Mundialista Coliseum construction on track, but schedule remains tight
On a visit to Cali (COL), host city for the upcoming edition of The World Games, IKF President Fransoo was fully briefed by the Cali Local Organizing Committee CLOC. The main purpose of the visit was to obtain an update of the status of preparations for the korfball tournament, which is to be held from July 31 until August 4 at the Mundialista Coliseum. The Mundialista is a brand-new venue that is currently under construction. The start of the construction has been delayed several times over the past year, but started on February 1, 2013. The construction is still on schedule to be completed by June 15, 2013.
As is common in Colombia, the coliseum consists only of specatator stand, a court, and a roof on poles. To take advantage of natural cooling by wind, none of the facilities in Cali have walls, and neither does the Mundialista. The Mundialista is located on the premises of the Instituto Universitaria Escuala Nacional de Deporte. The END is the only dedicated sports university in Colombia and is well-equipped with full support facilities, including a gym, physiotherapy facilities and staff, and sports medical facilities and staff. As korfball will be the only sport played at the END during the World Games, all facilities will be available prior and during the tournament for the korfball athletes and their staff.
The Mundialista will be equipped with a floor that is well-known to many korfball athletes and fans: SportCourt. SportCourt was also the floor on which the final of the IKF World Championship 2003 was played in Rotterdam.