Pescante presents the Olympic truce. “Sport, an instrument for peace”.

The UN Resolution on the Olympic truce was presented today, in the Hall of Honour, in view of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, with 513 days left until the five circled event. The initiative, organised by the IOC member and Permanent Observer at the UN, Mario Pescante, had a large attendance of many representatives from the world of competitive sports, and some Olympic champions and azzurri medallists capable of writing the history of the movement, such as Manuela Di Centa (Cross Country), Mauro Checcoli (Equestrian Sports), Luca Pancalli (Pentathlon and Paralympic swimming), Novella Calligaris (Swimming), Daniele Masala (Modern Pentathlon) and Nicola Pietrangeli (Tennis). The paralympic athletes Oxana Corsa (Athletics) and Matteo Cavagnini (Wheelchair basketball) were also present.

In addition to the CONI General Secretary, Roberto Fabbricini, also in attendance was the Deputy Secretary, Carlo Mornati; the President of CONI Services, Franco Chimenti; several federal presidents and numerous personalities at the press conference, including the President of the Court of Auditors, Pasquale Squitieri, Gianni Letta; the Undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Monsignor Melchor Sanchez; the Rector of the Foro Italico University, Fabio Pigozzi; the President of FITAV (The Italian Skeet Shooting Federation) and Senator, Luciano Rossi; the Senator Raffaele Ranucci; the former Undersecretary of State for Sport, Rocco Crimi and the Acting Deputy Chairman of the Constitutional Court, Luigi Mazzella.

CONI President, Giovanni Malagò, opened the meeting pointing out the importance of the subject and the fundamental role played by sport. “I congratulate Mario Pescante, IOC ambassador within the UN. We are the only sector where everyone agrees, because sport is a tool that brings people together beyond any barrier. There is a thread that binds us. It is the story that teaches us how to overcome so many stories of diversity. With a meaning which is more beautiful than the medals. We have to promote these subjects, keep them alive. Bach is doing well entrusting this task to Pescante and we are doing well in supporting it. All countries must be greater than what is happening in the world. We have to show how sport goes far beyond its mission. We must be one family, even if we are rivals on the field. A final farewell to the French athletes disappeared in the tragedy in Argentina”.

Mario Pescante developed the subject with a large series of cases called upon to enhance the content of the message. “We are experiencing a period of tormented coexistence in many parts of the world. In this context, talking about peace seems to be an absurd exercise but the UN and the IOC, cooperating to ensure the United Nations Assembly, on the eve of Rio 2016, adopts the Olympic Truce, through the sharing of the majority of countries. It is a privilege to start the path that will lead us to the Games tailor made for CONI, due to the prestige of our Olympic Committee in the world, thanks to the link of the Country with Christianity and due to the values it represents. I remember a letter that an Iraqi journalist, Rafid, sent me after the first Iraqi victory in the Asian Cup by Iraq, calling to emphasize the importance of sport as a source of development of an ideal born in 776 BC, when the sacred truce was declared in the first Olympic Games. That universal ideal is called peace. Today we only hear of clashes and not much about dialogue. No one should fear the sound of the word "peace". The world of sport is not afraid to do it, it never has been. The UN has fought to return to the Olympic truce, since the 1992 Barcelona Games. The official motto is not so much "Faster, higher, stronger”, as “the important thing is to participate", as it has a greater content. Baron De Coubertin said it, by wanting to gather women and men of all ethnic, political and religious beliefs, everyone is included, indiscriminately, in helping to build a world that includes and does not divide. The United Nations has urged the IOC, as a permanent observer within the Assembly, to raise awareness about the importance of the Olympic truce. The IOC will commit to doing this even before Rio. It is a symbolic message, a call that goes to the heart of young people from every continent, who speak the same universal language. People are already separated by borders but the geographical barriers are not the ones doing the separating, the dividing factors are ethnic discrimination, political rivalries and religious factionalism. Sport is a great bridge that connects people together. The Paralympics are another opportunity to show what the sporting world is capable of, what it represents. On the field they are opponents, but later on they are friends for life. There are many cases that prove this. I would like to mention the case of Eugenio Monti, the two-man bobsleigh pilot, who at the 1964 Innsbruck Games handed over to the English team (at that point in second position) the bolt to fix their vehicle and then win the race. Monti won the bronze but the IOC awarded him the Pierre De Coubertin Fair Play Award due to his gesture of sportsmanship. There are many other incredible stories, like those showing how sport can bring people together beyond diversity: I'm thinking of the shooting sport podium at the Beijing Games in 2008, with the Russian and Georgian athletes who embraced to celebrate. They were two mothers, who found out that the day before an armed conflict had broken out between their countries. They asked to live in a more peaceful world and they demonstrated it in that world. I'm thinking about how cricket has inaugurated the resumption of diplomacy between India and Pakistan or how sport has brought Israel and Palestine closer. Our movement has always preceded the political relations of cooperation between countries. Because the world behind the Olympic flag is one single family”.

Manuela Di Centa, Mauro Checcoli, Luca Pancalli, Novella Calligaris, Daniele Masala and Nicola Pietrangeli have remembered their experiences in the Olympic world, emphasizing the importance of sport as a synonym for friendship and union. The Olympic Village, the rules and the universal values of the Games as proof of diversity which becomes a resource and a reason for sharing. The importance of a strong message has always been renewed by CONI, a message that is never dull and always modern. A message that will accompany us up to the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.

The new Club House is inaugurated at the Giulio Onesti Centre

The Club House at the Giulio Onesti Olympic Training Centre in Rome was inaugurated today. It is a new space designed for athletes and guests at the Centre and will be used for meetings, socialising and relaxation.
The building houses a lounge and bar, a new fully equipped gym with the latest machinery [Technogym], designed according to the specific needs of the Italian Rugby Team and can be used by other national teams. It also has another area equipped with a room for training and meetings.

The inauguration was attended by CONI President, Giovanni Malagò, together with Secretary General, Roberto Fabbricini and Deputy Secretary General, Carlo Mornati. The event was also attended by federal managers and athletes from the national team who are currently guests at the Olympic Training Centre (Rugby, Female Hockey, Weightlifting, Taekwondo, Gymnastics, Swimming and Fencing) in addition to Club Italia of men's volleyball. The Club house is equipped with Wifi coverage, consoles for video games and television screens, as well as games available for guests and athletes. Security will be guaranteed by means of a video surveillance system of the whole area. The inauguration marks an important date in the development process of the Olympic Training Centres, strategically designed by CONI as a special place for the meeting of expertise and excellence in sporting and technical fields. The opening of the club house is part of the Italia Olympic Team project, the new CONI initiative for the promotion of the Italian Olympic team.

Press Release

In connection to the bid made by the city of Rome to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games of 2024, CONI has engaged Coni Services to perform the typical functions of the Organizing Committee designed to support this project after announcing – as is known – the designation of the President, Luca di Montezemolo, and the Vice-President, Luca Pancalli; the latter will also manage the relationships with Roma Capitale and the Paralympic Games organization.

As part of these activities, the designated "General Coordinator" Claudia Bugno will avail herself of the collaboration of Simone Perillo as International Relations and Planning Manager.

The offices of the Bid Committee will be located inside the Park of the Foro Italico.

National Board, a minute of silence for the three French athletes who died in Argentina. Malagò: "A real tragedy"

Today, the National Board opened its work by observing a minute of silence in memory of the three French athletes, the swimmer and Olympic champion Camille Muffat, the sailor Florence Arthoud and the boxer Alexis Vastine (bronze medal in Beijing 2008), who died last night in a plane crash in Argentina.

Before the meeting, President Malagò contacted the President of the French Olympic Committee, Denis Masseglia, and expressed his deep sorrow for the tragedy that struck France, expressing the solidarity of the Italian sports movement to the French sporting world. President Malago has described the incident as “a real tragedy”.

Baku 2015 marks 100 days to go by unveiling European Games medal design

Baku 2015 European Games today marked the start of the 100 Days To Go countdown by revealing the design of medals for the inaugural event, to be held on 12 – 28 June this year.

Baku 2015 also announced that tickets for children and teenagers under 16 will be free of charge at most competition events, while adult admission will be affordably priced. The new-look Baku 2015 website was also launched.

The gold, silver and bronze medals revealed today feature unique iconography developed in line with the decorative Baku 2015 branding. The design, which features the Baku 2015 logo at its centre, is a metaphor for the dynamic, beautiful and culturally-rich host city, while the reverse face features the European Olympic Committees emblem and word mark.

The medal design was created by renowned jeweller Adamas, which also produced the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games medals, in collaboration with Azerbaijani artist Nargiz Huseynova. They will be manufactured locally by Azersouvenir.

100 days to the first European Games

The countdown starts from one hundred, the number of days separating us from the beginning of the first edition of the European Games, which will be held in Baku from June 12th to 28th. Born during the 41st COE Assembly held at the Foro Italico in December 2012, the sporting event will greet over 6000 athletes representing 50 European Olympic Committees in the 17 days of competition.

The Games will feature twenty disciplines, including 16 Olympic disciplines, and passes to the Olympic Games of Rio 2016 will be awarded for 12 of them (Athletics, Cycling, Judo, Wrestling, Swimming, Boxing, Taekwondo, Table Tennis, Triathlon, Volleyball, Shooting, Archery).

Magnetic Risonance Imaging donated to the Institute of Sports Sciences and Medicine thanks to Fondazione Roma

The President of CONI, Giovanni Malagò, and the President of Fondazione Roma, Prof. Emmanuele Francesco Maria Emanuele, signed this morning an agreement to donate a magnetic resonance imaging device to the Institute of Sports Sciences and Medicine. The press conference for the initiative was also attended by the Secretary General of CONI, Roberto Fabbricini, the Deputy Secretary General, Carlo Mornati, the CEO of Coni Servizi, Alberto Miglietta, the Medical Director of the Institute of Sports Sciences and Medicine, Antonio Spataro, the Director General of Fondazione Roma, Franco Parasassi and the Head of institutional activities of Fondazione Roma, Serena Ghisalberti.

The President of CONI Giovanni Malagò signed the agreement while proudly saying: "It's a historic moment. This partnership is invaluable, consistent with what we try to do with all our stakeholders. The foundation is good, focused on social investments, and also joined the world of sport to pursue this goal. This donation really makes the Institute of Medicine independent: we want to be open to all excellences, also through special conventions and agreements. We are honored by this agreement".

The President of Fondazione Roma, Emmanuele Francesco Maria Emanuele, stressed the concepts expressed by Malagò. "I'm very happy with this successful partnership. In recent years, no one has achieved results as good as our foundation. Our goal is to increase the assets and help activities in the fields of health, culture and society, even if we find it hard to intervene with donations. It seems paradoxical, but we live in these situations. However, CONI is led by an entrepreneur who understands these dynamics well, so everything was easy with them. I would like to thank President Malagò and Professor Spataro for their professionalism and dedication. We are proud to help the Institute of Sports Medicine purchase a piece of equipment that is an essential part of diagnostic imaging. The added value of this initiative is the fact that this machine will not be used only for athletes of various national teams, but for the entire population. This aspect highlights, once again, the social commitment of Fondazione Roma." They helped the Institute of Sports Sciences and Medicine with a donation of €700,000. Coni Servizi has already obtained the necessary permits to accommodate the unit in the Institute.

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.