More "clarification"
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/spo ... urope.html ISU president: World figure skating will move to North America or EuropeWith so many questions about what now seems the almost certain move and rescheduling of the World Figure Skating Championships, I thought it was time to get some answers from International Figure Skating Union president Ottavio Cinquanta.
Here the moist salient points of our conversation, which took place Monday a few hours after the ISU announced a) that Japan had decided it could not hold the 2011 worlds and World Team Trophy and b) the ISU has asked for formal applications by Tuesday from federations seeking to become substitute host:
1. The new site will not be in Asia.``We cannot do the event in China or Taiwan or (South) Korea,'' Cinquanta said. ``It would be a slap in the face to the Japanese.''
2. Although the ISU statement about Japan's decision used only the word ``possible'' to describe the move of the worlds,
Cinquanta said, ``I believe we will hold the championships at the end of April or early May in Europe or North America.''Russia, Finland and the United States have expressed interest in becoming the substitute host.
Canadian officials had said they are not interested in taking over the worlds, in part because the 2013 championships are scheduled for London, Ontario. But Skate Canada CEO William Thompson told the Associated Press Monday, ``(We) will submit a hosting bid if we can find an appropriate location with arenas, hotels and transportation infrastructure.''
3. Cinquanta hopes to have the substitute site approved by the ISU Council by Thursday or Friday. 4. There will be no World Team Trophy in 2011. Japan will have that event in April 2012, and there already is a deal for that with a Japanese broadcaster.
A few other matters:
*Cinquanta said the cancellation of the 2011 World Team Trophy will not affect the International Olympic Committee's acceptance, already provisional, of having a team event on the program at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia The IOC was to make its final decision after seeing how the 2011 World Team Trophy was handled.
``They will probably confirm what they have already decided: that there will be a team event in Sochi,'' Cinquanta said.
In a Monday email, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said IOC President Jacques Rogge ``will be in a position to make a proper decision despite the postponenment of the event.
``We have asked the ISU for additional footage (of the only other World Team Trophy, in 2009),'' Adamns wrote. ``The other elements we wanted to see are of technical nature. They already have been addressed between ISU and the IOC.''
*Both the United States and Russia are expected to take the next step and submit formal applications to be host of the 2011 World Championships. Both countries have time-consuming entry visa procedures under normal conditions.
``In case one of these two countries is chosen, of course it would be of paramount importance they guarantee to provide visas in due time,'' Cinquanta said.
USFS spokesperson Scottie Bibb said in a Monday email ``we have been in contact (with the State Department on the visa issue). They are aware of the possibilities and will assistas necessary.''
*The ISU's conditions for substitute hosts include 700 available hotel rooms. U.S. Figure Skating's proposal to have the worlds in either Colorado Springs, Colo. or Lake Placid, N.Y. figured on using dormitories at the U.S. Olympic training centers in either city for some of the housing.
That kind of housing is fine with Cinquanta.
``In exceptional circumstances, you have to accept exceptional solutions,'' he said. ``If this is the only way to have the championships, we tell the athletes you have to accept for one week to stay in a dormitory. When I was a (speed) skater, I stayed four to a room many times.''
The 2011 World Championships were to have begun today in Tokyo. The World Team Trophy was scheduled for April 14-17 in Yokohama, Jaoan.
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http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article. ... y=ice_newsNew worlds location likely to be announced Friday(03/21/2011) - In a telephone interview earlier today, ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta said a
decision on the date and location of the 2011 ISU World Figure Skating Championships will likely be made by March 25."The ISU has [made an offer to] all federations to send an official and precise application by Tuesday [March 22] night to hold worlds at the end of April or the beginning of May.
"Then the ISU will spend the next two days considering the applications.
Probably on Friday there will be an ISU council meeting via telephone, which will decide which city will get worlds. It will be a city in Europe or North America."On March 21, the ISU director general sent out a memorandum outlining the requirements for a host city, including available dates from April 18 onward; an 8,000-seat arena; a nearby practice facility; availability of 700 hotel rooms; and TV production for the entire event, with a signal free of charge to the ISU and TV rights holders. A formal application was attached.
U.S. Figure Skating has offered Colorado Springs, Colo., and Lake Placid, N.Y., homes of Olympic Training Centers, as possible locales. Russia and Finland have also submitted bids.