India becomes franchisee in World Series of Boxing (WSB)

LAUSANNE, Switzerland: A new chapter ushers in annals of Indian boxing as India has become one of the 12 franchisees to have been selected by Indian Boxing Association (AIBA) for the high-profile World Series of Boxing (WSB) slated for September 2010. Videocon Industries Ltd has become the coveted corporate house that has bought the franchise rights for India’s representation at WSB.  Delhi, the capital city of India will be chosen city for the franchise. The World Series of Boxing has been formed by AIBA in association with IMG.

Confirming the development, Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu, AIBA President & Chairman AIBA Board said, “It is our pleasure to welcome India as one of the 12 franchisee for the WSB. We were confident that there was tremendous potential for Boxing in this part of the world and there is a huge base for growing great talent. We also welcome Videocon Industries Ltd, for their participation and support and are confident that WSB will bring about a paradigm shift and signal a new era in professional boxing across the world.”

World Series of Boxing, slated to be launched in September 2010, is a new dimension in boxing that will bring out best of amateur and professional boxing in the world. A total of 12 city-based franchisees — four each from Asia, America and Europe and worth USD 10 million — will fight it out in an inter-continental series that is modeled on the lines of professional boxing. Each franchisee will have a team of at least 10 boxers with a maximum of three foreign imports in it. The franchisees will also get a pool of reserve boxers.

AIBA has so far shortlisted 100 pugilists for the event and the franchisees will take their pick during the year’s World Championships in Milan. These 100, picked by the WSB selection panel, also include Indians and an official announcement would be made by Indian Boxing Federation shortly. The pool would be increased to 200 very soon so that franchisees have reserves to fall back on in case their frontline boxers are not available for some reasons.

The boxers’ contracts, worth a minimum of USD 30,000 and a maximum of USD 300,000, will initially be of three years and they will get fixed salaries apart from bonus for every bout won.

WSB would give a boost to the sport in all catchments areas of the franchisees and federations making the sport more popular even in countries where the following is limited. The growth of the WSB will enable federations to encourage more grassroots participation and greater support from respective governments and National Olympic Committees will lay a greater successful foundation of boxing in their respective countries.

The Format of World Series Boxing

Team Competition:

* Teams in each region will compete against each other during the regular season.
* Each team will play its regional rivals four times – twice at home and twice away – resulting in a total of 12 matches per team.
* Each match will consist of five individual bouts, including one at each weight class.
* The top team from each of the three regions, plus a fourth (2nd best finisher) team will face each other in a play off format to determine the World Championship team.

Individual Championships:

* The individual championships for each weight class will take place after the conclusion of the play-off series.
* The top two boxers in the regular season will compete for the individual title of World Champion.

The Five Weight Categories:

* Bantam
* Light
* Middle
* Light Heavy
* Heavy

Schedule:

* Sep-Dec 2010             Regular Season
* Jan 2011                     Play-off Series
* Feb-Mar2011               Exhibition Matches
* Apr 2011                      Individual Championship Bouts

Rules & Scoring: The bout will be of five rounds, which would be three minutes each. The scores would be given by three judges on a 10-point system to be announced at the end of each bout. The boxers will not wear any headgear or vests.

* Credits to TG

Kalymnos: A pinnacle of adventure

Kalymnos, a well known sponge diver’s island, is one of the beauties of the Dodecanese, a group of Greek islands.

Climbers paradise (image courtsey: planetmountain)

Clear blue waters and the amazing landscape are the first things that capture someone’s eye when they first visit it. Kalymnos derives its name from the Greek words – ‘Kalos’ (meaning ‘Good’) and ‘Ydna’ (meaning‘Water’). The island offers opportunities for fantastic sport climbing experience. The rock is of excellent quality; the numbers of routes are many and they offer varying levels of difficulty. In addition, the possibilities of new route openings always keep the climbers ready for newer challenges.

THE DISCOVERY

The development of sport climbing in Kalymnos dates back to 1996, when the honeymoon trip of Andrea di Bari and Andrea Gallo, became the start up of what eventually came to become an exciting discovery for the sport and the island itself. Having brought no equipment with them, they decided to return and open the first routes together with a small number of students. In the meantime the first ones to equip the routes were the Italians and the Germans. The speed at which all these developments took place was

Odyssey (over 64 routes)

unbelievable; especially for the potential of my small and rather traditional island. Most of the names of the pitches belong to Greek mythology and ancient history, a mark of respect on the part of the Italians for our civilization and country; e.g. on the field “Poietes” all the names are those of ancient poets. Up to 1999, the equipped pitches were easier sport standard on grey slabs (from Fr. 5b to Fr. 6c), but subsequently the yellow/red overhanging sections were also being developed which led to the discovery of superb caves with incredible holes, stalactites and tuffas.

The most famous ones today are:

CRAG / PARAMETER	Difficulty	No. of routes
Odyssey	5 – 7c+	64
Arhi	6a – 7b+	60
Kastelli	4 – 6a+	34
Grand Grotta	6a – 8a+	104

CLIMBERS HUB

Easter 2000, is the date the sport will remember. The island’s authorities realized the impact of climbing avenues and that for a long time the island had suffered a potentially big loss of tourist spending. They then organized a course with two famous climbers, Aris Theodoropoulos and Thomas Michailides, the first one of which; I had the pleasure of having as an instructor. The following summer, the course continued with the initiative of both the authorities and the two instructors with the purpose of opening new routes as well as the protection of the already existing ones. There are, at the moment, 23 equipped crags with 200 pitches (5/2000), from Fr.4c to Fr. 8a+ (all bolt protected sport climbing), mostly west facing, but a few south facing. At present there are twenty-four organized climbing areas.

A TOURIST DESTINATION

The island faced a tremendous touristic impact over the last 8 years. Every year courses and international climbing events take place with approximately 1000 climbers travelling to live the unique experience. An amazing number of 15,000 references for the island appear in Google which has tremendously boosted not only accommodation development but also restaurants, sport stores, means of transportation, rental cars & bikes etc. After the delivery of the airport in 2006; the island became directly accessible than previously. This was one of the biggest benefits not only for the Kalymnian authorities, but for the tourists themselves. Direct flights from the UK, a variety of books and guides being available online and most importantly, the ambassadors of the sport; are a living proof of how a small and forgotten place can be at the center of European culture in sport climbing.

Welcome to Kalymnos!

– by Eleni Magkli

Schedule of Gold Cup Hockey Tournament 2009, India

The Hockey stadium in Sector 42, Chandigarh

CHANDIGARH, India – In a major filip to Indian Hockey the four-nation Gold Cup is being organized from Jan 31 till Feb 9, 2009. It is a progressive step forward, says the Event Manager Mr. Harisharan. The Punjab Sports Department was very serious about the professional conduct of the tournament and has hired experts to handle the event well.

Since India doesn’t still have an organized Hockey Federation, the onus was on the adhoc commitee in IOA (Indian Olympic Association) and the Punjab Sports Department to re-vitalise the hockey scene in India. The four participating nations – Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand and India can expect a lot from this expectedly well-organized international event.

Sector 42 stadium in Chandigarh will play host to all the matches of the tournament. Initially having been planned in two places – Chandigarh and Jalandhar, plans had to be revised after astro-turf work still remained unfinished at Jalandhar. With a stadium capacity of over thirty thousand people, it is imperative that one can expect packed crowds when India plays. There is a lot to revive for Indian hockey, not just in the way the events are handled and managed but also for the lost pride when India failed to qualify for the Olympic games after losing to England in qualifiers in 2008.

For now, it might just be about sowing the right seeds at the right time. With the FIH (International Hockey Federation) support for Hockey World Cup in India in 2010, it seems a right time to build up the momentum. Mr. Pargat Singh, an Olympian and Director of Punjab Sports Department looks forward to reviving the glorious days of Indian hockey. It is time that Hockey gets the place it deserves, as a national game of India.

The schedule of matches to be played is as below:

Jan 31st – Opening Ceremony – Ind v/s NZ – Ned v/s Ger

Feb 1st – Ind v/s Ned – NZ v/s Ger

Feb 2nd – Rest Day

Feb 3rd – Ned v/s NZ – Ind v/s Ger

Feb 4th – NZ v/s Ger – Ind v/s Ned

Feb 5th – Rest Day

Feb 6th – Ned v/s NZ – Ind v/s Ger

Feb 7th – Ned v/s Ger – Ind v/s NZ

Feb 8th -Rest Day

Feb 9th – 3rd and 4th place – FINALS

National Track Cycling 2009, India

Track Cycling

CHANDIGARH, India: The Chandigarh Amatuer Cycling Association (CACA) is organising the National Track Cycling Championships for boys and girls in Patiala from January 14-18, 2009.

The championship was awarded by Cycling Federation of India to CACA. A team of maximum 8 riders in each category can be entered upon as the State contingent.

More details on events to follow here

Safety Standards: Mountaineering and Climbing Equipment

PRAGUE, Czech Republic -  The annual Safety Commission meeting  was held between 23-27 September 2008 in capital of Czech Republic. The meeting was hosted by the Czech Mountaineering Federation  a member of the UIAA- Union Des Associations D’Alpinisme, based in Bern, Switzerland.

Besides serving as a non-competitive platform for manufacturers, the objective of the meeting was to revise the existing standards on equipment and add new standards wherever need was felt. Currently, the UIAA makes Safety Standards for 19 equipments that are accepted and implemented world-wide. Any piece of mountaineering equipment with a UIAA Safety Label certifies it to be of highest quality.

At the meeting, a total of 10 national delgates from Italy, France, Greece, Spain, Germany, USA, Czech Republic, UK and Switzerland were present as Commission Members. Apart from this, about 50 mountain equipment manufacturers were present. Some of the prominent UIAA Label Holders included – Edelrid, Edelweiss, Beal, Camp, Black Diamond, Tendon, Singing Rock, Kong, Mammut, Arcyteryx, Wild Country, DMM, AustriAlpin etc. Test Laboratories too were also represented from Germany, France and Czech Republic. The meeting was divided into three major areas of interest and the national delegates presented papers on proposed changes to standards on these broad categories:

A.) Textile – Ropes and Via-ferrate equipment etc

B.) General issues – Safety Label Adminstration

C.) Metals – Karabiners, Braking Devices etc

Voting was carried out supporting or rejecting proposals. An overwhelming attendance at the meet ensured well thought-out and deliberate decision making. UIAA partners with a large outdoor equipment retailer REI in North America; for its approved equipment to be sold in their large network of stores. It was also observed that the number of enquiries for Safety Label have been growing from Asia, South America and Africa.

The details of all decisions taken are availble for all enthusiastic mountaineers and climbers to read themselves. Pease visit the UIAA website for the latest news on Key Decisions taken.

“UIAA Safety Label – Designed for Climbers, by Climbers”

****

PARTICIPATE IN FORUM 

 UIAA Safety Standard: Look before you Buy!

 

 

Sustainable Design in Olympic Games: Vancouver 2010

LAUSANNE, Switzerland - Ann Duffy is the Corporate Sustainability Offi cer for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Ann is responsible for the design and implementation of VANOC’s approach to ensuring accountability for its sustainability performance.

 

“The 2010 Winter Olympic & Paralympic Games – A Catalyst for Engagement, Partnerships and Sustainable Legacies”

Ms. Ann Duffy discussed her VANOC experience of integrating sustainability in the organization of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. She described sustainability as managing social, economic and environmental impacts and opportunities of the Games to produce lasting benefi ts, both locally as well as globally.

 

Sustainability in action involved three primary steps – integration of sustainability into VANOC’s vision and mission, sustainability as part of the Games experience, and fi nally sustainability as touching the lives of people to build a stronger Canada.

 

Ann explained the implementation process by citing practical examples such as how heat generated from the curling rinks would be used to heat the swimming pool ‘next door’. She also talked about performance objectives including accountability, impact reduction and social responsibilities. She concluded by establishing connections between sport and sustainable living, where she rightly pointed out that sustainability was a mindset and VANOC was using this as a great opportunity to practice sustainability.

 

During the panel discussion, Ann reiterated the importance of taking responsibility for the infl uence of the Games as well as increasing awareness of and participation in climate change solutions. VANOC must measure what it has direct control over while ensuring partnerships to influence what it does not have control over. The spotlight effect stresses the need for VANOC to pay close attention to its sponsors as well as the products and services being offered, and what values are being spread. VANOC carefully associates itself with sponsors that will encourage and act on sustainability.

 

 

*(As reported by Catherine Maher and Gurdeepak Ahuja) 

Indian Hockey: Decisive moment before 2010 World Cup

LAUSANNE, Switzerland: All of us who are looking forward to the developments regarding Indian Hockey’s fate in hosting the World Cup in 2010, can hold our breath. This is a moment of decisiveness when a member board from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) is visiting India to make the final announcement.

With Mr. KPS Gill’s exit, things have looked to move in a positive direction. However, the process of change is not only time consuming but it also has a downside. In this context, there are two approaches that can be taken – build a strong system and only then take the responsibilty of hosting or, host the event but expectations from the team should be low key.

Soon we will find out what is the outcome of the visit. For now, hold your breath!

 

Boxing Academy: India’s bid fails to qualify

LAUSANNE, Switzerland: A knock-out punch for development of Indian Boxing was felt when their bid to build an international boxing academy failed to qualify. The bid was made by the city of Pune.

The final shortlisted candidates are:

1. Becancour, Canada; 2. Sanya, China; 3. Almaty, Kazakhstan; and 4. Podolsk, Russia.

The academy’s aim is to train the best young amateur boxers, coaches, referees and judges from the 195 national federations that make up the International Boxing Association (AIBA).  

The winning city will be chosen by the AIBA executive board at a meeting during the Beijing Olympics in August.

*Details of proposal to bidding cities can be read or downloaded here – http://www.aiba.org/documents/site1/Academy/Outline%20of%20Boxing%20Academy.pdf

Sports Concepting

Topi Lintukangas, a 35 year old world-record holder for free diving, talked to the MSA 2008 students about Sports Concepting. Concepting is generally referred to as research and development type of work; not directly aiming for production. The idea of concepting was talked about in the context if sports – products and services. Concepting can be used to meet several different purposes and goals:- to gain better understanding of end users, their needs, driving factors etc

- to prepare the market for new design and/or technological ideas

- to create market hype (for ex. in the mobile industry,  nanotechnology is making waves) 

- to engage opinion leaders to the brand and future products (for ex. salomon, almost got the entire backing of surfers before launching their blue surfboards as a product line)

As an exercise, the students were required to conceptualise ideas in various sports like – football, curling, mountain biking, table tennis, spinning and marathon. Below is a short description of the PROCESS of DECISION making for product conceptualisation in Mountain Biking.

Research Method: Interviews of Mountain Bikers

Scenario:One rider is sitting on the wheel of the other rider in the mountain biking competition. It is a close first and second position. It has started to rain heavily and the riders are passing through muddy areas. The fist rider’s rear wheel starts splashing a lot of mud on the face of the second rider. The second rider has to take off his protective eyewear and either clean it or stack it and move on without protection to the eyes.

Innovation: Use tear-off sunglasses, which allow you to remove the dusty layer(s) and continue protecting your eyes

Prototype: Peel of sunglasses are already being used in MotoCross and can be easily adapted to the Bike glasses. The bike indsutry has already been adapting a lot from the motorcycle industry – including disc brakes and shock absorbers.Sample 

Persona Types:Who will buy these glasses? After much deliberation, these personas were profiled as:

 - Elite athletes : who make a living by competing and cannot afford to lose precious seconds of their race

- Weekend warriors: who like to work hard during the week and then play hard on the weekends

Clearly, commercial aspects of such innovation weren’t delved into. Sometimes even good innovations need not be commercially viable.

See Topi’s incredible 60mts free dive (click icon)

Ice Climbing: Olympic probable?

MORGINS, Switzerland: At a recent board meeting of the UIAA (International Mountaineering Federation) in March, competition sports in mountaineering was discussed at length. Ever since the Indoor Climbing formed a seperate federation, the UIAA has been trying to popularize two competition sports – Ski Mountaineering and Ice Climbing. 

Recently, North Face Ice Climbing World Cup 2008 was held at Saas Fee, Switzerland. This was the third edition of the World Cup series after Busteni (Romania) and Daone (Italy). There are plans for expansion of the World Cup series to include Scotland, India and Korea. However, a lot remains to be done in creating such possibilities. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has under their radar Ski Mountaineering to be considered in the Winter Olympics. 

Much of the challenge lies in making these sports “viewer friendly”. Most revenues today from sports are generated through TV rights and Media companies, besides sponsorship. A group of four students from the International Academy of Sports, Science and Technology are working with the UIAA to identify solutions to such challenges in Mountain Sports.  

See a short video on Ice Climbing here..