Strong Wind Opens Youth Worlds Sailing Championships

Day one of the 45th Youth Sailing World Championships was full on with big breeze and plenty of waves greeting the sailors for the first races.

Langkawi, Malaysia offered the record numbers of 425 sailors from 76 nations up to 20 knots of wind which eased off throughout the long day. There were nerves on shore as the afternoon session was delayed, but were put aside as the young sailors did what they came to do, sail.

With everyone trying to get off to a flyer to set up their tilt at a gold medal, it would seem that today was reserved for the few who liked the stronger winds that Langkawi had to offer for its first racing day.

Laser Radial

Returning to the Youth Worlds after finishing fifth in Tavira, Portugal last year, Australia’s Alistair Young got off to a great start with a bullet in the first race and a fourth in the second to sit on top of the leaderboard after the first day of racing.

Obviously wanting to push in to the medal places, the Aussie was happy to have strong wind to start of the regatta, conditions which the youngster enjoys, “It started off pretty windy, about 20 knots in the first race and pretty choppy. I managed to do alright though. I picked the shifts and sailed fast and won the race which was great to calm the nerves first race in.”

Calm the nerves it has as he looks at the days to follow and the possible drop in knots that could come, “We may get some lighter winds so it will be shiftier so we will all get some bigger scores, so the drops will be needed later on. I prefer the stronger winds but I don’t mind to be honest. What you get is what you get so you just have to go out there and do what you can in the conditions that are there.”

The second winner of the day was Finland’s Oskari Muhonen, who was also at Tavira with Young, so experience in the regatta came to the fore. The Finnish sailor’s bullet followed a ninth and leaves him laying in fourth overall.

Ecuador’s Matias Dyck must have been feeling happy and confident going in to the second race after finishing just behind Young in race one. That was short lived though when he was one of nine sailors to be black flagged out of race two. The Ecuadorian will be looking to drop that from his scorecard with some good sailing for the rest of the regatta.

USA’s Nicholas Baird and New Zealand’s George Gautrey finished near the top of the order in both races to sit in second and third respectively.

In the girl’s section, the top five is held by Europe with Poland’s Magdalena Kwasna currently in pole position on six points thanks to a bullet and fifth place. With a ninth place finish in Tavira, Portugal, it would seem that just like the boy’s fleet, experience in this event is paying off on the first day.

Sitting just behind in second is Hungary’s Maria Erdi who somehow seems to defy her age with an attitude and outlook of a seasoned competitor. Despite making mistakes throughout both races, Erdi never let it get to her as she says with her ever present smile, “I’m happy with my results but I did make some mistakes. I was leading in the first race quite a lot in the first upwind and then I capsized twice in the first downwind so I dropped back to fifth. But I managed to come back to finish third.

“In the second race it was quite tricky, I think I was about tenth around the first mark but managed to move up and finished fifth.”

So how does a sailor at the Youth Worlds handle the mistakes? Simply it would seem for the young Hungarian, “I tried to forget about the first race at the second start and I had a clear head. But it’s only the first day so anything can happen.”

Even with self-confessed mistakes, Erdi sits in second, joint on eight points with Germany’s Hannah Anderssohn who had a steady day with two fourth place finishes.

Taking the first bullet of the day was New Zealand’s Alexandra Nightingale who couldn’t carry the form through to the second race where she finished 19th. Nightingale currently sits in tenth place overall with those two results.

Hungary Laser Radial Women Helm HUNME1 M‡riaƒrdi, Day1, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships,
Langkawi, Malaysia

29er

For the all girl’s 29er fleet, it was Poland’s Aleksandra Melzacka and Maja Micinska who took the first bullet, although they didn’t think it was going to happen sitting on shore waiting to go out.

After a two hour postponement ashore the fleet headed out onto the water and Melzacka, obviously pleased from the smile on her face, described the first win in 29er girl’s from her perspective, “I was very stressed waiting on shore. The wind was very strong and we are quite a light crew. But as the wind got lower it was better for us. We work well in about 15 knots, and the first race when we went out was 15 knots so it was perfect in the end.

“We were very happy to win. On the first mark we were about fifth, but we managed to comeback and win. We were really excited about it.”

The Polish girls followed up with a discarded seventh and second place to sit top overall on three points.

Finland’s Sirre Kronlof and Veera Hokka occupied the top three in one way or another with a second and two third place finishes which leaves them in second spot.

An eighteenth place for Great Britain’s Courtney Bilbrough and Harriet Ward in the first race didn’t dent their confidence as they came back to take a bullet in the second race. The third bullet of the day went to Netherlands’ Odile Van Aanholt and Ismene Usman.

With consistent results, Norway’s Mathisen brothers, Tomas and Mads lead the way in the boy’s 29er. A bullet followed two third place finishes which leaves them above USA’s Romain Screve and Quinn Wilson who had a discarded 12th place sandwiched between two second places.

First bullet of the day went to current third placed pair from Slovenia, Peter Lin Janezic and Anze Podlogar. The other team to take a bullet on day one was Netherland’s Cas Van Dongen and Robin Becker who will be disappointed they couldn’t break the top 10 in their other races. They sit in sixth overall.

RS:X

There is always some one that is happy with the start that they make, and in Langkawi it was Argentina’s Francisco Saubidet Birkner who described his as ‘perfect’.

If you are being picky, it wasn’t a perfect scorecard of three bullets, but in terms of the rest of the field, it was as good as it gets with everyone else having a mixed bag of results. Standing confidently next to his board, job done for the day, Birkner said, “It was perfect. The first race I finished first, second race third and then the last I finished second. The wind was very shifty and difficult but I was fast. I always went to the right side and always had wind so it was a good choice for me.”

At the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games, Birkner took gold, and he has taken that knowledge and compared it to the Youth Worlds saying, “It is similar to the Youth Olympics. Nearly the same guys with the same level. We all know each other and everyone is together. I like it.”

Birkner certainly does like it as he has taken the knowledge and used it the best in the fleet. His closest rivals are France’s Titquan Le Bosq who lies in second and Brazil’s Brenno Francioli in third.

Australia’s Jock Calvert and Russia’s Maxim Tokarev took the other bullets of the day but neither could break the top ten in any of their other races which sees them lay in 12th and eighth respectively.

Determined to hold on to her gold medal from the 2014 Youth Worlds, Russia’s Stefania Elfutina finished the day with a bullet and two second places. The competitor may be different, but the country is the same as Elfutina’s closest rival is again from China in the form of Xian Ting Huang.

Huang took the first bullet of the day and followed it up with a discarded third and a second to sit jointly on top with Elfutina on three points.

Great Britain’s Emma Wilson is on five points in third thanks to a bullet in the second race to go along with her two fourth place finishes.

Australia Laser Radial Men Helm AUSAY3 Alistair Young, Day1, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships, Langkawi, Malaysia

420

If the regatta can be judged on the first day then Australia and USA will be tussling it out all week in the boy’s 420. As we know this isn’t the case, but Australia’s Alec Brodie and Xavier Winston Smith have the upper hand on day one with two bullets.

Following behind in both races with two second places was USA’s Will Logue and Bram Brakman who then let the rest of the fleet fight it out behind them.

Rounding out the top three is Singapore’s Jia Yi Loh and Matthew Lau who end the day with a fifth and third place in the bag. Finishing third in race one was Ireland’s Douglas Elmes and Colin O’Sullivan, but an unlucky 13th in the next drops them down to seventh on the leaderboard.

Australia’s Nia Jerwood and Lisa Smith and Poland’s Julia Szmit and Hanna Dzik share top spot in the girl’s 420 on five points.

Jerwood and Smith took a bullet in the second race to follow their fourth while Szmit and Dzik had a second and third.

Rounding out the top three is New Zealand’s Kerensa Jennings and Chelsea Rees who have seven points.

SL16

The SL16 fleet were unable to race on Tuesday due to a shipping delay in advance of competition.

The full quota of equipment is due to arrive in the next 12 hours with racing scheduled to start at the earliest possible opportunity. The fleet will look to catch up on the races missed, utilising the championships reserve day of Friday 1 January.

Racing continues tomorrow with an earlier start for the sailors to ensure they are on the water before the low tide can take effect and delay the launching.

Richard Aspland

Egypt, Nigeria Dominate ATTF TOP RANKING FOR 2015

The African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) today released the final ranking for African table tennis players for the year 2015, as usual the list is dominated by Egyptian table tennis players both male and female.

The Egyptian domination is testament to the great work the Egyptian Federation as put in to the development of the game locally, Omar Assar and Dina Meshref both top the male and female top twenty rankings after winning most of the table tennis events on the African Continent.

Omar and Meshref also represented Africa at the world championships in 2015. Former ITTF Star of the year Award winner Aruna Quadri is placed second on the ATTF top twenty followed by another Egyptian Lanshin El-Saheed.

There are 9 Egyptians in the men’s top 20 ranking, 6 Nigerians players including the Veteran Segun Toriola, Congo have got 3 players in the top 20 while one player each from Algeria and Benin Republic make up the top 20 Table Tennis players on the African continent.

The African Women’s top twenty rankings is also dominated by Egypt with 13 players followed by Nigeria and Algeria with 3 players and each while Congo and Cameroon have both got 1 player each in the top twenty.

Egypt’s Omar Assar and Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri during the presentation for the men’s singles final won by the Egyptian at the just concluded ITTF World Tour, Lagos Open at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium at the weekend

Last ITTF 205 Ranking

African Table Tennis Federation

1 ASSAR Omar – EGY 252

2 ARUNA Quadri – NGR 227

3 LASHIN El-Sayed – EGY 188

4 SALEH Ahmed Ali – EGY 158

5 EL-BEIALI Mohamed – EGY 156

6 ASSAR Khalid – EGY 143

7 IDOWU Saheed – CGO 129

8 TORIOLA Segun – NGR 110

9 WANG Jianan – CGO 89

10 ONAOLAPO Ojo – NGR 85

11 KHURTA Idir – ALG 84

12 KAZEEM Makanjuola – NGR 60

13 ASHRAF Ahmed – EGY 60

14 SAKA Suraju – CGO 59

15 AJETUNMOBI Seun – NGR 42

16 ABIODUN Bode – NGR 40

17 GUIGANFODE Olouwachehoun – BEN 40

18 BEDAIR Omar – EGY 40

19 MAGDY Shady – EGY 40

20 NADIM Ahmed – EGY 40

Dina MESHREF, Egypt

1 MESHREF Dina – EGY 256

2 EL-DAWLATLY Nadeen- EGY 228

3 HAN Xing – CGO 204

4 OSHONAIKE Olufunke – NGR 189

5 EDEM Offiong – NGR 157

6 HANFFOU Sarah – CMR 130

7 HELMY Yousra – EGY 107

8 ABDEL-AZIZ Farah – EGY 100

9 AKPAN (OFFIONG) Cecilia – NGR 74

10 ALAA Fatma – EGY 60

11 NASSER Galila – EGY 60

12 YOUSRY Noha – EGY 60

13 YOUSRY Amira – EGY 58

14 LAID Islem – ALG 57

15 LOGHRAIBI Lynda – ALG 54

16 EL-ERAKY Reem – EGY 40

17 HASSAN Sara – EGY 40

18 KHALED Salma – EGY 40

19 SHOUMAN Fagr – EGY 40

20 LAGSIR Sannah – ALG 39

NFF Reconstitutes Emergency Committee

The Nigeria Football Federation has announced the constitution of its Emergency Committee, with other standing committees and judicial bodies to be reconstituted in due course.

As prescribed by the Statutes, NFF President Amaju Pinnick is the chairman of the Emergency Committee, with 1st Vice President, Barr. Seyi Akinwunmi as his deputy.

The membership of NFF Emergency Committee is drawn from across the geopolitical zones, with Chief Felix Anyansi-Agwu (Chairman of the Technical and Development Committee) representing the South-East; Alh. Yusuf Ahmed Fresh (Chairman of the Referees Committee) representing the North-Central; Alh. Babagana Kalli (Chairman of the Players’ Status Committee) representing the North-East and; Ibrahim Musa Gusau (Chairman of Chairmen) representing the North-West.

NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, is the Secretary of the Emergency Committee.

It would be recalled that NFF President Amaju Pinnick announced the dissolution of the body’s 18 standing committees and two judicial bodies immediately after the 71st Annual General Assembly which took place in Abuja on December 16.

ITTF lists two Nigerian umpires for Rio 2016 Olympic, Paralympic Games

Nigeria will not only have Table Tennis players in action at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, two of Nigeria’s foremost umpires, John Peters and Cecilia Arinye have been confirmed by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) as match officials for the multi-sports championship in Brazil.

With Aruna Quadri and Funke Oshonaike already confirmed for the Rio Olympic Games, the certified ITTF blue badge umpires, Peters and Arinye will be among the 47 umpires listed by the world table tennis ruling body for the tournament.

Globally, few umpires make it to the Olympic Games but again this has confirmed Nigeria’s relevance in table tennis with Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria being the only countries in Africa with officials at the games.

Peters, who is among the longest serving umpires in Africa, will officiate at the Olympic Games while Arinye, who is the Director of Sports, University of Lagos will be in action at the Paralympic Games.

The duo have joined the list of few umpires in the world to make it to the Olympic while the late Patience Ikeme-Iwuno was among the four umpires selected from Africa for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Peters, who started his officiating career in the 1970s became an international umpire in 1980 and he has officiated at various African Games including the 2015 edition in Congo Brazzaville, he was also at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland while Arinye, an ex-international is also an experienced umpire who has officiated in various international tournaments across the globe was also part of the umpire team at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Besides Peters and Arinye, Algeria’s duo of Mouhssene Yahia-Cherif and Abdellah Boudjehem will handle proceedings at the Olympic and Paralympic Games respectively while Egypt’s pair of Magdy Edriss and ElSaied Ragab will be on duty as well in Brazil.

Umpires Cecilia Arinye, And John Peters

According to the President, African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Khaled El-Salhy, the listing of umpires from Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria again confirmed the giant stride made by the these countries in terms of officiating.

For the list of umpires for Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Africa (3), Europe (7), Asia (6), Latin America (3), North America (2) and Oceania (1) totalling 22 while for the Paralympic Games, Africa (3), Asia (7), Europe (8), Latin America (3), North America (2) and Oceania (2) making it 25 officials.

However, South Africa’s Rodrique Volkwyn is the Deputy Referee for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Bullet Energy Drink Inspires Nigerian Youth to Break Barriers

Bullet Energy Drink, Nigeria’s most famous youth friendly drink, has encouraged Nigerian youths to look beyond their present circumstance and break any limitation that may be standing between them and their dream.

Ex-basketball star and Bullet Energy drink brand ambassador, Samuel Oguche gave the advice when the Bullet Energy Drink team visited and inspired a group of youths, who were participating at this year’s Mark d ball basketball tournament in Otukpo, Benue State.

Speaking shortly after the presentation of gifts to deserving youth at the Mark d ball tournament provided by Bullet Energy Drink, Oguche stressed that the rewards by Bullet Energy Drink will continue to be a remarkable one for the kids in many years to come.

Bullet Energy Drink Inspires Nigerian Youth to Break Barriers

He noted that Bullet Energy Drink has been at the forefront of youth empowerment by promoting initiatives that help them reach their full potential.

Bullet Energy Drink has developed several platforms that are geared towards adding value to the youth and this year, young Nigerians won many Prizes from bullet Energy Drink as part of its contribution towards developing Nigerian kids.

2016 Men’s African Olympic Volleyball Qualifiers: Algeria In Top Form

Algeria Men’s volleyball team finalises their preparation for the 2016 Men’s African Olympic qualifiers in a training camp in Poland until January 3, 2015.

The African Olympic qualification tournament due to start on January 7 will hosted by Congo Brazzaville, where the winner will book a direct ticket to Rio de Janeiro, while the second and third ranked teams will have another chance of qualification though the World Olympic qualifiers.

The camp in Poland will include some friendly matches which will be the last stage of preparations. The Algerian team enters the qualification as heavy favourites as they had a star studded team that won the gold medal of the 2015 All Africa Games early in September.

Algeria celebrate their gold medal win at the 2015 All Afirca Games

The head coach Mouloud Ikhedji selected the team squad of ; Dekkiche akram, Dekkiche ayoub, Kessai khaled, Assam samy, Achouri Ilyes, Ould cherchali islam, Oumsaad amine, Kerboua amir, Heddad seddam, Ikken boudjemaa, Abiayad walid, Bouyoucef sofiane, Bourouba youcef, Aid zakaria and El hadi abdelkader.

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

FEI World Cup™ Vaulting 2015/2016 – Round 4: Jaiser, Drewell, Jacobs and Engelberty show class at Mechelen

Germany’s Jannis Drewell produced his second successive win of the FEI World Cup™ Vaulting 2015/2016 series at the Christmas Show in Mechelen, Belgium where Switzerland’s Simone Jäiser topped the Female Individual podium and Germany’s Torben Jacobs and Pia Engelberty scooped the Pas-de-Deux honours.

The hugely popular Belgian event presented the fourth of this season’s five qualifying rounds, and Drewell, world no 1 and FEI European Male Vaulting champion, produced another spectacular performance backed up by his horse, Lago Maggiore and lunger Simone Drewell.

Jäiser also enjoyed her second win of the season, having previously topped the line-up at the opening leg in Madrid, Spain in November. And Jacobs and Engelberty secured a clear-cut Pas-de-Deux victory, the pair who took European bronze in 2013, and silver medals at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy (FRA) and again at the FEI European Championships in Aachen, Germany this summer looking as highly competitive as ever when pinning their Swiss rivals into second and third places.

The Vaulting action at Mechelen was all staged on Saturday 26 December, with the first round taking place during the noisy Kids matinee performance. The stadium was packed to capacity, with almost 7,000 spectators enjoying the entertainment, and some of the Vaulting horses were a bit nervous about the sound levels at this stage in the day. The atmosphere in Mechelen is always special, with the proximity of the onlookers creating extra pressure, but all of the Vaulting combinations returned with much greater confidence for the evening session which decided the final results.

Individual Male

Drewell threw down the gauntlet with a convincing win in the first round of the Individual Male competition when he earned a score of 8.411. The technical judges, Dalibor Blazek from the Czech Republic at B and The Netherlands’ Rob de Bruin at D, gave the 24-year-old athlete marks of 9.094 and 9.200 respectively. And when these were added to a massive 9.175 artistic marks from Judge at C, Jochen Schiffarth from Germany, then not even the relatively modest 6.175 awarded by Austria’s Elisabeth Mueliner for the horse’s performance could prevent Drewell from pinning fellow-countryman Thomas Brusewitz into second place ahead of French vaulter Clement Taillez in third.

And Drewell returned to do it all once more that evening, posting 8.413 to leave Thomas Brusewitz once again in his wake on 8.243 while another French contender, Vincent Haennel, this time claimed third spot on 8.143. These three athletes held on to those positions when the two competition scores were combined for a final result, Drewell finishing on a final tally of 8.412 ahead of Brusewitz on 8.174 and Haennel on 8.012.

The breath-taking height that Drewell can reach in his jumps once again held the delighted spectators in awe. Asked about his ability to stay in balance while performing such daring movements, the individual European champion joked afterwards, “well this is Jumping Mechelen, isn’t it? That’s why I jumped so high!”

His horse didn’t get the highest marks on the day, but Drewell said “he wasn’t spooky at all, so that helped me to do a good test”.

Individual Female

It was all plain sailing for Jäiser too, as she set the standard when scoring 8.858 in the opening session of the Individual Female competition and then came back to build on that when posting 8.683 for another win in the second round. French Vaulter, Anne-Sophie Musset, lined up second on both occasions and of course in the final analysis. Switzerland’s Pascale Wagner finished third in round 1 ahead of Germany’s Kristina Boe in fourth. But Boe moved into third spot second time out and also took third-place points at the end of the day.

Jäiser, who was so narrowly pipped by Italy’s Anna Cavallaro at the previous leg in Salzburg, Austria three weeks ago commented, “it is unusual to have the two rounds on one day in a World Cup, but in Switzerland we often have the same so we are used to it. The time was long enough between the two rounds so that it was OK for the horses. It was a great atmosphere here, and I was very happy with my performance” said the 29-year-old reigning European Champion.

Pas-de-Deux

There were only three partnerships competing in the Pas-de-Deux, but this competition is always a crowd-pleaser and the hugely experienced Torben Jacobs and Pia Engelberty showed exactly why they were well-fancied to come out on top in this leg of the series. The German duo were already in a league of their own when scoring 8.639 in the first round, judge at D, Austria’s Elisabeth Mueliner, awarding them an impressive 9.427 for their technical excellence while judge at C, Czech Republic’s Dalibor Blazek, awarded 8.925 artistic marks to leave them a long way ahead of Switzerland’s Alexandra Lowy and Ursina Dubs in second place and Zoe Maruccio and Syra Schmid in third.

And the winning pair scored even higher in the second round, with technical marks of 9.635 and 9.152 helping them on their way to an overall final scoreline of 8.659 for an undisputed victory with their horse, Danny Boy, and lunger Alexandra Knauf. Lowey and Dubs completed on 6.909 for second place while Maruccio and Schmid finished third on a final mark of 6.086.

Delighted

Engelberty and Jacobs were delighted with their result. “ We had a great test that was very much appreciated by the public. This time of year, so close after Christmas, it is no problem for us to compete. We were very happy to come to Mechelen and we would like to congratulate and thank the organisers for allowing us to perform in front of such a big audience!” Engelberty said.

The Netherlands’ Rob de Bruin, who was President of the Ground Jury for Vaulting at Mechelen, thanked the Mechelen Show Committee for including the discipline in their show programme this year. “We saw very good tests today, but of course we had some of the best vaulters in the world in action. We were very happy with this first FEI World Cup in Mechelen, and we would like to thank the organisers for the welcome they have given us!” he said.

For further information on the fourth leg of the FEI World Cup™ Vaulting 2015/2016 series in Mechelen (BEL) on 26 December 2015, visit http://www.jumping-mechelen.com

The fifth and final qualifier of the series will take place in Leipzig, Germany 14/17 January 2016. For details of the German fixture visit http://www.engarde.de or

Reach for the stars! German sensation, Jannis Drewell, jumped sky high to win the Individual Male category at the fourth leg of the FEI World Cup™ Vaulting 2015/2016 series at Mechelen, Belgium. (FEI/Dirk Caremans)

Results FEI World Cup™ Vaulting 2015/2016 – Round 4, Mechelen (BEL):

Female Individual:

1, Simone Jäiser (SUI) 8.771;

2, Anne-Sophie Musset (FRA) 8.318;

3, Kristina Boe (GER) 7.961;

4, Pascale Wagner (SUI) 7.901;

5, Corinna Knauf (GER) 7.866;

6, Claire de Ridder (NED) 7.704;

7, Carola Sneekes (NED) 7.535;

8, Lauren Vanlerberghe (BEL) 6.723;

9, Tessy Maertens (BEL) 5.301.

Male Individual:

1, Jannis Drewell (GER) 8.412;

2, Thomas Brusewitz (GER) 8.174;

3, Vincent Haennel (FRA) 8.012;

4, Daniel Kaiser (GER) 8.008;

5, Clement Taillez (FRA) 7.868;

6, Lukas Klouda (CZE) 7.773;

7, Viktor Brusewitz (GER) 7.305.

Pas-de-Deux:

1, Torben Jacobs/Pia Engelberty GER 8.659;

2, Alexandra Lowy/Ursina Dubs (SUI) 6.909;

3, Zoe Maruccio/Syra Schmid (SUI) 6.086.

Louise Parkes

OFFICIAL BIDS RECEIVED FOR HOSTING 2016 IAAF EVENTS

Following the Letters of Interest received from seven Member Federations which were announced on 9 December, the IAAF is pleased to confirm the final list of cities who have submitted official bids for the 2016 IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships and 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships.

An accelerated bidding process was opened for the two events following the full suspension of the Russian IAAF Member Federation ARAF, who were originally set to stage both competitions.

Federations were formally invited to submit completed bid applications by 22 December.

The interested federations are:

2016 IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships
Ecuador (Guayaquil)
Italy (Rome)
Mexico (Monterrey)
Ukraine (Kiev)

2016 IAAF World U20 Championships
Poland (Bydgoszcz)

The IAAF will review all applications from now until 6 January. An electronic vote among the IAAF Council will take place on 7 January to decide the two host venues, after which the successful candidate cities will be announced.

IAAF

Records Broken As Youth Worlds Opens In Langkawi

The 45th edition of the Youth Sailing World Championships has been declared open by World Sailing Vice President Chris Atkins at the opening ceremony in Langkawi, Malaysia.

During the ceremony, 425 sailors, 125 coaches and officials from a record 76 countries paraded towards the Astaka of the Lagenda Park with their national flags waving for all to see.

Cultural Performance at the Youth Sailing World Championships Langkawi, Malaysia

The event breaks all previous numbers in terms of participation and number of nations. The previous best of 67, achieved at the 2014 event in Tavira, Portugal, was easily surpassed with a number of new and returning nations in Malaysia.

Competing in five classes across nine events, the sailors were introduced before the traditional Mixing of the Waters in which sea water from each country, brought by the sailors, was mixed and later poured into the Malaysian sea as a symbol of their participation.

Speeches were delivered by World Sailing Vice President Chris Atkins, Malaysian Youth Sports Minister YB. Encik Khairy Jamaluddin and Tan Sri Khalid from the Langkawi Development Authority.

World Sailing VP Chris Atkins Speaking at the Youth Sailing World Championships Langkawi, Malaysia

During the opening ceremony World Sailing Vice President Chris Atkins thanked those involved in organizing the championships, coaches and supporters in attendance as well as the sailors.

Atkins also highlighted the importance of the event saying, “The Youth Sailing World Championships gives the sailors from the very largest to the very smallest country of the world that vital stepping stone from their junior sailing to the Olympics. It gives the sailors the first opportunity to be selected and then represent their country at an international event.”

He continued, “We couldn’t do this without our boat manufacturers. They are the people who have to cope with the growth of this fantastic event. Laser Performance and Constant Wind. Ovington and UpMarine. Nautivela, Neil Pryde and Sirena Voile, thank you for your continuing support. It’s you along with the wind that allow us to go sailing.”

To celebrate the opening of the 45th Youth Sailing World Championships, Vice President Chris Atkins passed the World Sailing flag to the Malaysian Navy who had the responsibility of hoisting the flag to declare the event open.

Malaysian team at the Youth Sailing World Championships Langkawi, Malaysia

Following the ceremony, the sailors enjoyed Malaysian cuisine on the Lagenda Park beach with the eagle at Dataran Lang looking over them ahead of racing while local dancers graced the stage with a cultural performance.

Attention will now turn to the first day of racing which is scheduled to start at 10:00 local time on Tuesday 29 December. Racing continues through to 3 January 2016 where nine Youth World Sailing Champions will be crowned.

ICE PRINCE; BASKETBALL MY BEST GAME, BULLET ENERGY DRINK MY BEST DRINK

The multinational mega corporation Bullet Energy Drink has been supporting Basketball and Musical artists at the on-going Mark D ball basketball tournament in Otukpo Benue state and Music Super Star Ice Price Zamani revealed his love for basketball and Bullet Energy Drink after his stage performance at the tournament on Sunday.

Speaking to newsmen shortly before the game between the Blame It On Experience and the ESPN boys, Ice Prince said he grew up playing the game of basketball in Jos and the game will always be in his heart.

When asked about his energetic stage rendition, Ice Prince stated that he replaces his lost elegy after each musical show with Bullet Energy Drink which boost his power on stage.

For the first time in history of Mark D ball tournament, Bullet Energy Drink is bringing a message of Hope to basketball by giving so much to Nigerian youth and this formed the reason why Iconic Ice Prince decided to commend Bullet Energy Drink for its efforts so far.

“I Remain Committed To Basketball Development” “I Remain Committed To Basketball Development”

Few years after calling it quits with the national basketball team, ex-basketball international, Samuel Oguche says the reason why he still looks sharp and fit on basketball court is due to his strict healthy living.

Speaking after his scintillating performance at the on going annual Mark D Ball basketball tournament in Otukpo Benue state, the basketball journeyman stated that he never indulged in any activity that could jeopardize his playing career during his active days.

He said his love for the game has no limit and so he would go the extra mile to assist the upcoming lads in building their basketball career.

Samuel Oguche thanked Bullet Energy Drink for all the rewards giving to kids during the Mark D Ball tournament.

BURUJ HAILS SEYI AKINWUNMI CHARITY MINI TOURNAMENT…

BURUJ HAILS SEYI AKINWUNMI…As Top Personalities Feature In Novelty Match

The who-is-who in Nigeria’s football fraternity on Sunday, December 27 2015 inside the campos Mini-stadium, gathered to celebrate and identify with the noble initiative of one of their own, as this year’s edition of Seyi Akinwunmi Charity Mini-Tournament was drawn to a close.

Barr. Seyi Akinwunmi, 1st Vice President of Nigeria Football Federation, Chairman LSFA

In a novelty match which pitched two sides of Seyi Akinwunmi’s friends against each other, the side led by the Chairman of Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, defeated their opponents captained by Seyi Akinwunmi, featuring the likes of the Managing Director of Buruj Sports Academy, Dr. Salaudeen Waheed, and a host of other top football and entertainment personalities by three goals to two.

Speaking after the match, the Managing Director of Buruj Sports Academy, Salaudeen Waheed, lauded the 1st Vice President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi, for what he described as his commitment to the welfare of fellowmen using the round leather game. He also hailed all the dignitaries that took some time off to grace the occasion, saying it was an indication that football as a sport is one unifying factor that glues the country’s diversity together even much more than politics.

“We at Buruj are happy to identify with the initiative of the 1st Vice President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi. The charity tournament is one laudable initiative which all well meaning Nigerians should encourage and support.”

BURUJ Football Academy…

“Barrister Akinwunmi is a lovable personality both within and outside the football fraternity and I am glad our people repaid him through their presence and participation in this year’s edition. It means we are all together and there is no bridge that football cannot build,” he said.

Other notable personalities at the event were Deji Tinubu who is a Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Sports Matters; a top officer of the Nigeria Football Federation, Shehu Dikko, popular Comedian, AY, and many more.