Round Table Conference on Gender Equality

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KAZAN – The FISU Gender Equality Committee held a ‘round table’ conference on July 16th at the Main International Centre, Kazan Russia, drawing about 60 people representing different delegations and organizations.

It was a majority of women from all parts of the world at the conference, but there were a number of men present who are involved with FISU.

A number of gender equality issues were highlighted within the sporting culture and the FISU structure itself and Helen Searle (Special delegate for equal opportunity for IKF) did a presentation of the sport of korfball as an example of a sport promoting all the values of equal opportunity that FISU are aiming to achieve.

The Gender Equality Committee seeks to improve equality and equity in all sports, in particular in university sports, which includes athletes, delegation and board members and officials.

27th Summer Universiade in Kazan

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Helen Searle, IKF’s Special Delegate for Equal Opportunity is currently in Kazan, Russia representing IKF at the 27th Summer Universiade which runs from July 6 to July 17.

These Games are held every two years and showcase the finest athletes in the world that are studying in Universities. The athletes will compete in 27 individual and team sports spread over many amazing new sports facilities in the city of Kazan where 20,000 volunteers are working daily to help the games be a big success.

The opening ceremony held in the new Kazan Arena Stadium was filled to capacity with 45,000 people and a spectacular show was displayed by the Russian organising committee for all the athletes and the public together for in amazing ceremony featuring modern technology combined with Russian traditional culture.

In conjunction with the games Helen’s main focus will be to participate in a conference organised by FISU (International University Sports Federation) and speak about korfball and how its fundamental principles promote equality in sport. Ideas and programs will be shared between conference delegates with the focus on gender equality in our global sporting community.

Helen is pictured here with Uni, the kitten of the winged snow leopard. Uni has been chosen as the mascot for the Kazan 2013 Summer Universiade. The winged snow leopard is the national symbol of the Republic of Tatarstan.

USA Year of Youth Match

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IMG_20130615_101004_589On Saturday, June 15, 2013, the USA held a youth in korfball event in California. We had middle school, high school and a couple college students come out to the even. We began with an introduction to korfball followed by some training. We ended the event with a White vs Blue korfball match. The match was very exciting to watch. At the half, the blue team was up 4-2. This deficit did not deter the white team a bit as they battled back and took over the second half. At the end of regulation, the score was tied at 9-9. Both teams went back and forth in golden goal, however, J. Vaiz was able to score the final goal leading the Blue team to it’s first California Youth in Korfball victory.IMG_20130615_101105_863

USA Participating in Year of Youth Korfball event

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The USA will be a part of the Year in Youth Korfball event. We will have a training session followed by korfball matches in California on Saturday June 16, 2013.

 

Jan Fransoo elected President Emeritus of ARISF

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IKF President Jan Fransoo today stepped down from the Presidency of ARISF, the Association of IOC Recognized International Sports Federations, after serving eight years as highest elected official in the 33-Federation strong body. In a contested election, Italian Mr Raffaelle Chiulli, President of UIM (Powerboating) was elected as new President, beating the other candidate, Mr Carlos Freitag (President of WDSF – Dance Sport). After being elected, Chiulli proposed to the General Meeting that Jan Fransoo be promoted to President Emeritus. As such, he will keep a (non-voting) seat on the ARISF Council.
Jan Fransoo ARISF

Fransoo was praised extensively for the work he had done for ARISF over the past years, both by many of the International Federations, but also by the IOC Sports Director Mr Christophe Dubi and the WADA Executive Director David Howman.

Fransoo announced late last year that he would be stepping down at the end of his term, wanting to spend more of his sport administration time on development of korfball and the IKF. After the meeting, he commented to be relieved that the transition has now started and he will be able to get more focus into his activities.

 

IKF appoints Albert Vidanya as its first Director of Development

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The International Korfball Federation has contracted Mr Albert Vidanya as it first-ever Director of Development and Education. Mr Vidanya (36), a resident of Barcelona, will take responsibility of all IKF programs for development, both in terms of high-performance and sport-for-all, for coaching, refereeing, and management. He will report directly to the IKF Executive Committee, and his appointment will be half-time. Within his role, Vidanya will also carry responsibility for assisting in the further development of the IKF’s marketing strategy.

The IKF is very happy with the appointment of Vidanya. IKF President Fransoo: “With Vidanya a long-time dream becomes reality where we have a technical person on board of our contracted staff. Mr Vidanya is not only able to direct the strategy in development, but also is an excellent on-the-ground coaching instructor, providing us with more flexibility to offer courses around the globe”.

Mr Vidanya was elected a member of the IKF Executive Committee with a responsibility for development and education in November 2011, and has stepped down from this position on May 1, 2013, to allow for his appointment as a contractor to the IKF. The Executive Committee will make proposals to the upcoming General Meeting about the vacancy on the Executive Committee resulting from Mr Vidanya’s new role.

Dr. Shouu-Chuyan YANG passed away aged 83 May 10th 2013

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Dr. Shouu-Chuyan YANG passed away aged 83 peacefully in the morning May 10th , the same date Prof. Eugene CHEN, Father of korfball Chinese Taipei, left to heaven in 2004. “Uncle Yang” (his nickname in the society of Chinese Taipei korfball athletes) acted as the President of the Chinese Taipei Korfball Association in 1993-1997 and furthermore, with the help of his fluent Japanese and English, the IKF innovated the development and promotion of korfball in Japan in 1998 and successfully organized the Korfball Tournament, the 6th World Games 2001 in Akita.

Recent years, Dr. Yang’s had been suffering heart illness and spinocerebellar atrophy. His last showing up in the international korfball stage was 2008 IKF U23 World Korfball Championship in Kaohisung, Chinese Taipei (see the attached photo). The funeral service will take place in his hometown, Hualien, at 09:00 am local time Wednesday 22 May.

Dr. Yang was born in 1931 to become the 2nd child of 10-child family of Yang. He and his wife, Michelle MA, also construct their own big family with 2 sons, 2 daughters and 12 grandchildren. We wish Yang’s wife, children, grandchildren and relatives of the family strength in the period ahead of them. The korfball world will remember Dr. Yang with the greatest respect.

Detlef Dülfer new President of German Korfball Association DTB-TK

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Former German national team player Detlef Dülfer has been elected as President of the German Korfball Association DTB-TK. Past President Ute Wickerhauser remain on board and continues in the position as Vice-President.

The German Korfball Association is in fact a technical committee (TK) as part of the German Gymnastics Association DTB. Dülfer and his team will lead the efforts of the German Korfball Community to grow towards a membership of 10,000 by 2020, while simultaneously increasing the standard of the national team.

 

Year of the Youth promotion in Catalonia

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The Catalan Korfball Federation is quite active with youth in the Year of the Youth 2013. Follow the link: https://twitter.com/korfbalkids?refsrc=email

 

Botlhe Mogapelwa Youth Sports Ambassador

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The International Alliance for Youth Sports (IAYS) has officially selected Botlhe Mogapelwa of Botswana as a Game On! Youth Sports Ambassador. By becoming an Ambassador, he joins a growing worldwide consortium comprised of dedicated individuals who are strong advocates of the power of sports in making a positive difference in the lives of children.

Mogapelwa founded the Korfball Association Botswana (KAB) in 2008 and he represented Botswana in the setting up of the African Continental Korfball Federation (ACKF) and the Zone Six Korfball Federation (ZKF) in 2009. ZKF has since been affiliated with the Supreme Council For Sport in Africa.

“I first met Botlhe in 2008 in Gaborone when we introduced korfball to Botswana,” said Chris Theyse, the International Korfball Federation Development Officer for the African Continent. “Botlhe seems to be a motivated person with a clear set of goals in life. Given the difficult circumstances experienced during the introduction and expansion of korfball in Botswana, he is indeed a person that can stick to his goals and can execute a demanding task over a long period of time.”