Scolaris re-elected as IFSC President
Marco Scolaris has been re-elected unopposed as President of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC).
The founder of the organisation received 50 of the 57 votes on the final day of the virtual IFSC General Assembly. The result means Scolaris will begin a fourth four-year term as President and will oversee the sport’s Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 and its appearance at The World Games 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama, and Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Scolaris founded the IFSC in 2007 and has led the organisation ever since, becoming President in 2009 before being re-elected in 2013, 2017 and 2021.
"Many of our accomplishments have been obtained thanks to the support of a great team of Board members and staff," said Scolaris, whose fourth term in office is due to run until 2025.
Debbie Gawrych of the United States is set to support Scolaris over the next four years after being confirmed as Secretary General for a second term.
New Social Media Ambassadors for the IFF
The International Floorball Federation (IFF) has elected its first social media ambassadors: the ambassadors represent 19 different countries and all have international floorball experience and various creative ideas of how they wish to raise the awareness and visibility of floorball, which is one of IFF’s Strategic Key Priorities.
Two of the Social Media Ambassadors have actually applied as pairs, KauppiTwins with Oona and Veera Kauppi (FIN) and IFF Social Media Ambassadors Belgium with Emilie Schampheleer and Chloë De Coninck.
– It was a tough decision to choose from so many good candidates. We received a total of 33 applications from different parts of the floorball world and after evaluating the applications, and taking into account geographical spreading, gender balance and international sport performance, we decided to choose a total of 22 Social Media Ambassadors (24 players), who we will start collaborating with more closely, says IFF Communications Manager Merita Bruun.
The first step was to be in contact with all the candidates and inform about the decision and send basic guidelines to the successful candidates, then the more concrete planning process can start:
– Then we will have to start planning the actual content calendar and the best way to be in touch with all the Ambassadors. The tasks will differ a bit depending on the Social Media Ambassador’s preferences, but at least Instagram takeovers from national team camps, are an easy way to start. We are also very open to ideas from our Ambassadors, says the IFF Information Coordinator Mari Myllärinen, who will now plan the activities and schedule in more detail.
Hyundai Archery World Cup kicked off in Guatemala
The 2021 Hyundai Archery World Cup has, after a long break, kicked off in in Guatemala City. On Saturday, Nora Valdez of Colombia beat Tanja Gellenthien of Denmark in a tiebreak, hitting nearly dead-centre, on Saturday to claim the compound women’s gold medal at the first stage of the 2021 World Cup. In men’s class, World number one Braden Gellenthien, USA beat world number two Mike Schloesser, USA, 148-146. Valdez and Braden Gellenthien secured automatic qualification spots for this season’s Hyundai Archery World Cup Final with the victory.
“I’m beyond happiness,” Nora Valdez said. “I’ve been waiting for a long time, and I have worked very hard for this. I’m happy with this triumph.”
“I really didn’t know what to expect,” Braden Gellenthien said. “It’s been a long lay-off, almost two years since we’ve been shooting World Cups, so the nerves were there a little bit more in the first match than I would have liked.”
On Sunday, married couple Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari took the recurve men’s and women’s individual gold medals to cap an incredible first stage of the 2021 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Guatemala City. “It feels amazing. It’s like dreams are coming true,” said Das, who secured the first international gold of his career. “I’ve worked so hard for so many years, and now this is paying off.”
This was Kumari’s third-career stage victory. “It’s been a long time since I shot in the finals,” she said. “It feels great and, at the same time, I’m happy and nervous. It gives me confidence and pushes me to give better performances.”
Both Indian archers are now automatically qualified for this season’s Hyundai Archery World Cup Final.
The next stage of the 2021 Hyundai Archery World Cup is scheduled for next month in Lausanne, Switzerland – and is followed by a third stop in the French capital of Paris in June.
The World Games is a multi-sport event staged every four years by the International World Games Association under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee. The 11th edition of The World Games will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, 7-17 July 2022. 3,600 athletes from over 30 sports and 100 countries will take part in The World Games.
