Kennie and Kennivic Asuncion, the country’s top badminton pair, face an uphill climb in their bid to qualify for the Beijing Olympics in August.

For falling short in their recent stints in Europe, the siblings need an extraordinary effort in their next tournaments to keep their dream of playing in the quadrennial tournament alive.

The two, according to RP team coach Errol Chan, should come up with strong performances in major tournaments to make it to the magic 16.

Only the top 16 teams in the world are allowed to take part in the Beijing Games slated on Aug. 8 to 24.

A short tidbit, I first came across their names when I blogged about the Badminton MVP Cup – Asia vs Europe last held in Manila.

Well, anyway. August is still a few months away. Kennie and Kennivic Asuncion can still work on their bid to be part of the Olympics. The article said that the two are hoping to compete (for credit) in the Asian Badminton Championships, which is going to be held from April 15 to 24 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Source: Olympic stint looks bleak for Asuncions, Manila Bulletin

Post from: EveryJoe

Tough Trek for the Asuncions, Philippines’ Top Badminton Pair

The conference held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government gathered officials from Olympic and Paralympic sport federations together with Governor of Tokyo and TOKYO 2016 President, Shintaro Ishihara, JOC Sports Committee Chairman, Tomiaki Fukuda, and TOKYO 2016 Chairman and CEO, Dr Ichiro Kono. They were able to discuss in detail the bid process schedule, TOKYO 2016’s plan and the role each federation will play.

Dr Ichiro Kono, Chairman and CEO of TOKYO 2016 said: “Hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016 is the longtime dream of all national sport federations and we work as one team. This process of learning and listening to ideas from the federations who have extensive experience of hosting major international sporting events and who are also closest to our top athletes, is extremely important in preparing the best Games plan possible. We are sure TOKYO 2016 would benefit all sports and the Olympic movement. The step we took today together with the national sport federations, as well as the upcoming ANOC conference, will definitely be key milestones in the bidding process.”

# # #

For further information, please contact:

Tetsuo Nakayama (Mr), Chief Director, International Communications, TOKYO 2016 Olympic Games Bid Committee

Masa Takaya (Mr), Manager, International Communications, TOKYO 2016 Olympic Games Bid Committee

+81-3-5320-2480, masanori.takaya@tokyo2016.or.jp

Source

Post from: EveryJoe

Press Release | National Sport Federations Assemble for TOKYO 2016, Now Ready to Move into a New Phase of Bidding Process

The main sponsors – those who have committed €1 million or more – have formed the Madrid Club 16. These companies, which include leading financial, commercial and construction businesses, are: Accenture, Caja Madrid, Garrigues, El Corte Inglés, ICC Group, Inmobilaria Espacio and Madrid Espacios y Congresos (Madrid Trade Fair).

Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, the Mayor of Madrid, highlighted the benefits that this funding would bring to the city.

“This is great news for everyone,” he said. “In the short term, these investments for the 2016 Olympics bid will help us to improve Madrid’s infrastructure and tourism facilities, as well as raising the city’s profile around the world. In the long term, today’s development is the beginning of a new relationship between Madrid and the business world.”

Mercedes Coghen, Chief Executive Officer of the Madrid 2016 bid, said that the announcement of the business network was crucially important.

She commented: “Today’s announcement highlights the truly integrated nature of our bid. We now have the business sector joining forces with 89% of the Spanish people who want Madrid to host the 2016 Olympics.”

The launch event took place at Madrid City Hall and was conducted by Estella Gimenez, who won an Olympics Gymnastics gold medal at Atlanta in 1996.

The event involved people from all levels of Spanish society, including leading cultural, political, business and sporting figures. One attendee was Juan Carlos Higuero, who competed in the 1500 meters at the Sydney and Athens Olympics.

“Today is a very important day for Madrid and for all sports people,” he said. “We all want our great city to host the Olympics in 2016. During the 1992 Barcelona Games I was 14 and just beginning my athletics career, but I was inspired by the other runners I watched on TV. Although I will probably have to watch the 2016 Games on TV too, I want to thank all the sponsors that are supporting Madrid’s bid and its underlying commitment in using sport to improve all aspects of peoples’ lives.”

Additional information about the Madrid 2016 sponsorship program

The Madrid sponsorship program is divided into four categories: Collaborators, Sponsors, Preferential Sponsors and Partners, with donation levels starting at €30,000 and rising to €1 million or more.

The Partners comprising Madrid Club 16 will participate in strategic planning for the 2016 bid, along with other partnership activities involving the city.

The Preferential Sponsors announced today are: Acciona, Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas, Ferrovial, Grupo ACS, Grupo Mahou San Miguel, Grupo Sacyr Vallehermoso, IEPE, Mercamadrid and Repsol-Ypf, SA.

The Sponsors announced today are: Coarsa, Everis, Grupo Leche Pascual, Licuas and Grupo Ortiz. The collaborators are: Alcampo, Aldesa Construcciones, Elecnor, Race, Typsa, Uralita Sistema de Tuberias, Uría y Menéndez Abogados, Vías y Construcciones.

Source

Post from: EveryJoe

Press Release | Madrid 2016 Olympic Bid, Madrid 2016 Business Network Launched With €12m Funding For Bid

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games today concluded its tenth and final meeting with the Beijing Organising Committee (BOCOG) confident that BOCOG is on the right track with its preparations for this summer’s Olympic Games, which begin in just 127 days. The Commission, which is the body appointed by the IOC to oversee the operational aspects of the Games, spent three days (1-3 April) in the Chinese capital helping to guide the organisers as they work to put on successful Games this August.

Commenting at the conclusion of the meetings, Coordination Commission Chairman Hein Verbruggen said: ”BOCOG is progressing well with all of its operations and we are confident that our Chinese friends will put on great Games for the athletes of the world. The IOC noted an increased level of support from the government authorities for the Organising Committee, which will undoubtedly help reinforce BOCOG’s excellent work. We were satisfied by the assurances we received across a number of areas – media service levels, including internet access, brand protection, environmental contingency plans for improved air quality, and the live broadcast feed. BOCOG must now fine-tune its operations over the final four months. The ability to act as an integrated team, with straightforward processes to enable timely decision-making will be extremely important. There is every reason to believe that a gold-medal performance is within their grasp and that the world will marvel at superb Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

In addition to working on some 44 different functions that are tracked as part of the analysis to gain a perspective of Games preparations – from sport, spectator services, venues and technology to finance, marketing and medical services -, the Commission members spent time appraising Beijing’s physical readiness by visiting the Olympic Green and some of the venues located in this area.

Verbruggen continued: “This being our last Commission meeting – although of course I will return with a smaller team in the coming months – allow me to say it has been a pleasure to work with President Liu Qi and his team. BOCOG has worked relentlessly for nearly seven years now. They, plus the Chinese people, who are so excited about welcoming the world to their country, and of course the world’s athletes, for whom the Olympic Games are staged first and foremost, deserve success and a great event this summer.”

BOCOG President Liu Qi said: “Since the beginning of this year, the central Chinese government has further strengthened its guidance of the preparations. As host country, we will spare no effort or enthusiasm in making the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games the greatest opportunities for people around the world to understand, befriend and cooperate with each other.”

President Liu also expressed his sincere gratitude to the IOC Coordination Commission for its continued support and assistance. He pledged that BOCOG will continue to work closely with the Coordination Commission to achieve the common goal of ensuring successful staging of the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games.

###

NOTE TO EDITORS:

IOC Coordination Commission
The IOC, as the guardian of the Olympic Games, assists and monitors the work of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games through the work of the Coordination Commission. The Commission visits the host city once a year until four years from the Games, when the visits become twice-yearly until the Games are held. The Commission’s full meetings are supplemented by the regular visits of smaller IOC teams involving the Commission Chairman, selected members of the Commission and members of the IOC administration.

For more information please contact the IOC Communications Department, Tel: +41 21 621 60 00, email: pressoffice@olympic.org.

Source

Post from: EveryJoe

Press Release | IOC satisfied with renewed assurances from Beijing organisers

Poll Question: 2008 Beijing Olympics: Which event will you watch the most?

You can choose from the options as follows:

# Athletics – Track
# Aquatics – Swimming
# Gymnastics – Artistic
# Gymnastics – Rhythmic
# Cycling – BMX
# Basketball
# Aquatics – Diving
# Athletics – Triathlon
# Football
# Weight lifting
# Wrestling
# Badminton
# ping pong
# Beach Volleyball
# Sailing

Yea, you can still add the event of your choice onto the list or choose from the ones listed. We’d love to hear what you think!

Note that the poll is located on the sidebar, right portion of your screen or monitor. You may need to scroll down a bit to see it.

I really hope you guys participate. It’ll only take less than a minute of your time. Much appreciated!

Post from: EveryJoe

2008 Beijing Olympics: Which event will you watch the most?

It was Chinese President Hu Jintao who announced the official start of the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay. The President lit the cauldron at the Tianamen Square in Beijing. This took place two (2) hours after the Olympic Torch landed in China.

You can view the welcome ceremony here (video).

Source

Post from: EveryJoe

Olympic Torch in Beijing; Beijing Olympic Torch Relay Officially Commences

Harbin (China)

Innsbruck (Austria)

Kuopio (Finland)

Lillehammer (Norway)

Now briefed and oriented with the concept of the Youth Olympic Games, these cities will now prepare their respective candidature files which will be submitted on 19 June 2008. The IOC will then evaluate draw up the shortlist by August 2008 and the shortlisted cities will be announced by December 2008.

Good luck to them all!

Source

Post from: EveryJoe

First Winter Youth Olympic Games 2012 Candidate Cities

“We fully support the International Olympic Committee and its president Jacques Rogge, as well as the Beijing 2008 Organizing Committee, which have been working to provide athletes and the world with a great edition of the Olympic Games. The Olympic Games are a magic time to promote integration of different peoples, races and religions, and not an opportunity for breakups. The Brazilian Olympic Committee is committed to preparing the Brazilian athletes, certain that Beijing 2008 will write a beautiful page for the history of the Olympic Games,” he stated.

So far, Brazil has qualified 159 athletes for the Olympic Games, distributed between 22 sports.

Sincerely,
Rio 2016 Press Office
Cláudio Motta / Christian Dawes
Phone Numbers: 55-21-2494.2085 / 2494.2086
cobtextual@cob.org.br – www.rio2016.org.br

Source

Post from: EveryJoe

Press Release | Rio 2016: Brazil reaffirms participation in Olympic Games Beijing 2008

Qatar is one of the top five fastest growing economies in the world. As a result, Doha is building new infrastructure at a phenomenal rate. More than USD 100 billion in infrastructure and investment projects will be completed by 2012. The Qatar Master Plan envisions Qatar “as the academic centre, sports centre, and major tourist centre of the Middle East”. To achieve this vision, Doha is expanding its hotel and accommodation infrastructure dramatically and rapidly. By 2016, more than 80,000 rooms will be available, all guaranteed by the Government of Qatar. All of these rooms will be ready well in advance of 2016 regardless of the IOC’s decision for a host city in 2009.

The Chairman of the Doha 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games Bid, Mr Hassan Ali Bin Ali, said that he is immensely pleased with the growth within the hospitality sector in Qatar and that as a result the country will become a more attractive destination for sports, business and tourism.

For more details, please refer to the attached release.

For further information, please contact:

Severin Roald, severin.roald@bm.com, Press Officer to Doha 2016
Mobile: +974 685 7465

Leon Smith, leon.smith@bm.com, Press Officer to Doha 2016
Mobile: +974 689 8514

Source

Post from: EveryJoe

Press Release | Doha 2016 Olympic Bid, Qatar to Receive Heavy Investment in Hotel Infrastructure

The ceremony will take place at the Panathenaikon Stadium. The Olympic Torch will be ceremoniously handed over to representatives of BOCOG (The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad).

The Panathenaikon Stadium is the site of the first modern-day Olympic Games.

Source

Post from: EveryJoe

Olympic Torch Hand-over Ceremony Happening Today