ITF Confirms Nominations For ITF President And ITF Board Of Directors

The ITF has announced the nominations for the elections for the ITF President and ITF Board of Directors that will be held on Friday 25 September 2015 at the ITF’s Annual General Meeting in Santiago, Chile. Both the President and 13 other members of the Board of Directors will be elected for four-year terms from 2015-19.

Nominations for the position of ITF President have been made by Class B Member Nations who fully meet ITF constitutional criteria. The following nominations have been received by the closing date for resolutions for the 2015 AGM, 25 May:

David Haggerty (USA)
Anil Khanna (IND)
Juan Margets Lobato (ESP)
Rene Stammbach (SUI)

Francesco Ricci Bitti, photo credit ITF.com

The new President will replace outgoing ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti, who will step down after 16 years in office.

Nominations for election to the ITF Board of Directors have also been made by Class B Member Nations who fully meet ITF constitutional criteria. The following nominations have been received by the closing date for resolutions for the 2015 AGM, 25 May:

Katrina Adams (USA)
* Tarak Cherif (TUN)
Martin Corrie (GBR)
Goran Djokovic (SRB)
* Sergio Elias (CHI)
Ismail El Shafei (EGY)
Jose Luis Escañuela Romana (ESP)
Luisanna Fodde (ITA)
Rodolfo Garcia Muriel (MEX)
Bernard Giudicelli (FRA)
* Jack Graham (CAN)
* David Haggerty (USA)
* Stephen Healy (AUS)
* Anil Khanna (IND)
Ulrich Klaus (GER)
Thomas Koenigsfeldt (DEN)
Jorge Lacerda da Rosa (BRA)
Celia Patrick (NZL)
Aleksei Selivanenko (RUS)
* Rene Stammbach (SUI)
Predrag Stojcevic (CRO)
Surendran Subramaniam (SRI)
Stefan Tzvetkov (BUL)
Ayda Uluc (TUR)
Bulat Utemuratov (KAZ)
Karin van Bijsterveld (NED)

* Incumbent Board Member

The length of term for Board members has been increased from two to four years after a motion was passed at the 2014 ITF AGM in Dubai.

In Memoriam: Gerrit-Jan Swinkels (NED), 1947-2015

Gerrit-Jan Swinkels (67), President of Indoor Brabant, the world-famous equestrian event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (NED), died suddenly yesterday at the age of 67 while riding on the Belgian coast at Knokke-Heist in West Flanders.

A passionate horseman, racing driver and diplomat, Swinkels was highly respected as a visionary and renowned for his ability to bring athletes, officials, sponsors and the media together to promote equestrian sport.

He also used his natural entrepreneurial skills to make ground-breaking progress in the sport, including being a driving force as President of the Board of Directors of Springpaarden Fonds Nederland (SFN), which is dedicated to developing Jumping horses and creating winning Dutch Jumping partnerships at FEI Nations Cup™ events, FEI Championships and Olympic Games.

Swinkels became President of Indoor Brabant in 2002 and planned to hand over to his successor in 2017 during the event’s 50th anniversary.

“Gerrit-Jan was a wonderful person, and thanks to him the profile of equestrian sport has grown tremendously”, said John Roche, FEI Jumping Director. “The sport has lost one of its greatest friends, enthusiasts and supporters, and an immeasurable void has been left. We will all miss him greatly.”

Gerrit-Jan Swinkels (NED), President of Indoor Brabant, died suddenly yesterday at the age of 67. He is pictured here with his horse Tennessee W, ridden by Dutch athlete Henk van de Pol. (Photo: Jacob Melissen)

Indoor Brabant has welcomed the world’s best indoor Jumping, Dressage and Driving athletes as part of the prestigious FEI World Cup™ series. The first of nine FEI World Cup™ Dressage Finals was held at Indoor Brabant in 1986, with the first FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final staged here in 1994. In 2012, the first joint FEI World Cup™ Jumping and Dressage Final was then held, and many qualifiers for these series, and for the FEI World Cup™ Driving, have taken place at the Indoor Brabant.

“It has been a real honour to have Gerrit-Jan as a close personal friend,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said. “As well as a great sense of humour, he had the magnetism and drive needed to grow equestrian sport, and for this he was valued internationally. Indoor Brabant has been a huge success under his Presidency, with the event welcoming the world’s best indoor Jumping, Dressage and Driving athletes as part of the FEI World Cup series. The equestrian community has lost a true soul mate and my thoughts are with his wife Anja and the children.”

The FEI expresses its sincere condolences to Gerrit-Jan Swinkels’ family and friends, the Royal Dutch Equestrian Federation (KNHS) and the global equestrian community.

ONUOHA’S SUSPENSION BASED ON INDISCIPLINE, SAYS ABIA WARRIORS MANAGEMENT

Management of Abia Warriors football Club of Umuahia has frowned at reports in a section of the media, especially the social media that one of its goalkeepers, Joseph Onuoha was suspended indefinitely because he conceded three goals in a match with Warri Wolves last Friday, insisting that the goaltender was suspended for disciplinary reasons.

In a statement, management recalled that the goalkeeper has been a serial camp breaker and has been warned severally in the past to desist from such acts all to no avail.

According to the statement, Abia Warriors have a code of conduct guiding the players and officials which attracts sanctions if broken pointing out that the said Joseph Onuoha has severally, been found guilty of breaching such camp rules.

“Last season, he was suspended for some months for acts of indiscipline and unseriousness and from all indications, he is yet to repent from his sins. His suspension has nothing to do with his performance on the pitch, after all, our other goalkeepers have even conceded more goals without being sanctioned”, the statement said.

It clarified that recently, the suspended player broke camp rules again by fighting the club’s Deputy Camp Commandant which was the last straw that broke the Carmel’s back as the club’s disciplinary committee found him guilty as charged and recommended his suspension.

Management, therefore, warned all players to abide by the code of conduct strictly or be ready to face the music, if they contravene it.

Melissa, Otu’s Success Thrills CBN

The emergence of Melissa Ifidzhen and Thomas Otu as the women and men singles winners of the 37th Central Bank of Nigeria Tennis Championship has been applauded by the sponsors.

According to the Director of Corporate Communication of the CBN, Ibrahim Mu’azu, the emergence of new sets of winners in the 10-day championship which was concluded at the weekend is a testimony that Nigeria has substantial number of talents in the sport.

Russian-born Melissa, who only opted to play for Nigeria early this year, defeated defending champion and top-seed, Christy Agugbom 6-3, 6-2 while Otu, a former finalist won the men’s title with a spirited performance against reigning Governor’s Cup champion, Moses Michael 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Melissa Ifidzhen At 37th Central bank of Nigeria Open Senior Tennis Championship

Mu’azu, who was on hand to witness the final matches played on Sunday morning due to an inclement weather on the original Saturday final date, pointed that more players will be encouraged to step up and challenge for the title, knowing that the tournament can be won by any player that is on top of his or her game.

“Firstly, the CBN is extremely delighted with the fact that the winners in the men and women singles are achieving the feat for the very first time in their career.

“We are equally happy about this development because it shows that we have abundant talents which can do Nigeria proud at top events like the Davis Cup and the All African Games,” he pointed.

Engr. Sani Ndanusa, President Nigeria Tennis Federation

Nigeria Tennis Federation President, Engr. Sani Ndanusa, on his part, said the federation will continue to provide the platform for players to excel in the game. He pledged that effort at getting more tournaments to keep the players in top form will be sustained with renew vigour.

Nigeria Women Claim Gold At Beach Volleyball AAG Qualifiers

2015 All Africa games- Beach Volleyball Women zone 3

Nigeria Women’s Beach Volleyball team claimed the gold medal of Zone 3 qualifiers for All Africa Games “AAG” held in Cotonou , Benin May 1 to 4, 2015.

The Nigerian team will be accompanied by Niger, Benin and Cote d’Ivoire who were the top 4 teams in the qualifier to the finals of 2015 All Africa Games to be held in Congo Brazzaville September 4-19.

Ghana, Nigeria, Benin and Cote d’Ivoire qualified from the same zone at Men’s category.

The tournament showed the participation of 7 teams divided into 2 pools. Pool A included Benin, Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso and Pool B comprised Nigeria, Niger, Ghana and Togo.

Each Pool played a round robin format where Benin and Cote d’Ivoire qualified to the semifinal from Pool A. Nigeria and Niger qualified from Pool B as the semifinalists already confirmed their tickets to All Africa Games finals.

In the semifinal Niger beat Benin 2-0 (21-19, 21-10) and Nigeria overwhelmed Benin 2-0 (21-13, 21-13).

Nigerian women continued their superior performance to beat Niger in the final 2-0 (21-11, 21-14), while Benin captured the bronze medal after they overcame Cote d’Ivoire 2-0 (21-13, 21-14).

Now Nigeria, Niger, Benin and Cote d’Ivoire women will accompany Algeria, Tunisia (Pool A), Senegal and Guinea (Pool B) to the finals of AAG in Congo Brazzaville.

The finals of All Africa Games will be hosted by Congo Brazzaville in September 4-19 and will feature the top 24 teams in Africa where the top 2 in Zones 1 and 7 and the top 4 from the other zones (2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) capture their tickets to the second ever beach volleyball competition at the peak sports event in Africa.

Results

Pool A : Benin – Cote d’Ivoire – Burkina Faso
Match No. 3 BUR vs. CIV – 0:2 (0:21, 0:21)
Match No. 6 BEN vs. BUR – 2:0 (21:0, 21:0)
Match No. 9 CIV vs. BEN – 0:2 (17:21, 16:21)

Pool B: Nigeria – Niger – Ghana – Togo
Match No. 1 GHA vs. TOG – 2:0 (21:15, 21:18)
Match No. 2. NIG vs. NGR – 1:2 (16:21, 21:18, 12:15)
Match No. 4 TOG vs. NGR – 0:2 (17:21, 17:21)
Match No. 5 NIG vs. GHA – 2:0 (21:15, 21:14)
Match No. 7 NIG vs. TOG – 2:1 (21:19, 12:21, 15:08)
Match No. 8 NGR vs.GHA – 2:0 (21:13, 21:16)

Semi Final:
Match No. 10 BEN vs. NIG – 0:2 (19:21, 10:21)
Match No. 11 NGR vs. CIV – 2:0 (21:13, 21:13)

3rd /4th place:
Match No. 12 BEN vs. CIV – 2:0 (21:13, 21:14)

Final:
Match No. 13 NIG vs. NGR – 0:2 (11:21, 14:21)

Final Ranking
1. BENIN
4. COTE D’IVOIRE

CAVB web site: http://www.cavb.org
Twitter: CAVB Tweets
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CAVBVolleyball
YouTube: CAVB Video
Instagram: CAVB_ volleyball

Nigeria Rugby Football Federation Reveals Sevens Squad For All Africa Games & Pre-Olympics Qualifiers

The NRFF has named the squad to represent Nigeria at the Africa Cup Sevens North Tournament to be held in Lome, Togo on the 6th of June, 2015. The squad, which is coached and led by South African Sevens Rugby Legend Fabian Juries, will feature a plethora of talent.

“The team features eight changes from the side that went to The Africa Cup 7s in Zimbabwe last year, with the inclusion of three foreign based players.

“In this Black Stallions squad, I think we have an extremely talented group of players with the right mix of experience and youth. I’m looking forward to seeing what the team can produce in Togo. The foreign based players will make a big difference. Dajuma has blistering pace and will be vital to the team, Ike will bring something new to this squad as well and Temi Okenla is an experienced playmaker. We will not lack pace at all as we still have our wing man; Christian Ogar and Isaac Sani will bring in his power play onto the squad.” Said Fasimoye Olatunji who is Technical Director and NRFF Vice President.

They will all Stallions will be in camp from May the 27th – June 3rd and train hard together for the task ahead.

The team also includes captain; Azeez Ladipo and young understudy fly half from Jos RFC; Alfred Oche.

Black Stallions 7s coach and ex Springbok player; Fabian Juries is the 4th highest point scorer in world 7-a-side rugby.

Black Stallions 7s team

The Complete Black Stallions Of Nigeria 7s Squad:

Azeez Olanrewaju (Nigeria Police RFC- Lagos)

Onor Jatto (Cowrie RFC- Lagos)

Ayinla Hafis (Cowrie RFC- Lagos)

Obi Wilson (Barewa RFC – Kano)

Ike Onwukanjo (UB RFC- USA)

Isaac Sani (Cowrie RFC)

Nuhu Ibrahim (Barewa RFC- Kano)

Danjuma Mshiela (Richmond RFC – UK)

Azeez Ladipo (Cowrie RFC- Lagos)

Temitope Okenla (Gravesend RFC- UK)

Christian Ogar (Cowrie RFC- Lagos)

Alfred Oche (Jos RFC- Plateau)

Islanders Set To Make Marks At Landmark Centre…Host Oluyole In Week-8 Pairing

Islanders basketball club of Lagos is gradually returning to its age-long status as one of the most followed basketball teams in Nigeria with the way it has been promoting the slamming and dunking game with superb performance week-in week-out in the DStv Premier Basketball League.

Though under a new management led by telecommunications expert Oladamoye Oyesiku who took over the Islanders basketball club franchise in the wake of 2009 by relegating his former club Kennys’ Bullets basketball club by retaining the traditional name – Islanders basketball club and with the fusion with some goal driven young Nigerians who have added flair to the club image and partnering with the management of Landmark Event Centre, Victoria-Island, Lagos.

Islanders basketball club is on the verge of becoming the envy of other clubs in the Nigerian league.

Islanders during a regular Season game at the National Stadium Surulere

With initial challenges in securing the basketball equipment which include a floor and uprights the club temporarily retained the national stadium as its home court where it has continued to build a solid fan-base which has seen it win six of its seven regular season games including great away results with an emphatic 86-62 points away win at Oluyole Warriors in Ibadan.

The Islanders will then host the Ibadan war-lords – Oluyole Warriors basketball club in a week-8 pairing at the Landmark Event Centre and has promised to give fans a worth-while first game at the Landmark by setting a mark that basketball fans will always look forward to returning to the Landmark to see the best of basketball mixed with entertainment to be provided by hip hop crooner Sound Sultan.

The May 29 week-8 game against Oluyole Warriors will be remarkable in the history of the league and the upward looking profile of Islanders basketball club at the Landmark Centre.

Club chairman, Damoye Oyesiku says plans have reached an advanced stage for the Islanders to host a hitch free first game at the Landmark by making a mark with the game against Oluyole Warriors.

Islanders at their Landmark event centre home

“We are on top of the situation and are set to have our first game at the Landmark Event Centre, gate fee will be charged and adequate preparations has been made as we set to make basketball games an enjoyable event that people will always yawn to see because we have lined-up great artistes to perform on the night.

With an impressive records of having the best offense in the Atlantic Conference where it has scored an average of 71 points per game and conceded 56.86 points per game the Islanders will host three more regular season games at the Landmark against Kwara Falcons of Ilorin (June 07) versus Union Bank (June 16) and against Delta Force (June 28).

Oluwasegun Ikuesan