NEWS

ITU President’s Update: 16 July 2009

By World Triathlon Admin | 16 Jul, 2009

Hola amigos

I hope this will be the first issue of a regular Presidents report intended to keep all national federations, continental confederations, committees and commissions informed about all of the work being done behind the scenes.  

Why have I decided to start this update now?

Perhaps it is because I have found a few moments to relax and reflect after many intense weeks full of activities, meetings and events. 

Maybe it is because we have arrived at the peak of our season.

Or maybe it is because after six months as the President of ITU, I just want to tell you how much I am enjoying my position now that my mind is clear.

And maybe I think it is about time, and want to apologise for the delay.

I will only refer to the recent past and give a more detailed report to all of you on a monthly basis as we go forward.

1.Meeting with IOC President: 30 June Olympic Congress. Copenhagen October 5th:  I have been invited by President Rogge to talk about one of their themes, The Digital Revolution, and a new management of sport rights.  I will have professional advice from Patrice Cholley, who is coordinating the 2009 IOC Congress on behalf of the IOC Presidents Office; and from Brian Mahony and the ITU Media team as well.  Our in-house media and television has put us in a very good light within the Olympic family.

I also discussed general triathlon matters with Dr. Rogge, as well as our new Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series and our relationship with Lagardre Sport.  Dr. Rogge is confident in the direction that ITU is taking.

2.ITU Office in Lausanne: We have been working with Sabrina Tramparulo at Maison du Sport in Lausanne to explore the possibilities of renting an office for ITU in the fourth phase of the sport complex when it opens in the fall of 2010.  The Executive Board and I have agreed that this is a very positive strategic move for the future of ITU and our position within the Olympic family.  The office will have the ITU Presidents office plus our Sport Development staff.  A close working relationship with the IOC, other International Federations and Olympic Solidarity will have a significant impact on the development of our sport.

It is our intention that by establishing an office in Lausanne, with staff who are for the most part already based in Europe, this will benefit the overall organisation.  The ITU HQ in Vancouver will concentrate on the operational side of the business, and it will be possible for ITU to increase, if possible, the efficiency of ITU Staff working practice.

The agreement with Maison du Sport was signed this week.

3.ATU (Africa Triathlon Union) Congress and Championship: Held on 3 to 5 July, the same dates as the ETU Congress and Championships, ITU was represented by Mario Rodriguez.  I met Mario at Madrid airport on his way to South Africa and I asked him as a specialist on the PATCO strategic plan to use part of his time to work with Liesbeth Stoltz and Libby Burrel on the development of the African strategic plan. 

Marios report was very positive.  I think we must take special care of our development in Africa, especially on the events side, as the championships had challenges in the key area of safety.  I hope that the upcoming Sport Development and Technical Seminar in Nigeria we will be able to solve some of these problems.  

4.ETU (European Triathlon Union) Congress and Championship: We celebrated the 25th anniversary of the European Championship at a very well organized event in Holten in the Netherlands.  The Congress was held in the Secondary School of the beautiful city of Holten.  We also celebrated the renovation of the ETU Board, and I am very pleased with the outcome.  I want to congratulate all members of the new board, but especially Emilio di Toro, the new ETU President.

In my role of ITU President, a number of European NFs expressed concerns about calendar matters, uniforms rules and ITU relations with elite athletes (particularly the gold group in World Championship Series). 

The ETU office will move to Great Britain, with Zita Csovelyak continuing to work until the end of August to help with the transition.  I am sure there will be more information on this coming shortly. 

5.Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series: The launch of the new series has surpassed all of our expectations.  It has not been without many challenges, and I want to stress my thanks to Paul Coleman, WCS Series Manager, for the fantastic job he is doing on behalf of ITU. I will get a more direct update to you before we meet at the ITU Congress in September.

6.Other matters for the next update:
a)Bid conditions for Multisport and World Cup: you should have received the bid criteria for the years 2010 to 2012.  We will be sending you a draft calendar for 2010 in the coming days.
b)Constitution Review:  I will be working with the Executive Board and the Constitution Committee to review the constitution and remove some of the confusion.  Please send me any comments you have in this matter. 
c)The audit of the finances are complete, and we hope to send the Financial Statements to you along with the Congress resolutions and nominations on 27 July, 2009.
d)Winter Triathlon: Kre J Grtta, Chair of the Winter Triathlon Commission, along with Sarah Springman, ITU Executive Board Liaison to Winter Triathlon have been working hard on the calendar. Queenstown, NZL will host the first event in the coming series.  More information about this shortly. 
e)Lesley Buchanan, ITU Anti-Doping Director, has recently provided me with the latest information, which is very helpful.
f)Future Medical and Research Symposium: I have been in contact with the University of Alicante on a common project: Triathlon and Science.  There will be more information on this in the coming months.
g)Court of Arbitration: Dates have been later this month for the arbitration hearing around the results of the 2008 ITU Duathlon World Championship.

I hope you found this information helpful, and I hope to see all of you at our Congress, in the Gold Coast in September.

Marisol Casado, ITU President