter, when the climate reduces the presence of mosquitos and therefore, the risk of infection. Considering these different reasons, the IOC remain confident that there will be a safe environment for athletes to perform. For further details, you can read the IOC statement on Zika here. Water quality Rio 2016 is working hard to provide athletes with the best possible conditions of water. It should not be an issue either in terms of athlete experience during the Olympic Games. Canoe Sprint competition venue Due to economic situation of RIO 2016, some grandstands will be removed and the number of seating positions will be decrease of 4.000 seats.
ICF TV PROMOTION Due to my position in the organization committee of Pau 2016 and 2017, I was invited by the French Canoe Federation to participate at several meeting with potential TV broadcaster such as EQUIPE 21 and France TV. Both of them are clearly interested to show canoeing in LIVE for 2016 and 2017.
2. Tasks undertaken for this period Olympic movement interaction 1. Winter Youth Olympic Games – LILLEHAMMER 2016
I went to the Youth Olympic Games for the IOC and took advantage of this travel to exchange about canoeing with several international sports leaders. ICF President, Mr. José Perurena Lopez: discussions on ICF Executive committee and board meetings to come. We also shared ideas on the evolution of YOG for canoeing. IOC Sport Director, Mr. Kit McConnell: this meeting was about the future of canoeing in the Olympic Games. Mr. Kit McConnell insisted on gender equality for 2020 in Athletes participation, and to keep on working to make canoeing even more attractive. European Olympic Committees Association President, Mr. Patrick HICKEY: this meeting was a good opportunity to exchange about canoeing position in the European Games 2019 (canoe sprint and canoe slalom). Mr. Patrick HICKEY would like canoe to remain in the European Games programme.
TV Broadcast innovation for Canoeing Reminder: Since many years, Olympic Broadcast Services is the company in charge of broadcasting the Olympics. That will be also the RIO 2016 host broadcaster, and since last year we work with them to improve TV viewer experience during Olympics. We are working on a very small on-board camera on each athlete during slalom competitions with a wireless live transmission. Many positions were tested in live at 2015 canoe slalom Rio test event (end of November 2015).
Conclusion of test: The size, the weight and the format of the camera was considered acceptable by all athletes who take part in the test. Decision taken to proceed to a new test with other technology such as wide angle video camera.
Next step: A new test period is planned on March 2 about a new camera technology to improve images. Based on the results of this test, we will plan to use it during the 2016 Slalom World Cup series.
Research and development: 1. Accompanying Canoe Slalom committee for the development of a new Canoe Slalom cross format :
Reminder: After different tests during the past years of a new possible additional slalom format, the ICF Canoe Slalom committee has decided to support the development of the Canoe Slalom Cross.
Next step: All 2016 ICF World Cup will host a “canoe Slalom Cross” competition as an additional event in coordination with ICF canoe slalom committee. I will be involved in this experimentation.
2. Development of a new gate for canoe slalom
Reminder: Gate judgment perception is the major weakness for canoe slalom. Since many years, several individuals have tried to develop solutions (mechanic systems, magnets, sensors…). We need to finalise our solution after RIO 2016, so as to be ready for the following Olympiad competitions. During the last ICF Board, we decided to associate the NF in proposing their preferred option regarding the requirements decided by the Slalom technical committee.
Actual situation: In coordination with ICF canoe slalom committee, we prepared the content of the call for proposals. Each proposal of gate design can be electronic or mechanical in nature.
Next step: The call for proposals will be launched before our meeting in Madrid by ICF headquarters. The deadline for answer is June 2016.
Appendix
Report # 4 – ICF Board of Directors BAKU – November 2016
Report
Always moving forward
ICF Board of Directors, BAKU, Azerbaijan,
22 – 23 November 2016
Name: Tony ESTANGUET
ICF Position: 3rd Vice-President
1. Visits and Meetings since last Board Meeting
Jury Member
2016 Olympic Games – Canoe slalom events – Rio (BRA)
ICF Championships
2016 Olympic Games – Canoe sprint events – Rio (BRA)
2016 ICF Paracanoe World Championships – Duisburg (GER)
2016 ICF Canoe Slalom & Wildwater Canoeing World Cup – Pau (FRA)
ICF meeting
Executive Board meeting – Duisburg (GER)
Executive Board meeting – Rio (BRA)
IOC family meeting
129th IOC session – RIO (BRA)
2016 Paralympic Games – RIO (BRA)
WADA Executive committee meetings – Lausanne (SUI)
European Olympic Committee General Assembly – Minsk (BLR)
Page 1 sur 6 Athletes’ aspects – Experience sharing with TIP athletes in PAU (France)
During the ICF World Cup in Pau, I seized the opportunity to meet the TIP and “Expand Extend Women Canoeing” athletes (16 athletes, 4 coaches, 15 nations, 5 continents). The meeting was an interactive and friendly moment around the following subjects:
Careers in sports and performance experience; Double project: studies & high-level-performance training; Experiences and missions in the Olympic movement;
The exchange was based on questions prepared by athletes. I would like to thank the coaches of the ICF development program led by Pierrick GOSSELIN for the great job they did.
Page 2 sur 6 2. Tasks undertaken for this period
President of Jury at the 2016 Olympic Games – Canoe Slalom Events
All the RIO 2016 staff and ICF committee worked very hard to ensure a good competition.
As president of the Jury, I was constantly in contact with Jean-Michel PRONO, Technical delegate and Chief judge for the competition, as well as with John MACLEOD, RIO 2016 CSL Competition Manager, in order to stay updated on the situation and support them if any decision was required.
Due to the windy condition, the competition committee had to postpone the CS01 session schedule to offer a fair competition to the athletes and guarantee the required level of luminosity for the TV production.
The Canoe slalom competition went really well and no appeal has been brought to the jury’s attention.
Olympic movement interaction
129th IOC session and Olympic Games in RIO (Brazil)
Welcoming IOC members during Olympic Games
During the Olympic Games, we had the great pleasure to welcome an impressive number of IOC members (17) during canoe sprint and Canoe Slalom events.
Our IOC President, Mr. Thomas BACH, honoured us with his presence on both canoe slalom and canoe sprint sessions.
Jose PERURENA and I were glad to see that promoting our exciting competition succeeded and led to such a great attendance from IOC members.
Page 3 sur 6 “Come and Try” at RIO 2016 with IOC members and local authorities
On the day after the end of Canoe Slalom events, a “Come and Try” day was organized with the ICF, the Brazilian NF, the Rio 2016 staff, and the active participation of Rio slalom medallists’ athletes. IOC members (Athletes commission members and IOC member Prince Frederik of Denmark) and local authorities were invited by CBCA to enjoy and experience canoeing. It was an amazing and friendly time to share the canoeing atmosphere through a relax rafting session.
I believe this operation contributed to promote canoeing among the IOC members and build good relationships with local authorities to leave a positive legacy of the Games.
Meeting about 2018 Youth Olympic Games (Buenos Aires – Argentina)
The Olympic Games are always a great occasion to meet international sports leaders. I met with the 2018 YOG Organising Committee chair and IOC member Gerardo WERTHEIN and his CEO to offer any assistance that might be needed for Canoeing competitions.
Meeting about 2019 Pan American Games (Lima – PERU)
I spoke with Ivan DIBOS, IOC member from PERU and with Jose QUINONES, president of the NOC and Chair of 2019 Pan American Games to introduce myself and support the work done by the PASO Confederation. Page 4 sur 6
Future of the RIO canoe slalom stadium
During the Olympics, I had the opportunity to discuss with the Mayor of RIO (Mr Eduardo PAES) and the President of the Brazilian NOC (Mr Carlos Arthur NUZMAN) to support the Brazilian Canoeing NF in its claim of getting a long term access to the Deodoro Whitewater Park.
WADA Executive committee meetings – Montreal & Lausanne
2016 has been a critical year regarding doping cases. The Olympic summit held in Lausanne suggested to review the Anti-Doping Organisations’ governance for Testing and sanctioning. Many meetings were held on the subject in Rio and it looks as if the next Foundation board scheduled in November 2016 will come up with a new approach on that matter.
European Olympic Committee General Assembly – Minsk, Belarus
During the General Assembly, the 2019 European Games were awarded to Minsk (BLR). We will have now to support the ECA to secure the best representation of canoeing in the program in collaboration with the future Organising committee to be created.
Research and development
Accompanying Canoe Slalom committee for the development of a new Canoe Slalom cross format
Reminder
After conducting a series of tests on a new possible additional slalom format during the past years, the ICF Canoe Slalom committee has decided to support the development of the Canoe Slalom Cross. All 2016 ICF World Cup stages hosted a “canoe Slalom Cross” competition as a test.
Results
It seems that such a format is complementary to the current classic slalom format. It was well welcomed by organisers and the combination of the two formats during a slalom event is possible. The principle is also to reach more youngsters with a more accessible format.
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Development of a new gate for canoe slalom
Reminder:
Gate judgment perception is the major weakness in canoe slalom. For many years, several individuals have tried to develop solutions (mechanic systems, magnets, sensors…). We need to finalise our solution after RIO 2016, in order to be ready for the following Olympiad competitions.
During the ICF Board in Cape-Town, we decided to associate the NFs in proposing their participation to the evolution of the current judging system.
In coordination with ICF canoe slalom committee and Headquarters, a project call was published on the ICF website and sent to each NF in April 2016.
Current situation:
26 proposals have been received by the end of June from NFs or individuals from the canoeing family. Currently, the canoe slalom committee members are analysing each proposal to select 4 to 6 of them that will then be presented to an external, independent group of experts (engineers, Athletes, coachs, IOC representatives…).
Next step:
1st step: The CSL committee suggests a selection of feasible projects..
2nd step: Then submit this selection to a jury (made of external and independent group of experts) for evaluation and selection of one to two projects.
The first step in the selection process has been slightly delayed but we are doing our best to stay on schedule and still be able to end up with a maximum of two projects by the end of this year.
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