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    • intoronto

      Longest Winter Games ever!
       
      For the first time in the history of the Winter Olympic Games, competition will begin two days before the Opening Ceremony. The 2022 Winter Olympic Games would run a total of 19 days, making them the longest in history of the Winter Olympic Games.
       
      The 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing will begin with Mixed Doubles event in Curling, two nights before the opening ceremony is scheduled. The first competition session is currently scheduled to take place at 20:05-22:00 (local time) on February 2nd. The Opening Ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games is scheduled to take place on February 4th, with the Closing Ceremony scheduled for February 20th. Both are scheduled to be held at the iconic Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing.
       
      There are currently 109 medal events scheduled to be contested across seven sports and fifteen disciplines. The first medals will be handed out in the women's skiathlon in cross-country skiing on February 5th. Below, you can find a breakdown of the schedule by sport/discipline:
       
      Alpine skiing
      The alpine skiing competition is scheduled to be held over eleven competition days. As is tradition, the men's downhill will be the first event held on February 6th, with the mixed team event closing the event roster on February 19th.  
      Biathlon 
      As with alpine skiing, the biathlon events are planned to be held across eleven days. The games will begin with the mixed relay competition on February 6th, and conclude with the women's mass start on February 19th.   
      Bobsleigh
       The bobsleigh competition introduces a new event, the women's monobob, which is scheduled to be the first bobsleigh event at Beijing 2022. The first two heats of the competition are scheduled for February 13, with the last two heats scheduled for February 14. Meanwhile, the men's four man competition will be the last bobsleigh event to conclude, with heats three and four scheduled for the final day of competition on February 20th.   
      Cross-country skiing
      The Beijing 2022 cross-country skiing competition will be held over ten competition days, as in PyeongChang 2018. Just like four years ago, the women's skiathlon will start the competition on February 5th, with women also having the last event with the 30km mass start on the final day of competition, February 20th.   
      Curling
      Curling has the distinction of being the only sport to be contested over all 19 competition days. Due to the expansion of the mixed doubles competition to ten teams, an additional competition day was necessary, hence day -2, which will have one session. The men's tournament will conclude the competition on the final day, February 20th.   
      Figure skating
      Eleven competition days make up the figure skating competition. The first round of the team event is scheduled to be held on February 4th, with the men's and women's short program, along with the rhythm dance in the ice dancing. The pairs competition will conclude the games, marking a contrast to the last five editions, which had the ladies event conclude the figure skating competition. This could be due to China having the world's leading pairs figure skating combination in Sui Wenjing / Han Cong, which could allow the figure skating competition to end on a high note. The pairs free skating competition is scheduled for February 19th, with the Exhibition Gala scheduled for a day later.   
      Freestyle skiing
      The freestyle skiing competition will see the addition of three new events: the men's and women's big air and the mixed team aerials. Due to the increase in events, the competition schedule for the discipline has been expanded by two days, to a total of fourteen. Just like four years ago, the moguls qualification for both genders will kick of the competition on February 3rd, with the men's halfpipe being the final event. As for the new events, the qualification for the big air will be on February 7th, with the women's finals on the 8th and the men's finals on the 9th. The next day will see the finals of the aerials mixed team event.   
      Ice hockey
      The ice hockey competition is scheduled to be two days longer than it was in 2018. This means the first matches will be held before the opening ceremony, with the first four matches scheduled for February 3rd. The increase in competition days can be attributed to the increase in women's teams from eight to ten. As is tradition, the men's gold medal match will be last medal event on February 20th.  
      Luge
      The luge competition has the same competition order as in 2018, with the men going first, followed by the women, then the doubles and finally the mixed team relay. The competition will start on day one, February 5th and finish on day six, February 10th.   
      Nordic Combined
      The Nordic Combined will have three competition days, with the first day being February 9th with the men's normal hill. The final event will be the men's team large hill on February 17th.   
      Short track speed skating
      Short track speed skating will move to a six day competition (previously the events were held over five days). This is being done because of an additional event (the mixed relay) being added to the competition program. Short track competitions will begin on day 1 (February 5th), with the first medals being awarded in the aforementioned mixed relay. The competition will wrap up on February 16th with the women's 1500 meters and men's 5,000 meters relay.   
      Skeleton
      Just like in PyeongChang, the skeleton competition will be held over three days. The men will start it off on February 10th, with the women's competition concluding on the 12th.   
      Ski jumping
      Ski jumping is one of four disciplines with new events at Beijing 2022, with the addition of the mixed team event. The competition begins on February 5th with the men's normal qualification and the women's normal hill final. The men's team large hill concludes the competition on February 14th. The new mixed team event is scheduled for February 7th.   
      Snowboarding
      The snowboarding competition also sees a new event added, with the mixed team snowboard cross the new event added. However, even with an additional medal event, the competition will only be held over ten days (versus the eleven in PyeongChang 2018). The snowboarding competition starts on February 5th with the women's slopestyle qualification and concludes with the men's and women's big air events on February 15th. The new mixed team snowboard cross is scheduled for February 12th.   
      Speed skating
      Just like in 2018, the speed skating competition will be held over 11 days. The women's 3000 meters will be the first event on February 5th, and the mass starts will conclude the competition on February 19th.   
      Note: The schedule is subject to change.
       
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      2053 • 7

    • John Foyne

      The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) announced today that the Spanish city of Palma will serve as host for the 2021 version of the IFAF Flag Football World Championships from October 6-10. This comes several months after the 2020 IFAF Flag Football World Championships, which were supposed to be held in Denmark, were cancelled because of COVID-19. This is not a surprising move by IFAF since the Spanish Federation of American Football (FEFA) expressed immense interest in picking up the hosting duties since the cancellation of last year’s World Championships. 
       
      Perhaps the biggest part of this announcement is the fact that these World Championships will serve as the qualifier for the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama. According to IFAF, the top seven men's and women's teams will book a trip to the World Games in July of 2022. Because of COVID-19, there will be no qualifications for this event, instead IFAF will announce a field of teams in early 2021. However, expect Austria, Israel, Denmark, France, Japan, Mexico, and Panama to be very competitive.
       
      Throughout the world there are many versions of flag football. According to the current IFAF rulebook, the version that will be played at the World Championship is the 5 on 5 Non-Contact version, which to many in the American Football community is the least entertaining version of not just flag football, but American Football. It will be interesting to see if these rules are adjusted at the next IFAF General Meeting. Perhaps the Birmingham Organizing Committee will step in and insist on an 8 on 8, or 7 on 7, more exciting version of flag football. 
       
      With this announcement, not only do we see IFAF continuing to offer olive branches to those nations who were on the IFAF-Paris side of the IFAF schism of 2015; but also, their dedication towards flag football over the traditional tackle version of American Football. IFAF sees flag football as their entry into the Olympic Games, and thus have thrown most of their resources into the flag bucket. Shorter, safer, and gender equal sports seem to be the rage with the IOC, as seen with the additions of Rugby 7's and 3x3 Basketball. Could Flag Football be next? It's an opportunity that IFAF will not pass on. But first, let's see what Palma will offer next fall. 
       
      Source: https://www.ifaf.org/news/spain-to-host-2021-world-flag#.X7iBPmhKiUk
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      1033 • 0

    • Olympian1010

      Ireland has become the newest member of the International Luge Federation after the country’s membership was approved by the governing body.
       
      Ireland’s membership was accepted during the 68th Congress of the International Luge Federation, which took place virtually for the first time due to the ongoing global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Ireland becomes the 53rd country to become a member of the International Luge Federation. 
       
      Ireland’s admittance into the FIL was met with great enthusiasm by luge athlete Elsa Desmond, who announced that she will begin sliding for the nation. In a post on Instagram, Desmond stated, “I am beyond excited to be able to officially announce that I will now be racing for Ireland! Thank you so much to everyone who has helped make this possible! I hope I can make you proud on the ice!”
       
      Desmond originally started luge as an athlete representing the United Kingdom. She has yet to officially start in a World Cup race, but she does have multiple Nations Cup starts under her belt. She also placed 10th at the 7th FIL U23 World Championships, which were held in tandem with the 48th FIL World Championships, where she finished ranked 30th.
       
      It’s unclear if Desmond will race for Ireland on the FIL artificial track circuit this year, but she did indicate in her Instagram post that she is targeting qualification for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. She will be required to enter World Cup races in either the 2020-2021 season, or the 2021-2022 season in order to stand a chance at Olympic qualification. Her prior ranking as an athlete for the United Kingdom also suggests that she will have to attend the 2021 International Training Week at the Olympic track in order to meet the full requirements for Olympic qualification.
       
      Desmond’s first opportunity to represent Ireland will come soon, with the 2020-2021 FIL World Cup season quickly approaching. The 2020-2021 FIL World Cup begins in Innsbruck on November 28, 2020.
       
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      573 • 2

    • intoronto

      The Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF) has announced Santiago, Chile as the host of the men's and women's field hockey Pan American Cups.
       
      Both events are scheduled to be held between January 20-30, 2022 at the newly built National Hockey Stadium in Santiago. The venue is also scheduled to host the 2023 Pan American Games field hockey competition. Santiago last held the men's competition in 2009, while this will be the first women's Pan American Cup staged in Santiago. Argentina are the defending champions in both tournaments.
       
      The Pan American Cups are a qualifier for the aforementioned Pan American Games. The top two countries not qualified after the South American Games and the Central American and Caribbean Games have concluded, will qualify for the respective Pan American Games competition. More information on the qualification system is available here. 
       
       
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      709 • 0

    • Olympian1010

      The International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation announced that the 2021 IWWF World Waterski Championships will be held in Lake County, Florida.
        After an 18-year wait, the IWWF World Waterski Championships will return to the United States. The biennial event will be hosted at the Jack Travers Water Ski School on October 11-17, 2021. It is expected that more than 200 water skiers, from around 35 countries, will compete in the championships.   “We are thrilled to host the 75th Anniversary edition of the IWWF World Waterski Championships in Florida, the birth place and waterski capital of the world, at one of the premier venues so athletes can perform to the best of their abilities.” said Jose Antonio Perez Priego, President of IWWF.   “As the National Governing Body for the sport in the United States, we are thrilled to host this global event here in Florida,” said Tim Cullen, President of USA Water Ski & Wake Sports. “For competitive three-event water skiers this is the marquee event on the competition schedule.”   “On behalf of our partners at Visit Lake and Jack Travers Water Ski School, we are excited to welcome the 2021 IWWF World Waterski Championship to Lake County,” said Jason Siegel, President & CEO of the Greater Orlando Sports Commission. “Our community looks forward to providing a safe and exciting environment for the skiers and their families who are traveling to compete in this prestigious event.”   The 2021 event will include a week of meetings for IWWF’s Bureau, Executive Board and World Congress, as well as an International Hall of Fame Awards ceremony concluding the week’s festivities.  
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      815 • 0

    • Olympian1010

      The official Rugby World Cup 2021 match ball design was unveiled by World Rugby and Gilbert today. 
       
      The official Gilbert Rugby World Cup 2021 ball features unique elements from the tournament’s striking brand look and feel which integrates the energetic RipoRipo graphic. The RipoRipo carries cultural significance in New Zealand, where the 2021 tournament will be hosted, representing the water and the land.

      Gilbert have a long-standing affiliation with the women’s editions of Rugby World Cups, having supplied the match balls to every tournament since 1991. The 2021 tournament edition will be the first time ever that Gilbert have offered a full range of replica and supporter products, to commemorate the tournament.
       
      World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “As anticipation builds ahead of the Rugby World Cup 2021 Draw, which is less than three days away, we are delighted to mark another important milestone with the unveiling of the official Rugby World Cup 2021 ball with our partner Gilbert, a longstanding supporter of the women’s game.”
       
      Richard Gray, CEO Commercial at Gilbert Rugby, added: “We are delighted to renew our long and successful relationship with Rugby World Cup and to extend our support of women’s rugby. The 2021 tournament promises to be an unforgettable experience and we are excited to today launch the official ball design – celebrating New Zealand’s unique rugby history and heritage. Having supported women’s Rugby World Cup since 1991, for the first time ever, everyone at Gilbert is proud to offer an unprecedented full range of products for supporters for the 2021 edition.”
       
      Rugby World Cup 2021 in New Zealand will be contested by 12 nations and will kick off on September 18th with the winner to be crowned at Eden Park on October 16th.
       
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      651 • 0

    • John Foyne

      The International World Games Association's (IWGA) Annual General Meeting looked a lot different this year than in years past. Instead of meeting in the Olympic capital of Lausanne, the IWGA met virtually on Friday November 6th to discuss a variety of topics concerning the future of the IWGA, and their International Federations (IFs).
       
      The biggest change was seen in the athlete quota cap being raised from 4,200 to 5,000 athletes. This is no doubt a move by the IWGA to include more sports and events into their programme. Earlier this summer, the IWGA suffered some blowback from athletes and the public after they released their competition programme for Birmingham 2022. Several traditional sports such as Men's Boules and Trampoline were left off the programme, and other sports saw their male quotas cut. By expanding the total overall quota it is the hope for the World Games to expand the games with new sports, and new events; such as the possibility of adding para sports at the World Games, with Wheelchair Rugby set to feature in Birmingham next summer. 
       
      The invitational sports programme is also set to undergo some changes. Currently, the Local Organizing Committe can select up to five sports of their choosing to be "invitational sports" at their games. The invitational sports do count towards the medal count, but it is a great way to attract spectators and make money by bringing in sports that the local population is familiar with.
       
      At the last World Games in 2017, the Wroclaw Organizing Committee selected American Football, Indoor Rowing, Kickboxing, and Speedway. American Football and Speedway dominated the ticket sales and Kickboxing is now on the official programme. 
       
      According to the IWGA, this new system will be "more flexible" and will most likely consist of a dozen sports that a host city can select from, or these sports will be on a rotating basis. 
       
      The IWGA also set new protocols for full time members. According to sources, only IFs that are members of the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARIDF) can become new fulltime members, with current IWGA members already being grandfathered in. This new rule opens up the door for sports such as American Football and Cricket to gain full membership with the IWGA. However, IF's that are not members of the IWGA or ARIDF can still vie for spots on the reformed invitational programme. 
       
      The idea of multi-sport games continues to change, and the IWGA continues to change with it. However, their older brother, the IOC, continues to dwell in the past. The sports played at the World Games are modern and exciting as several sports have already "graduated" to the Olympic programme such as: karate, softball, sport climbing, and breaking. Also, the IWGA continues to insist that their host cities do not build new facilities for the games. This is something that the IOC continues to struggle with, and has led to a reduction of viable host cities, along with clashes with tax paying citizens of potential host cities. 
       
      With the dates, programme, and athlete quota already set for Birmingham 2022, these new changes are expected to be first seen at Chengdu 2025.
       
      Sources:  
      https://www.theworldgames.org/news/The-World-Games-17/Radical-new-strategy-approved-at-first-virtual-AGM-2058
      https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1100311/world-games-virtual-meeting
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      732 • 0

    • John Foyne

      On Tuesday, Zeljko Karajica of SEH Sports & Entertainment Holding and Patrick Esume, probably the most well known and connected European in American Football, announced that they will launch the first fully professional American Football League since NFL Europe packed up and left the continent in 2007. 
       
      In June of 2021, the European League of Football, or ELF, will launch with eight teams. Six will be located in Germany with teams calling the cities of Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Hannover and Ingolstadt, home. The seventh team will feature the Wroclaw Panthers from Poland, perhaps the biggest powerhouse in European American Football. An eighth team will be featured at a later date. 
       
      Patrick Esume, better known on the gridiron as "Coach" Esume, has a stellar resume on the European continent. The former linebacker won multiple German Bowls, Eurobowls, and World Bowls as a player. Currently, Esume is the Head Coach of the French National Team, who most recently won gold at the 2017 World Games in Wroclaw, as well as the latest version of the European Championship. 
       
      Esume is confident that this venture will work, and believes that the ELF will allow the sport of American Football to flourish in Europe: 
       
      “With more than 65,000 members in 500 clubs, the football family in Germany has doubled since 2008. The ratings of the NFL broadcasts are growing from year to year, with almost two million people in front of their TV’s during the Super Bowl 2020. The desire for football is gigantic – and our proud franchises and the ELF will satisfy that need in the NFL-free time with top European sport.”
       
      Do I love this idea? Of course. I think anything to grow the game of American Football is great. However, American Football is a costly sport. There is a reason why it is not as popular as other "easily accessible" sports across the globe.
       
      Starting a league with the premier team in Europe on your side is great, but there is a need for DEEP pockets if they want to fund a "fully professional" American Football league. Let's even throw paying the players out of the equation. They still will need to pay for facilities, physios, room and board, equipment, coaches and staff. 
       
      The current format of American Football in Europe works because teams only pay three players, their import players. In most European leagues, teams are allowed three "imports" or American players, who are paid a very low salary, but are given benefits such as room, board, and flights. 
       
      A full professional league is going to need more than just three Americans on a roster. If you want a quality professional American Football league, you're going to need quality players. Therefore an import rule of at least ten Americans per team would be required. Here is the major question: Does the ELF have enough funding and money to operate a successful American Football League? Former start ups such as the XFL, AAF, UFL, AFL all took major loses and eventually folded. If the ELF is serious about being "fully" professional, then they better be "fully" funded. 
       
      Here's the hard fact. American Football Leagues come and go. I've played in many of these now "folded" leagues, and I've learned one thing. The NFL is king. If you're looking to make money playing, coaching, or even promoting American Football, you go to the NFL. Outside of that, no one cares about adult American Football. 
       
      Photo: Wroclaw Olympic Stadium (wroclawuncut.com)
       
      Source: (americanfootballinternational.com)
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      872 • 0

    • Olympian1010

      The International Paralympic Committee has confirmed plans to send up to six athletes to the 2020 Paralympic Games as part of a Refugee Paralympic Team. The IPC will also work with its commercial partners  and the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, to create awareness of the plight faced by refugee athletes and to send a message of hope to the almost 80 million forcibly displaced people worldwide.

      Ileana Rodriguez, a former refugee and a London 2012 Paralympian, has been appointed Chef de Mission for the Refugee Paralympic Team. Speaking on her appointment, Rodriguez said, “It is an honour to be appointed by the IPC for this role. As a former refugee who was lucky enough to compete in the Paralympics, I appreciate the value of having a Refugee Paralympic Team - it represents sports beyond nationalities and our athletes who will compete in Tokyo will be a symbol of hope for other refugees around the world.” 
       
      She further commented on her appointment saying, “We will also be proud to represent the legacy of Sir Ludwig Guttmann. He was a refugee who found a new home to welcome him and repaid that kindness by helping create one of the world’s great movements, the Paralympic Movement. I hope the RPT (Refugee Paralympic Team) will encourage others around the world to support refugee athletes and give them the platform to raise awareness of the plight faced by all refugees.” Rodriguez will work with the IPC to select the athletes who will form the Refugee Paralympic Team for Tokyo 2020.
       
      According to the IPC, in order to be considered for the team, athletes must have confirmed refugee status in accordance with international, national and regional law. They will be subject to selection by the IPC and/or their international federation, primarily based on their performance and them meeting the eligibility criteria. The IPC has yet to select any athletes for the Refugee Paralympic Team that will compete at Tokyo 2020.

      The IPC will offer a range of in and out of competition support to prospective refugee para athletes. The IPC will help prospective athletes meet the qualification target and eligibility criteria for the Games, provide funding for athletes to attend Tokyo 2020 qualification events, support athletes to prepare for competition, provide coaching support, support up to six athletes selected for Tokyo 2020 with their participation at the Paralympic Games, and provide legacy support that will help refugee para athletes compete in further competitions through to the end of 2021. 

      Additionally, the IPC will work in close collaboration with UNHCR to leverage both, the Refugee Paralympic Team and the Paralympic Games, in order to send a strong message of support to all refugees and others who have been forced from their homes by conflict and persecution. According to the IPC, while all refugees face significant challenges, those with disabilities are frequently at heightened risk and face barriers to accessing assistance, services, and opportunities. Together with UNHCR, the IPC will continue to promote the active inclusion and full participation of refugees with disabilities in society through para sport.
       
      Dominique Hyde, Director of the Division of External Relations at the UN Refugee Agency, added, “Despite living a razor-edge existence and facing challenges to their training routines due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the resilience and determination of these refugee athletes continues to shine through. UNHCR is delighted to support this initiative of the International Paralympic Committee. It will showcase the incredible abilities of these refugee Paralympians who have overcome, at times, insurmountable obstacles to reach the pinnacle of sport for all athletes.”

      The Refugee Paralympic Team builds on previous refugee initiatives created by the IPC. At the 2016 Paralympic Games, a two-person team of refugee and asylee athletes formed the Independent Paralympic Athletes Team. The athletes were: Ibrahim Al Hussein of Syria, who competed in the 50m and 100m S10 freestyle swimming events, and Shahrad Nasajpour of Iran, who competed in discus F37. Neither of the athletes won medals, but they did win over the hearts spectators at the Games.
       
      With just under 300 days to go until the 2020 Paralympic Games, preparations for the rescheduled Games are in full swing. The rescheduled 2020 Paralympic Games are slated to begin with the opening ceremony on August 24, 2020.
       
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      567 • 0

    • Olympian1010

      World Shooting Para Sport has launched a survey for athletes, coaches, National Paralympic Committee and National Federation representatives about the proposed changes for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games programme.

      The proposed changes are to add new disciplines for vision impaired (VI) shooting and shotgun (Para trap) to the Paralympics medal programme, while slightly altering the existing rifle events. To add the new disciplines, World Shooting Para Sport would need to combine the men’s and women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 (R1/R2) events and the men’s and women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1 (R7/R8) events in order to have these quotas available for the additional events. The new R1/R2 and R7/R8 events would then be mixed gender events, instead of separate male and female events. 
       
      Tyler Anderson, World Shooting Para Sport Senior Manager, said “The key change here is that these medal events will become more competitive with the increased number of competitors in each event. It is important to us that with these proposed changes SH1 rifle athletes still have the opportunity to win medals in four different events - this has not changed. The main aim of this change is to provide additional medal opportunities for our new and growing athlete populations.”
       
      World Shooting Para Sport first adopted Para trap in 2017. In Para trap, competitors use a shotgun to hit ‘clays’ which are propelled into the air from machines on the ground. The first Para Trap World Championships took place in Lonato del Garda, Italy in 2018.

      Vision Impaired (VI) shooting officially joined World Shooting Para Sport in 2019. In VI shooting, athletes use an audio signal to guide them in their aiming, with the audio signal rising in pitch as the point of aim moves nearer to the centre of the target.
       
      Both VI and Para trap were added to the Para Shooting World Championships programme for the first time last year in Sydney, Australia.

      Speaking about the new disciplines, Anderson added, “VI shooting gives us an exciting opportunity to expand how we showcase our sport to the world and allows us to grow our sport by welcoming a new athlete population. Shotgun is very much a part of our shooting sport family and allows us to reach new stakeholders and grow our sport together.” 
       
      The Shooting para sport community have until November 30th to provide their feedback on the proposed program changes. World Shooting Para Sport will then make a decision on which events and disciplines they will ask the IPC to include on the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympics program.
       
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      514 • 0

    • intoronto

      Note: Article was first written in March 2019. Written by: AA
       
      At the age of 18, Adriana Diaz’s is already Puerto Rico’s top ranked female table tennis player. Currently ranked 29th in the world, Diaz has already carved out tremendous international success for her nation. 

      First Puerto Rican table tennis Olympian
      Not many 15-year olds are world class table tennis players. Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico at the age of 15, became the first table tennis athlete (along with Brian Afanador) from her nation to qualify and compete at the Summer Olympics in 2016. At the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Diaz managed to win her first-round match against Olofunke Oshonaike of Nigeria but lost her second-round match against Li Xue of France. However, the youngest table tennis athlete in Rio showed multiple flashes of brilliance and future potential. With her performance in Rio de Janeiro, a star was born!

      Grew up with the sport
      So how did a 15-year-old take the world by storm in Rio de Janiero? One would need to go back to when she was just four years old and started to practice the sport. Her father, Bladimir, a full-time table tennis coach set up infrastructure so his daughters could practice and play. The sport of table tennis runs in the family, as both of Diaz’s parents played competitively, while her three sisters: Fabiola, Gabriela and Melanie also compete. Part of her training progress included a training camp in China, a world power in the sport. In China, she suffered defeats, but enjoyed her time there.  Diaz admitted the sport was meant for her, “I tried to play with dolls -- but, I've always been a sporty girl,". "I knew that table tennis was for me. It was fun, and I was very good at it”. 

      International Success
      Diaz’s first international multi-sporting event success was the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games as a 13-year-old. Diaz tasted early success by medalling in all four events she competed in, gold in the mixed doubles and team event, while winning silver in the singles and women’s doubles.

      In 2015, Diaz competed at her first Senior World Championships, where she lost in the first round of the singles event against the 23rd seed of Cheng I-ching of Chinese Taipei. Later in the year, she would lead the Puerto Rican women’s team to a bronze medal at the 2015 Pan American Games in Markham, Canada. 
      In 2018, Diaz’s success on the world stage continued to grow as she went on to win all four gold medals she contested at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games (singles, women’s doubles, mixed doubles and team). 

      In February 2019, Diaz also won the Pan American Cup title on home soil by beating Zhang Mo of Canada in a five-set thriller, repeating her performance from the 2018 Pan American Championships in Santiago.

      The Future
      Moving forward, Diaz has set herself a goal of reaching the top five in the world rankings. If she were to reach that pinnacle, Diaz would become the highest ranked Puerto Rican table tennis player in history, “if I practice and train hard, maybe I can be top five in the world."

      The next biggest event on Diaz’s schedule is the 2019 World Championships and then the 2019 Pan American Games. Currently ranked first in Latin America, Diaz will fancy her chances of winning Puerto Rico’s first ever table tennis gold medal at the Pan American Games. A top result would also qualify Diaz for her second Olympics to be held in Tokyo next year. However, the competition will be tough with Diaz’s rival and 2011 Pan American Games champion, Zhang Mo of Canada, 2015 champion Wu Yue, of the USA and Bruna Takahashi of Brazil, all fancying their chances of the continental crown. 

      With plenty of success already and consistent improvement, Adriana Diaz’s potential continues to be endless. 
       
      Sources:
      March 2018 ITTF Rankings
      President of the Puerto Rican Table Tennis Federation proud of 2016 campaign, ITTF
      Will Puerto Rico's Adriana Diaz make table tennis 'a thing' in North America?, ESPN
      Adriana Díaz Wins Easily in Olympic Debut, Caribbean News Service
      Puerto Rico Table Tennis Star Is World-Traveling Trailblazer, Sports Engine
      Adriana Diaz’s athlete profile, Table tennis for you
      Adriana Diaz athlete profile, Toronto 2015 Pan American Games
      Adriana Diaz athlete profile, ITTF
       
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      1056 • 0

    • Vojthas

      The coronavirus pandemic forces more and more multi-sport games to be postponed. This includes also European Youth Olympic Winter Festival in Vuokatti, which was to take place next February. The organizing committee decided to move the event to December.
       
      The competition for athletes between 14 and 18 years of age will take place on 11-18 December 2021. With keeping it in an original year of organizing the Festival, it gives the chances to participate for the same athletes, as the February date, despite some of them might be aiming for the competition of a higher age category in the 2021/2022 winter season, which features also 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
       
      The decision of Vuokatti 2021 organizers follows the postponmenet of the summer edition of 2021 EYOF, which will be held in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia in 2022 to avoid clash with the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to be held in Summer 2021. Another competition planned for the next winter, 2021 Winter Universiade in Lucern was also postponed by FISU with the new date still not being announced.
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