The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is now the largest International Federation, with 222 National Associations.
Sao Tome & Principe and South Sudan were accepted into the ITTF family today at the ITTF Annual General Meeting (AGM) to overtake Volleyball as the largest International Federation.
At this historic moment, the ITTF President Mr Thomas Weikert stated “As the ITTF President I am very proud that ITTF has achieved the number one status in terms of membership as our goal is not just to be among the top five sports overall, but also within each area. This is then another milestone on the path to achieve this.”
The newest additions is a result of the ITTF’s Development Program’s objective to grow national associations to have table tennis played in every corner of the globe.
The ITTF Development Program, which was initiated in 1999, has now added 42 new National Associations, with new addition of 2-3 new members per year.
Now Table Tennis will be played on even more tables around the world.
Quantity is not what the ITTF is solely looking at; the Program offers support for member associations around the world support in terms of equipment, coach training, player training and more to assist them in developing and growing in a sustainable way.
With the inclusion of Sao Tome & Principe and South Sudan, the ITTF will only have 4 more countries, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and Bahamas, remaining in the Olympic family to integrate in order to reach its final goal of having a National Association in every country possible.
The ITTF is currently in contact with the Olympic Committees of these remaining countries, aiming to achieve full inclusion of all members of the Olympic family to the table tennis family.
The ITTF AGM was held in conjunction with the Qoros 2015 World Table Tennis Championships currently being held in Suzhou, China. Click here: http://bit.ly/15WTTC for more information on the world’s biggest table tennis event.
4x100m: Jamaica 36.84, 11 August 2012, London
4x200m: Jamaica 1:18.63, 24 May 2014, Nassau
4x400m: United States 2:54.29, 22 August 1993, Stuttgart
4x800m: Kenya 7:02.43, 25 August 2006, Brussels
Distance medley*: Kenya 9:15.56, 29 April 2006, Philadelphia
Women
4x100m: United States 40.82, 10 August 2012, London
4x200m: United States 1:27.46, 29 April 2000, Philadelphia
4x400m: USSR 3:15.17, 1 October 1988, Seoul
4x800m: USSR 7:50.17, 5 August 1984, Moscow
Distance medley*: United States 10:42.57 (indoors), 7 February 2015, Boston
NOTE: The payment of all prize money is dependent upon athletes undergoing and clearing the usual anti-doping procedures.
*Distance medley becomes official world record event
The distance medley (which comprises legs of 1200m, 400m, 800m, 1600m) will be officially recognised as a world record distance from 1 May 2015.
Timetable
Times are local; GMT -4 hours
Saturday 1 May:
19:00 Men’s 4x400m heats
19:29 Women’s 4x200m heats
19:46 Men’s 4x100m heats
20:09 Men’s 4x800m final
20:32 Women’s 4x400m heats
21:02 Women’s distance medley final
21:29 Men’s 4x100m final B
21:36 Women’s 4x200m final
21:52 Men’s 4x100m final
Sunday 3 May:
19:00 Men’s 4x200m heats
19:20 Women’s 4x100m heats
19:40 Women’s 4x800m final
20:02 Women’s 4x400m final B
20:12 Women’s 4x400m final
20:31 Men’s distance medley final
20:57 Men’s 4x400m final B
21:06 Men’s 4x200m final
21:23 Women’s 4x100m final B
21:30 Women’s 4x100m final
21:46 Women’s 4x400m final
The world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, will compete at the IAAF / BTC World Relays, Bahamas 2015, the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) announced on Tuesday (7).
The second edition of this innovative and exciting competition takes place in Nassau, The Bahamas on the weekend of 2-3 May.
The JAAA met on Tuesday to decide the national team for the competition and selected the multiple world and Olympic champion, and world record holder, to compete on both days in Nassau.
“I’m happy to be part of the Jamaican team for the IAAF / BTC World Relays in the Bahamas. I am fit, healthy and ready to run,” commented Bolt.
“I hear the meet was a lot of fun last year and there was a great atmosphere. Jamaica has a long and successful tradition in relays and when we put on the national colours we always do our best to make the country proud,” he added.
JAAA General Secretary Garth Gayle commented, “We were extremely pleased that Usain was available for selection and that the world’s fastest man will be running for Jamaica. We can expect some sprint magic on the track in the Bahamas on 2nd and 3rd May.”
The full Jamaican team list for the competition will be announced shortly.
The IAAF / BTC World Relays is the newest addition to the IAAF’s global competition programme, and will see more than 600 athletes from around the world compete in five relay disciplines: 4x100m, 4x200m, 4x400m, 4x800m and the distance medley relay for both men and women.
At the IAAF World Relays in 2014, three world records were set and more could fall this year.
The IAAF World Relays is the biggest sporting event to be held in The Bahamas in 2015 and it will serve as a qualifying competition for the 2016 Olympic Games.
There are just 50 days to go until the second edition of the IAAF World Relays, which will again be held in the idyllic and picturesque setting of the capital city of The Bahamas, Nassau.
The IAAF World Relays, Nassau 2015 will be held on the weekend of 2-3 May.
After the spectacular success of the inaugural IAAF World Relays at the same venue, the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium – an event which was lauded throughout the athletics world as an exciting innovation to the international athletics calendar – preliminary entries suggest that there will be a sizeable increase in athletes and teams heading to the Caribbean in just over a month’s time.
There were 276 men who competed in Nassau in 2014 and IAAF Member Federations have entered 342 names this time around.
The number of women will certainly top 200: 194 women participated last year and this time around the preliminary entry is 268.
The IAAF World Relays is the newest addition to the IAAF’s global competition programme, and will see around 600 athletes from around the world compete in five relay disciplines: 4x100m, 4x200m, 4x400m, 4x800m and the distance medley relay.
At the IAAF World Relays in 2014, three world records were set and more could fall this time around.
The IAAF World Relays is the biggest sporting event to be held in The Bahamas in 2015 and it will serve as a qualifying competition for the 2016 Olympic Games.
The IAAF website also has a dedicated section covering the IAAF World Relays.
New venues to increase opportunities in sport for women and young people.
WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari: “More and more clubs, communities, cities and nations are investing in the development of baseball and softball because it is being recognised that baseball and softball are proven and popular sporting and fan activities that engage young people across both genders as well as sponsors and broadcasters and can help to stimulate economies.”
A fresh wave of planned or recently completed baseball and softball construction projects is set to boost the growing popularity and globalisation of the bat-and-ball sports, as well as local economies, World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) officials reported. The latest developments follow historic growth for baseball and softball across Africa, with first-ever national stadiums erected in Ghana and Uganda in early 2014.
Now, as baseball and softball’s global footprint deepens, new facilities are being rolled out in the Bahamas, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain and the United Kingdom, in addition to new-builds in mature markets like Mexico — and South Korea and Taiwan, where the first-ever domed baseball stadiums are currently taking shape.
Bahamas
In 2015, a new national baseball stadium in the Bahamas — Andre Rodgers National Baseball Stadium — will be completed and “heralds rapid expansion of the game of baseball in the Bahamas,” reads a statement posted in November on the official website of the Government of the Bahamas.
Prime Minister of the Bahamas Perry Christie told reporters: “This is a result of the extraordinary progress of baseball in the [Bahamas], without government support, sponsored by people who had an interest, who stimulated young people…to get involved in baseball. We are now talking a benefit to the economy of the Bahamas.”
Government officials in the Bahamas indicate the state-of-the-art facility “will support the nation’s current energies to fully develop its sports tourism.”
Netherlands
Europe’s first state-of-the-art baseball and softball complex just outside Amsterdam in Hoofddorp, Netherlands was inaugurated for the 2014 season and has already hosted its first international competition. As well as attracting major baseball and softball events to the region and providing a new and exciting athlete-/fan-experience, the venue’s strategic location makes it very attractive as a regional training centre to further strengthen the development of baseball and softball in the Netherlands and in Europe.
In 2013, the Royal Dutch Baseball and Softball Association unveiled Europe’s first baseball and softball urban playground. The innovative “urban” concept was rolled out in Rotterdam and aims to take organised baseball and softball to the street, increasing the sports’ pathway and connection with young people in non-traditional settings.
New Zealand
Last month, the Auckland Council unveiled a new crown jewel baseball facility, cited by Auckland city officials as “the first of its kind in New Zealand.” Baseball New Zealand and McLeod Park Baseball Diamond have since been awarded the hosting rights of the U18 Baseball Oceania Championship, which serves as the qualifier for the 2015 U18 WBSC Baseball World Cup. Following McLeod Park’s opening ceremonies, officials in New Zealand have already been assessing the feasibility of building baseball’s first-ever national stadium in New Zealand.
Spain
The Instituto Barcelona Deportes (Barcelona Sports Institute) announced last week that it is set to begin construction on a new sports/community project, including the roll out of a new softball field next to baseball’s Estadio Carlos Perez de Rozas on Pierre de Coubertin Street in Barcelona.
“Sport is fundamental in Barcelona, so we are committed to providing the city with sports facilities necessary to ensure constant sport and of quality,” Deputy Mayor for Quality of Life, Equality and Sports, Ms. Maite Fandos, said in a statement.
South Africa
In a joint venture, the City of Cape Town and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport announced last month the unveiling of the rebuilt Bishop Lavis Softball field, which included laser-levelling of the pitch, installation of irrigation, construction of a backstop and fence, as well as installation of floodlights to hold training and competitions in the evenings.
“We are committed to providing facilities which will encourage communities to participate in sport and will nurture young talent. Sport encourages young people to live healthy and keeps them involved in wholesome activities and off the street,” the Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services, Alderman Belinda Walker, said in a statement.
United Kingdom
Following the first-ever dedicated baseball/softball stadium in the U.K. with Farnham Park Baseball and Softball Complex built last year in Slough, BaseballSoftballUK (BSUK) recently announced plans to build a new baseball and softball facility in Manchester to promote the sports and bolster participation numbers in the North of England. As growth has taken off in the U.K., including the newest facility inaugurated in Essex, John Boyd, BSUK Joint CEO, announced in November a project to expand the Farnham complex to include another international-standard baseball field.
U-15 Baseball World Cup
WBSC on Baseball/Softball’s Continued Trend of Global Growth
WBSC president Riccardo Fraccari hailed the wave of initiatives as a major boost for the positioning of baseball and softball as one of the world’s leading global sports, particularly as WBSC and its partners continue working toward a return baseball and softball in the Olympic Games.
“Our sport has entered into a new era of globalisation,” said the world governing body president. “More and more clubs, communities, cities and nations are investing in the development of baseball and softball because it is being recognised that baseball and softball are proven and popular sporting and fan activities that engage young people across both genders as well as sponsors and broadcasters, and can help to stimulate economies.
“WBSC, our National Federations, our professional league partners and the youth leagues are heavily invested in promoting our sport around the world to attract and reach — and remain relevant to — the next generation of athletes and sport fans, alike. This recognition and support from governmental institutions to help drive growth marks a significant break through for our sport in terms of universality and evolving into a truly global sport.”
Based on data compiled, the WBSC estimates that over 65 million athletes practice the sport of baseball and softball in over 140 countries, with youth and females making up the majority of the participation-demographic.
The Commonwealth Games Federation has rescued the dreams of a group of athletes from Kenya, Jamaica, Uganda, Trinidad and Tobago, Tanzania, Australia, Ghana, and the Bahamas by approving their late entry to take part in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow starting this Wednesday (July 23).
A well-advertised deadline for entries closed on June 11, but due to a number of oversights by their own administrators the athletes were not entered and faced missing their events.
The officials from the eight countries sought special dispensation from the Commonwealth Games Federation for a total of 48 affected athletes.
“The CGF Executive Board took the view that wherever possible athletes should not suffer because of the failings of their administrators,” said CGF President, HRH Prince Imran.
“But we also had to ensure that the extra numbers could be accommodated at this very late stage within the existing complex operations and schedules, and without unfairly impact on those properly entered.
“We thank the Glasgow Organising Committee for working through the issues at this very busy time to allow us to assist the athletes.”
“The CGF and the Organising Committee are committed to these Games being athlete-centred and sport focused.”
All 48 athletes affected will now be able to partake in the Games.
“These athletes have trained for years for the opportunity to take part at Glasgow and we welcome them to these Commonwealth Games and wish them well,” said Prince Imran.
“But these situations must be avoided in the future. There is an on-going review of the sports program which will culminate at our General Assembly next year in Auckland and the CGF Board will, as part of that process, look at imposing sanctions against those Commonwealth Games Associations who fail to meet important deadlines that impact on the Games’ operations and their own athletes.”
The first ever IAAF World Relays will play out to a worldwide TV audience and a sold out stadium this coming weekend (Sat 24 / Sun 25 May) in the Bahamas.
The inaugural edition of the IAAF World Relays, which takes place in Nassau’s Thomas A. Robinson Stadium, has attracted teams from more than 40 nations comprising more than 500 athletes who form the best relay quartets on the planet, including the USA, Jamaica, Kenya and Russia.
The innovative two-day competition will see men and women compete in the 4x100m, 4x200m, 4x400m, 4x800m and 4x1500m in front of sell-out crowds.
A total prize purse of USD $1.4 million is on offer, and the top eight teams in the 4x100m and 4x400m will automatically qualify for the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing.
Fans worldwide can feel some of the Caribbean magic which awaits Nassau this weekend thanks to extensive broadcasting coverage of this new event.
LIVE TV coverage will include Pan-Europe on Eurosport, Pan-Asia on multiple Fox Sports and Star Sports channels, in the USA on Universal Sports, in Brazil on SporTV2, Pan-Middle East on Abu Dhabi Sports Channel 5, and Pan Sub-Saharan Africa on Supersport Channels.
There will also be a mixture of live, highlights and delayed coverage being delivered by Official IAAF Broadcaster TBS in Japan and many other broadcasters across the globe.
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) now has 220 National Associations, which is the equal most of any sport in the world.
The ITTF Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Tokyo, Japan earlier this month accepted Mali and US Virgin Islands to join the ITTF family, which brings the ITTF equal with the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) as the world’s leading sport in terms of member countries.
Reflecting on this historic achievement, ITTF’s CEO Judit Farago stated: “The ITTF membership has been increased from 180 to 220 in 15 years which is an obvious result of the successful ITTF Development Program started in 1999.”
ITTF’s world class development program pushes ITTF National Associations to 220
“It makes us proud and happy that table tennis is played and has an established administration structure in almost every corner of the world. The fact that the number puts us equal with the FIVB in terms of membership among all International Federations is a bonus and a boost in our long-term objective to be in the top 5 sports in the Olympic movement.”
There is now only five associations that have a National Olympic Committee but are not yet an ITTF National Association: Guinea Bisseau, Cape Verde, Sao Tome & Principe, Eritrea and the Bahamas.
ITTF Deputy CEO, Glenn Tepper, who initiated the ITTF Development Program 15 years ago, added: “When I started the ITTF Development Program as a pilot project in Oceania in 1999, we had 180 members. One of the challenges given to me was to have table tennis played in every corner of the globe. Since that time we have progressively added several new members each year in a sustainable way providing technical and equipment assistance to all new members. We are now very close to our initial aim. We already have contact with the 5 remaining countries and I am confident that by the time of the Opening Ceremony at the Rio Olympic Games that table tennis will be played in every corner of the globe and that every country participating in Rio will have an active table tennis program.”
From the humble beginnings in 1999 with a budget of just US$30,000 and one staff, the ITTF Development Program has grown into an award-winning program with the world’s best practise in its field, ran by 10 full-time and 100 part-time staff providing over 100 courses and 30 equipment packages annually and with a budget of over 1 million dollars.
Close to 800 athletes are expected to compete at the first edition of the IAAF World Relays, which will be held on 24-25 May in Nassau, the capital of The Bahamas.
Preliminary entry figures indicate that 48 member federations will take part in Nassau. Initial entries of 762 athletes – 440 men and 322 women – have been received by the IAAF as 90 men’s teams and 64 women’s teams will be spread across the five events.
The 4x100m, 4x200m, 4x400m, 4x800m and 4x1500m will all be contested at the inaugural World Relays.
The top eight teams in both the men’s and women’s 4x100m and 4x400m will automatically qualify for the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing.
In addition, the top eight teams in each event will be awarded prize money with the gold medallists taking home no less than USD $50,000. In the event that a team breaks a world record in Nassau, an additional bonus of USD $50,000 will be awarded.
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