The International Association of Athletics Federations became the first world governing body to confirm it had resigned from SportAccord following the attack by its President Marius Vizer on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) here earlier today.

The IAAF is one of three International Federations to have resigned, along with International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) and World Archery.

Lamine Diack and  Franz Schreiber, President of the IAAF and secretary general of the ISSF respectively, were also among at least 10 Olympic Federations to sign a letter claiming they did not agree with Vizer's comments and that they back Bach.

Uğur Erdener, President of World Archery, was also also among the signatories of the letter and later confirmed they suspended their membership of SportAccord.

Vizer had launched a scathing attack on the IOC at SportAccord's General Assembly, accusing them of running a system that is "expired, outdated, wrong, unfair and not at all transparent."

The letter, obtained by insidethegames, claimed Vizer had spoken on their behalf without them being consulted.

"We the undersigned Members of the SportAccord Association are expressing to the SportAccord leadership our disagreement on the opinions expressed this morning by the SportAccord President during the opening speech which do not reflect the views of the International Federations," the letter said.

"We also express our strong support to the International Olympic Committee and to the Olympic Agenda 2020 which has been adopted under the leadership of the IOC President Thomas Bach in consultation and agreement with all the International Federations".

All of the Federations who have signed the letter are part of the Olympic programme at the Summer Games and, of the 13, eight are led by current or honorary IOC members.

All are considered to be close allies of Bach.

The most prominent name was Diack, a member of the IOC between 1999 and 2013 until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 80 when he became an honorary IOC member.

The other Federations to sign the letter were the World Aquatics Federation, World Archery, World Badminton, the International Basketball Federation, International Canoe Federation, International Fencing Federation, International Hockey Federation, FIFA, International Modern Pentathlon Union and World Rowing,

The International Cycling Union, International Volleyball Federation and World Rugby have all confirmed to insidethegames that they also later signed the letter.
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Both the IAAF and the ISSF announced they had resigned from SportAccord during the General Assembly where Vizer had made his remarks during the opening address.

"I can confirm that the IAAF has announced earlier today its decision to withdraw its membership of SportAccord which we are entitled to do under Article 11 of the Sportaccord constitution," IAAF deputy secretary general and official spokesman Nick Davies told insidethegames.

“The reason is that we are unable to agree with the contents and tone contained in the speech of the Sportaccord President Mr Vizer at the opening this morning.

"So this resignation is a protest against the position taken by Mr Vizer against the IOC and his statements about the position of the International Federations viz a viz the IOC which the IAAF cannot accept."

Olegario Vazquez Raña, President of the ISSF, backed Diack's stance.

“The ISSF cannot accept the positions expressed by the SportAccord President Vizer during his opening speech at the SportAccord Convention in Sochi, today," Vazquez Raña, a member of the IOC since 1995, told insidethegames.

"We do not share his negative evaluations on the governance of the International Olympic Committee.

"The ISSF fully supports the work of the IOC President Thomas Bach and we see the IOC Agenda 2020 as an opportunity for the whole Olympic Movement.”

World Archery confirmed they had resigned a few hours after the meeting.

"World Archery has informed SportAccord of its intention to suspend its membership with immediate effect," the governing body's secretary general Tom Dielen told insidethegames.

The issue is set to be top of the agenda when the ruling Council of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), chaired by International Tennis Federation President Francesco Ricci Bitti and which also includes Erdener, are due to hold a meeting here tomorrow.

Leaders from all 28 sports that will make up the Summer Olympic programme at Rio 2016 are then due to meet on Wednesday (April 22) for the  ASOIF annual meeting which Vizer, as President of the International Judo Federation, is expected to attend.

The IAAF, meanwhile, are a Gold Partner of the SportAccord Convention World Sport & Business Summit which is taking place here and are due to host a major event to promote athletics tomorrow.

But Bach claimed the row with Vizer would not affect the IOC's relationships with the International Federations.

"I think everyone was surprised [about his opening speech], even his own Executive Board did not have an idea and I think this speaks for itself," Bach told insidethegames."

We have - and always will have an excellent relationship with the different International Federations.

"Now, while we are talking, there is a workshop between the IOC and the IOC Recognised Federations (ARISF) going on.

"Our activities are accessible to everybody.

"Our support is obvious to everybody, so we will just continue in this way.  

"So it is business as usual."

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CABLE AND Wireless Communications (CWC) will be the official broadcast sponsor and telecommunications network for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This announcement was made at a media conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Port-of-Spain yesterday.

The rights for Cable and Wireless to air the Games was made by CANOC Broadcasting Incorporated (CBI), which is a subsidiary of CANOC (Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees). CANOC acts as the umbrella body for all Olympic Committees in the Caribbean region.

Steve Stoute, president and chairman of CANOC and CBI, told the gathering, “CWC will also be the first regional telecommunications partner to broadcast the Olympic Games on mobile devices. Each CANOC member will get the opportunity to partner with CWC if they so desire.

“This partnership will allow CANOC to bring the Games to the Caribbean audiences on cutting-edge technology,” added Stoute.

Elaborating on this point was John Reid, president of the CWC Consumer Group.

“Instead of taking a traditional linear approach to broadcasting, which limits our customers’ viewing choices, CWC will adopt a multi-platform approach to transmitting a wide variety of content,” Reid said.

“For our customers, this experience will be nothing short of spectacular,” he added. “They will have access to a unique variety of live video feeds, offered across a number of media platforms, including radio, ESPN’s live television coverage, video on demand, as well as mobile and Internet streams — all of which can be accessed from each customer’s preferred device.

“The best part is that we will do so at no additional cost to our customers.”

Reid noted, “from historical features to contemporary stories, our customers will have more than 12 hours each day of extra Olympic programming.

Much of this content is going to focus on our local and regional athletes because we want to showcase material that is relevant to our customers. We are proud to enable our viewers to see their hometown heroes in real time.”

He revealed that CWC will offer its commitment to the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) drive for “10 Olympic gold medals by the 2024 Games” Athlete Welfare and Preparation Fund. The fund is to garner financial support for TT athletes as they seek to amass 10 or more gold medals by the 2024 Olympics.

“While we’ve already made a donation to this important initiative, we plan to deepen our involvement and will actively look for other similar opportunities to nurture and develop our region’s youth and talent,” Reid pointed out. The agreement was endorsed by TTOC president Brian Lewis, who stated, “(yesterday’s) announcement represents an important step for the Olympic movement in the Caribbean.”

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FROM BREAKING neighbours’ windows to smashing records, a javelin thrower’s still emerging but already notable career belies the slender and humble exterior of Tobago’s latest sporting prodigy.

The northern half of our two-island republic, having produced no small number of outstanding personalities, introduced its latest offering on Easter weekend: the unassuming Tyriq Horsford.

It was at the Carifta Games in St Kitts two weekends ago that Horsford almost literally threw himself into the limelight. A 15-year-old shattering the record in a field event for Boys Under-18 - that’s stuff to make people sit up and take notice. The javelin record had stood at 67.67 metres; Horsford threw the spear a little past that, 70.73m to be precise.

Keshorn Walcott’s gold medal shocker at London 2012 notwithstanding, the Horsford saga started at a primary school in the fishing village of Parlatuvier, some seven years ago. A child used to “pelting stone” had excelled at an event called “throw the cricket ball,” and having watched some older boys in training, had made a habit of begging their coach to let him try out at the javelin.

“And I say, you too young for this,” said his coach Wade Franklyn. “His father told me that he does break everybody glass window in the village. He said, take care of him and train him, he might come out something good.” Franklyn, a Level Four Athletics coach, took the boy under his wing, and Horsford’s throwing distances have increased every year since. Basseterre was his second Carifta outing.

“I was expecting a lot, to throw over 70 metres and break the record,” Horsford said, relaxing amidst the Tobago contingent after winning his pet event at the Secondary Schools Championships last week. “And it was achieved, and that was basically it.”

Slim, and about five foot ten, he can only grow stronger. Horsford is also a decent sprinter, but in the javelin, he has much further to go; though he made the qualifying standard for the World Junior Championships, he is still under the minimum allowable age. Franklyn says he is already showing signs of maturity, noting that Horsford has moved up from training twice to up to four days per week. “I think it’s because of the age, he sees things a little different now, especially after making the national team.”

There seems to be a lot working in the youngster’s favour. Franklyn alludes to natural strength from a heritage of fishing and pulling nets and sails. “He has the capacity to learn, and as a matter of fact, he hasn’t even started to do strength training with weights yet,” he noted. “I really don’t want to push him too fast into that, because I mean his body is still developing. We do more like core work, speed work, jumps, drills, you know, and a lot of technique work, because technique is really important. If your body alignment and hip turns wrong, no way you could throw that distance, so you have to concentrate a lot on technique.”

It’s a lot for the teenager. He attends school at Signal Hill Secondary and trains at Shaw Park in Scarborough.

“I take two days off, like Tuesday and Thursday, so those days will be for my homework,” he explained. On weekends, he travels home to Parlatuvier; he is the youngest of four, having a brother and two sisters.

“My favourite food?” he paused, then smiled. “Dumplings and chicken.” Horsford loves music and relaxes by playing the guitar. “I love swimming,” he added, without prompting. “I love to go to the beach a lot. That is one of the most important parts of my career right now. Javelin puts a lot of strain on your shoulders, so bathing in the sea will recover it faster than usual.” Franklyn believes that Horsford could be throwing 80 metres next year. “Basically, with the mindset and the passion he has to reach that level where he wants to break the world junior record, I think that he’s on the right track.”

He added that Horsford would not be introduced to weights for a while yet. “I think at around 17, because by that time, his body should be more mature. It could slow him down. There are other forms of strength training we could work on.”

For the time being, the pride of Parlatuvier will remain just another ‘Fourth Former’ at Signal Hill.

“My motivation is train hard and shut up,” he said, staring intently at his teammates’ efforts on the track. “You have to be patient because nothing comes easy in life, it’s always by hard work, so you have to dedicate yourself to what you’re doing and try to work and improve, and always listen to your coach.”

Hopefully, the nation’s talented youth are listening.

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