Baku 2015 Volleyball preliminary round pools announced

Baku 2015 European Games has today announced the composition of the pools for the preliminary round of the Volleyball competition. Twelve teams will feature at the inaugural European Games in the men’s and women’s competitions respectively, of which nine have qualified through their position in the latest European rankings. Hosts Azerbaijan feature automatically, and two other teams qualify through their standings in the last four competitions of the CEV Volleyball European League. The Baku 2015 European Games Volleyball pool composition is detailed below, with teams’ European rankings in brackets. Azerbaijan were allocated the top spot in Pool A as host country in both the men’s and women’s competitions.

Men:

Pool A: Azerbaijan, Serbia, Poland, France, Finland, Turkey  

Pool B: Russia, Italy, Bulgaria, Germany, Belgium, Slovakia

Women:

Pool A: Azerbaijan, Italy, Turkey, Poland, Belgium, Romania  

Pool B: Russia, Serbia, Germany, Netherlands, Croatia, Bulgaria

Teams will play the other members of their pools in a single round-robin format, with the top four teams from each pool qualifying for the quarter-finals.  Mr Simon Clegg, Chief Operating Officer of Baku 2015, said: “Volleyball is one of the most popular sports on the Baku 2015 European Games programme, and we are very much looking forward to staging a top-level competition here in June”. Pool B of the men’s competition will feature the current Olympic champions, Russia, taking on Italy, who claimed bronze at London 2012, in a rematch of the 2013 European Championship final, while world champions Poland will have to contend with a strong Serbian team in Pool A, as well as France, who had a successful campaign at last year’s World Championship, ending the competition in fourth place. Reruns of the 2011 and 2013 European Championship finals will provide two of the highlights for the women’s preliminary round, as Serbia, Russia and Germany have been assigned to the same pool.

Mr André Meyer, President of the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV), said: “All of Europe’s top teams are set to compete in Baku at the inaugural European Games, and the pool composition will provide us with a series of high-profile matches right from the outset. We look forward to a great sporting display this summer in Azerbaijan, and are confident that the Volleyball competition will be one of the real highlights of the Baku 2015 European Games”. Mr Pierce O’Callaghan, Director of Sport at Baku 2015, added: “The top European Volleyball teams have chosen to compete in the European Games, and with Rio 2016 Olympic Games ranking points up for grabs, it promises to be a fascinating two weeks of competition”. The Baku 2015 Volleyball competition will take place from 13 June at the Crystal Hall, and will feature 336 athletes.

Carolina Kostner’s case, Prosecutor submits Statement of Appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sports

The Anti-Doping Prosecutor's Office has announced that it has submitted today a Statement of Appeal to the CAS in Lausanne - pursuant to art. R.48 of CAS Code - upon decision no.18/2014 taken by the Second Chamber of the National Anti-Doping Court against the athlete Carolina Kostner.

European Judo Championship to be held at Baku 2015

The European Olympic Committees (EOC), the European Judo Union (EJU) and the Baku 2015 European Games Operations Committee (BEGOC) are pleased to announce that the 2015 European Judo Championships will be incorporated into the inaugural European Games being staged in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 12-28 June this year.

The decision guarantees that the continent’s finest judoka will be competing at Baku 2015 for the right to be crowned the first ever European Games Champions. The number of sports offering qualification opportunities for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games has now risen to 12 of the 16 Olympic sports on the Baku 2015 programme, out of a total of 20 sports.

The 2015 European Judo Championships were originally scheduled to take place in Glasgow from 9-12 April. However, as issues with the British Judo Association (BJA) remained unresolved, the EJU’s Executive Committee decided unanimously to designate a new host city capable of staging the event.

EOC President Patrick Hickey, said:

“This is wonderful news as we approach the final lap of our preparations for the inaugural European Games. The EOC has always intended for European Championships to become part of the European Games and this agreement indicates that our aim is coming true, even earlier than we had anticipated. I am sure other sports will follow suit at future editions of the European Games and that the event will become one of the main qualification routes for the Olympic Games. “For now, I am very much looking forward to welcoming the best judoka in Europe to Baku in June, as well as judo fans from around the world. A great sports event starts and ends with great sport, and integrating the European Championships here means there will be even more top-class quality on show.”

Sergey Soloveychik, President of the EJU, said:

“We are delighted that our flagship competition, the European Judo Championships, is going to be held in Baku this year. After the cancellation of the event in Glasgow, our priority was to find a new host as quickly as possible. We have done this and I am very happy with our choice. Baku 2015 has a world-class judo venue with supporting facilities which will help Europe’s elite judoka reach peak performance in June. I am certain that we have made the best choice for European athletes and that the conditions will be most favourable for our main event. For all the judo fans who have already bought their tickets for Emirates Arena in Glasgow they will have an opportunity to get free tickets to the judo venue in Baku.”   Mr Soloveychik also expressed his thanks to the EOC President Patrick Hickey and IJF President Marius Vizer for their support, saying: “Being judoka, they showed solidarity with the EJU and their devotion to the spirit of judo. I am confident that the best judoka in Europe will all be present at Baku 2015 and I have no doubt they will feel incredibly welcome and well-supported in Azerbaijan.”

Azad Rahimov, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Youth and Sport and Chief Executive Officer of Baku 2015, said: “We were delighted to accept the chance to incorporate the European Judo Championships into the European Games when the opportunity was presented to us. This decision further strengthens the European Games with 12 of the 16 Olympic Sports now offering direct or indirect qualifying opportunities for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.”

The Judo competitions at Baku 2015 will take place at the newly upgraded 7,800-capacity Heydar Aliyev Arena on June 25-28.

Malagò receives SportAccord President Marius Vizer

The President of CONI, Giovanni Malagò, received the President of SportAccord, Marius Vizer, today at the Foro Italico. The head of the organization that brings the International Sport Federations together received the compliments of Malagò for the fruitful and constant activity in the development and protection of the competition in sports. At the end of the meeting, Vizer awarded the President of CONI with the golden emblem of SportAccord.

Statement by President Malagò on the acts of violence which occurred yesterday in Rome

Statement by President Malagò on the acts of violence which occurred yesterday in Rome:

"The unspeakable events recorded yesterday in Rome are unfortunately the confirmation of an unacceptable and repeated trend linked to acts of violence committed by foreign supporters in our country on the occasion of several football matches. We experienced a considerable number of similar events in recent years, always with the same, absurd consequences. This is the proof of a problem that affects the entire system and that must be addressed and resolved, without half measures. Last night we reached the pinnacle of this madness. It is no longer tolerable to allow these kind of people to take advantage of the spotlight of international football matches to commit such vandalism, as if they were confident they would get away with indulging in a behaviour that is elsewhere prohibited. As I have stated several times in the past, we must apply a zero tolerance principle: I have no legislative power but it is necessary to adopt the same strict measures that were applied in the past against hooligans".

National Antidoping Tribunal bans Alex Schwazer for another 6 months, sentence suspended for three months

The second chamber of the National Anti-Doping Court (TNA) confirmed the responsibility of Alex Schwazer in  the violation of Article 2.3 of the Anti-Doping Sport Rules (art. 2.3 of the CSA 2015). Having regard to Article 4.7.4 of the NSA (art.4.7.4.2 of CSA 2015), the TNA sentenced Schwazer a six-month additional ban, starting from the date of expiration of the disqualification currently in place: considering the already imposed sanctions, the disqualification will therefore expire on July 29, 2016. Having regard to Articles 4.5.3 and 11 of the NSA (Art. 4.6.1 and art. 11.1 of the CSA 2015), the Court has suspended the sanction imposed on Schwazer to the extent of three months, starting from April 29, 2016.

The TNA has also left the Doping Prosecutor's Office in charge of assessing the conditions, and, if appropriate, of initiating the procedure for the application of Article 11.2 of the CSA 2015. The Court condemned Schwazer to pay the costs of the proceedings, quantified in €750. The decision is to be communicated to the person, the UPA, to WADA, the IAAF and the FIDAL.

First Olympic mission of the Italian delegation to the IOC. Montezemolo and Malagò: unity and innovation

First Olympic mission for Rome 2024. The Italian delegation, composed of the President of the Organizing Committee, Luca di Montezemolo, the President of CONI, Giovanni Malagò, the Secretary General, Roberto Fabbricini, the Deputy Secretary-General Carlo Mornati, and the Head of Communications, Danilo di Tommaso, has participated in two important meetings with the IOC, formally opening the process leading - in September 2017 – to the allocation of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. Rome has been the first candidate city to be received in Lausanne. In the morning, the delegation attended a technical meeting at the headquarters of the IOC, during which officials of the International Olympic Committee presented to the team the new criteria for the assignment of the Games.

In the late afternoon, at Geneva airport, the Italian delegation met the President of the IOC, Thomas Bach, who could not be present in Lausanne for personal reasons, to officially submit the candidacy of Rome. "It has been a very interesting meeting," said the chief executive of the IOC after a meeting that lasted about 50 minutes. "We want to help cities interested in creating strong candidacies, taking into account the specificities of each one of them," Bach added. The President obviously did not want to make comparisons with Boston, the only other known candidate city now. "The strength of an application will depend on how every city will use the passion for sport and the implication to leave a positive legacy," he added.

"We have had some very interesting food for thought," said Malagò. According to Montezemolo, the candidacy of Rome for 2024 will have to provide a good mix of tradition ("the memories of the magnificent games in 1960") and modernity ("the strongest Italian technology"): "The strengths of the candidacy of Rome must be unity and innovation," he added; a combination made perfect with the addition of "great communication skills. We have to think of reusable works, in sports and in every other field. The model of London 2012 really is enlightening". An opinion also shared by the President of the IOC, who said, "whoever will present the most sustainable plan for the Games will certainly make a difference". Montezemolo (pictured along with the IOC President Bach and Malagò) then added, "Now we have to support the hope. Italy is a country that looks up to the world, and the Olympic Games are a tremendous opportunity to display all of its assets. The candidacy of Rome is a battle in which the true spirit of national pride will surely come out". The next step for the Italian candidacy will be to provide – by February 27 – the planned dates for the 2024 Games: 17 days to choose, from July 15 to August 31.

European Games, promotional campaigns for the 100-day-to-go

The inaugural European Games, which will kick off in less than 4 months’ time, have the whole of the EOC leadership fully focused on ensuring the event will be a great success. The latest initiative is competition for NOCs, with two prizes for those that turn out the best 100-days-to-go celebrations. Judging by the way preparations are going for the first ever European Games they really will be a huge success but, wanting to leave no stone unturned, President Hickey, Vice President Kocijancic and Secretary General Pagnozzi will be joining Coordination Commission Chair Spyros Capralos in Baku with his team for meetings at the end of this week, when they will evaluate the situation so as to ensure the best conditions for the athletes, who will be Europe’s elite, as promised by the NOCs.

One of the main aims now is to ensure this major European event maximum visibility, also to establish its role as Europe’s leading multisport experience for the future. For this purpose, over and above the various communication initiatives launched individually by the various countries, the 50 National Olympic Committees of Europe have now been strongly encouraged to create special events for the 100-days-to-go celebrations next 4 March. Whether it’s promotional campaigns, gala events, sports and cultural shows, all NOCs have been invited to celebrate this date in the most innovative and attention getting way possible, with two prizes for whoever does best at promoting Baku 2015.

Montezemolo as the Chairman of the Promoting Committee, Pancalli as its Vice President

The President of the Italian National Olympic Committee Giovanni Malagò, at the end of the National Board, announced that the lawyer Luca Montezemolo will be the Chairman of the Promoting Committee for the Rome Candidacy at the 2024 Olympic Games. The Vice President will be Luca Pancalli, President of the Italian Paralympic Committee. Malagò and Montezemolo, accompanied by the Secretary General of CONI, Roberto Fabbricini, and the Deputy Secretary, Carlo Mornati, will be in Lausanne tomorrow at the IOC headquarters to meet with the Executive Director of the IOC for the Olympic Games, Christophe Dubi, and subsequently the President of the IOC, Thomas Bach.

National Board announcement

The 1,032nd meeting of the CONI National Board was held this morning at the Foro Italico, which began its work by approving the minutes of the previous meeting of 13 January. In his announcements President Malagò updated the Board on the recent framework agreement signed by CONI with NAS on the matter of Anti-doping. With regards to Rome 2024 Luca Montezemolo was appointed as President with Luca Pancalli as Vice President. It was established that the next Board will meet at the headquarters of the Paralympic Committee, while the Board of 15 September will be held in Turin. The list of Olympic Clubs was updated with the inclusion of Edwige Gwende (Judo) who meets the set criteria. The CONI/Coni Servizi service contract was approved. After reviewing a long list of other issues on organisational and administrative matters and having taken the relevant decisions, the Board finalised its work at 12:20.