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Sunday 10 April 2005 Doha, Qatar - We are pleased to provide this news summary covering all the major decisions and discussions from the second day of the IAAF Council meeting. New Change of Nationality Rule Agreed Although there were more than 300 IAAF Rule Change proposals on the table, Council decided to implement just one new provision with immediate effect in accordance with its powers under Rule 6.11c and subject to confirmation by the Congress in Helsinki. Council agreed that IAAF Rule 5.2 d, which relates to Changes of Nationality, will be changed so that the period of ineligibility of an athlete who had competed for one Member Federation and wanted to change to another, would only begin when the athlete received citizenship. An athlete shall not represent his new Member in an International Competition under Rules 1.1 for a period of three years following the acquisition of new Citizenship. This period may be reduced to 12 months with the agreement, in writing, of the Members concerned. Up until now, the period of ineligibility began from the last time an athlete competed for his or her original federation, regardless of when the athlete actually obtained new Citizenship. For all the other Rule Change proposals, Council has to decide whether to approve, or not approve, each individual proposal so as to provide guidance for IAAF Congress delegates who will be called on to vote in Helsinki. This work was not completed today and a further session is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Please note that 26 rule proposals were considered to be simply editorial and therefore will not be discussed by Council. The complete list of Rule Change Proposals with Council's comments will be sent to Member Federations by 2 May 2005. Debrecen to host 2006 World Road Running Championships Following an impressive presentation, IAAF Council agreed to award the first ever IAAF World Road Running Championships in 2006 to the city of Debrecen. The delegation from Debrecen, which is the second largest city in Hungary, was headed by the city's Mayor Lajos Kósa, the Vice President of the Hungarian Athletics Federation (and European Athletics Association) Agoston Schulek and Mihaly Orendi, the Director of the city's renowned training centre (already recognised by the IAAF as part of its Accredited Training Centres network). Debrecen was described as the "engine of athletics" in Hungary, and has already organized a number of international sports events including the 2001 edition of the IAAF World Youth Championships which was a great success. "We plan to have a number of popular road running events linked to the IAAF event so that we can fully involve the public. We have organized a number of road running races over the years and are very confident that we will have thousands of enthusiastic spectators lining the course to cheer on the world's best road runners," said Mayor Kósa. Details about the competition, including the date and timetable, will be confirmed at a later date. Ostrava to host 2007 World Youth Championships Council agreed to award the 5th edition of the IAAF World Youth Championships in 2007 to Ostrava, Czech Republic. The Ostrava delegation was led by the Deputy Mayor of Ostrava, Jaromir Chalupa, and Karel Pilny, who was recently elected for the seventh time as President of the Czech athletics Federation The city is home to the Golden Spike meeting (the 44th edition takes place this year), which has been recognized since 2002 as an IAAF Super Grand Prix Meeting. The city also hosts other international sporting events. "We are proud to be known as a city of motion, of sport and of culture," said the Deputy Mayor. "Ostrava's athletics club was founded in 1924 and has fostered stars like Jan Zelezny, but we were also the home of tennis legend Ivan Lendl. I am sure that the World Youth Championships will be very strongly supported by the population of Ostrava. The young athletes coming to this city will be welcomed very warmly and will leave with great memories." Ostrava, which was founded in 1267, is a city of 320,000 people and is the biggest city in the Moravia region and became a major industrial city in the 19th century. Details about the competition, including the date and timetable, will be confirmed at a later date. Progress Reports 2005 World Youth Championships in Marrakesh Aziz Daouda, General Director of the Royal Moroccan Athletics Federation, presented a report summarising the progress of preparations for the 4th edition of the World Youth Championships. The main points he raised were that: Mohamed VI, King of Morocco, has agreed to act as Patron of the event; Live coverage will be guaranteed on Moroccan Television; The stadium, which has permanent seating for 5000 spectators, will have its capacity increased to 10,000 spectators with temporary seating. The aim is to have a world festival of youth, so a maximum attendance will be encouraged with the use of complimentary tickets; Approximately 2000 athletes are expected to attend, and all will be housed in 4-5 star hotels in the city, which is world famous as a tourist destination; Two test events are planned – on 21 May and 3 July; Hundreds of volunteers – from the same age group as the athletes – will be employed to help ensure a special atmosphere at the event; With regard to training venues, the course of the 1998 edition of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships will be re-used as a training venue for middle and long distance runners, where there will also be throwing areas and a temporary weights training area, all within a short walking distance of the athletes' hotels; 2005 World Athletics Final in Monaco The report was presented by Jean Pierre Schoebel, the Director of the Monaco Athletics Federation who heads the local organizing committee. Because the event is set to take place on Friday 9 – Saturday 10 September, Schoebel stated that an intensified effort would be made to ensure a good crowd for each session. Council agreed that the final timetable, while taking account of the demands of TV, would not compromise the interests of the competing athletes and local spectators. For the first time, the Women's 3000m Steeplechase event will be part of the World Athletics Final. 2005 World Half Marathon championships in Edmonton, Canada Jean Guy Ouellette, President of Athletics Canada, and John Carroll, Vice-President of the Local Organising Committee, summarized the most important points regarding preparations for the event. Council agreed with the request of the organizers to have an 11:30 start in the Men's Race and a 13:00h start in the Women's Race. There will also be a mass race, involving local youngsters, preceding the main IAAF competition. The course contains 4 loops, and will wend its way through Hawrelak Park, which is one of the city's most popular parks offering a beautiful natural setting. Council noted that the original course design had been modified so as to offer a maximum 1% rise in elevation. The host broadcaster is in place and Bell Canada is offering a lot of support as a national sponsor. The event is being funded by the Municipal, Regional and Federal governments. A test event is scheduled for 15 May 2005 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki With 118 days to go before the more important event in the IAAF World Athletics Series, a presentation regarding preparations was made by the event's CEO Antti Pihlakoski, who was accompanied by Harri Syväsalmi, who is the LOC representative of the Finnish Ministry of Education. Pihlakoski reiterated the aim of the organizers to use Helsinki 2005 as an opportunity to strengthen athletics worldwide by providing a competition experience that was unique, warm and entertaining. Because athletics is a sport which is represented in every corner of the globe, Pihlakoski said his team wanted to help break the "world record" for participation set in Paris two years ago by having at least 204 IAAF Member Federations at the Championships in Helsinki. In order to promote the event, special attention will be paid to Event Presentation so as to raise the spirits of spectators who in turn will motivate the athletes to perform at their best. Ticket sales have been extremely encouraging with 71.3% of available tickets sold, even though only packages are available to date. Individual tickets will start to be sold on 29 May, and the organizers are confident that all evening sessions will quickly become sold out. With regard to the Athletes' Village in Espoo, it was confirmed that six new blocks of flats have now been built, which ensures that all requirements can be comfortably met. It was also announced that all 3130 volunteers have now been selected and training is on-going. Finally, Council agreed that, as in individual events, Finland would have the right to have a team in all relay events. Athens to host World Athletics Museum In the final presentation before lunch, Council Member Minos Kyriakou, who was also recently elected as President of the Greek Olympic Committee, outlined the progress of a project launched last year by the Greek Government to fund a World Athletics Museum and an annual Throws Gala at Olympia. Kyriakou described the plans for the World Athletics Museum, and the fact that the Government planned to invest more than 23 million Euros to house the Museum in the building used for the International Broadcasting Centre during the recent Olympic Games (adjacent to the Olympic Stadium). The aim was to create a high-tech, state of the art museum, using latest technology, to offer a permanent promotion platform for the sport, with more than 1 million visitors expected each year. Council agreed to set up a Working Party to study the received proposals and to liaise with the Greek Government regarding implementation of the project. Athletics' World Plan President Lamine Diack presented a status report of this long term project, pointing out that two Steering Group meetings have been held since the last Council Meeting in December 2004. President Diack announced that market research is ongoing, with a special project planned for the World Championships in Helsinki, and summarized the activities of the eight Working Groups who have provided recommendations for Council, including proposals to change IAAF rules and to improve the presentation of IAAF competitions and to make them shorter and more attractive to spectators. Council agreed to set up a new IAAF Commission for Schools/Youth, since this area was of fundamental importance for the future of the sport, with a first meeting planned on the occasion of the World Youth Championships in Marrakesh later this summer. It was agreed that this Commission would be chaired by Council Member Jamel Simohamed (ALG) and would also include Alberto Juantorena (CUB). The other members, representing each of the IAAF Areas, will be confirmed as soon as possible. Athletes' Commission On behalf of the Athletes' Commission, Chairman Alberto Juantorena expressed its desire to be a true pro-active consultative body for the IAAF and voiced its appreciation to Council at being asked to comment on the various proposed rule changes. The Commission agreed to act as a mediator between active athletes and the IAAF Council and Headquarters and to ensure that the athletes' opinions are taken into account in IAAF decisions. The Commission encouraged the Member Federations to give a voice to athletes by creating active National Athletes' Commissions. It also reiterated its total support for the fight against doping, and would encourage athletes to stand up and speak out for a clean sport. The Commission also agreed to support the IAAF's ongoing Charity projects. Council agreed with recommendation of Athletes' Commission to publish information about negative tests on athletes on the IAAF website as soon as possible. It was also agreed that information about IAAF testing procedures would be communicated to athletes on an on-going basis. It was agreed that the Athletes' Commission would have an educational stand at the Athletes' village at the Helsinki World Championships. It was also agreed that, on request, representatives of the Athletes' Commission would be allowed to take part in meetings of other IAAF Commissions. Juridical Commission This report was presented by the Chairman Lauri Tarasti (FIN). Council agreed that an Athlete Acknowledgement and Agreement be obtained both for International level and non-international level athletes, as well as an Acknowledgement Agreement for Athlete Support Personnel. This agreement would mean that athletes and support personnel would agree to comply with and be bound by all provisions of the IAAF Anti-doping Rules and particularly, that any appeal arising out of decisions made in doping cases would be made exclusively to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and not in any other court or tribunal. IAAF
