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International Wushu Federation
www.wushu.com.cn
President: Mr Zhijian Li
Secretary General: Mr. Jianchang Yan
Created: 1990
Address: 3, Anding Road, Chaoyang District, CN-Beijing 100101, PRC
Telephone: (86 10) 6491 2233
Fax: (86 10) 649 121 51
Email: iwuf@wushu.com.cn
[created in 1990, 86 affiliated national federations]
So whats going on with Wushu and the Olympics?
There has been a lot of speculation going on around whether Wushu will really be included in the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Various articles and rumours have told us different things.
This year (2005), the IWUF decided to take drastic measures to make wushu a sport fit for the Olympics by introducing new difficulty movements to be included in routines.
Wushu has been backed by the Olympic Council of Asia, and all its members to be entered as an olympic sport.
A rough translation from a recent article tells us:
Yesterday, Beiing mayor Wang Qi Shan revealed, that China has applied to add Wushu to the 2008 Olympic Games, but the IOC has already rejected this application. Currently our country just at is to deny to take Wushu into the 2008 Olympic games performance item and IOC consultations.
Source: www.21bowu.com
Cultural mix of Wushu and Olympics draws international attention
The first International Wushu and Olympic Culture Symposium was held in Macao on November 4, 2003. Sports and cultural scholars from over ten countries and regions attended the symposium. Kang Gewu, deputy director of Traditional Wushu Committee of the International Wushu Federation, hosted the symposium. He said Wushu was a typical event of oriental sports and therefore requires arduous exploration on its integration and exchange with the Olympic Movement.
On the symposium, Secretary-General of Africa Wushu Federation Baha, a Egyptian native, said through his own experiences, the possibility of integration of Wushu into Olympic culture could be possible.
Zhang Huixuan from the Chengdu Institute of Physical Education of China talked about the trend in development of Wushu around the world, citing changes in the makeup of nationalities of medal winners in previous World Wushu Championships.
Dr. Weng from the United States raised a very interesting issue: How to give a satisfying answer to young Wushu fans - the challenges on Wushu's entry into the Olympic Games.
Dr. Mark from Belgium delivered a speech about whether entering the Olympic Games is the ultimate stage of Wushu's internationalization.
Guo Zhiyu from the Shanghai Institute of Physical Education said the integration of Wushu with the Olympic Games was part of the evolution process of the human civilization. He called for active efforts in educating the people about the culture of Wushu in line with the Olympic spirit.
Former President of International Wushu Federation Li Zhijian, newly elected IWF President Yu Zaiqing and IWF Secretary-General Wang Xiaolin also attended the symposium.
Source: en.beijing-2008.org/79/61/article211616179.shtml
IOC sets the trend for future of the Olympic movement
The 114th Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today concluded two days of productive meetings. The 117 members present in Mexico City discussed four key areas, which will form the cornerstones of the future direction of the Olympic Movement:
- A review of the Olympic Programme;
- the study of the cost and complexity of the Olympic Games;
- the review of the IOC 2000 reforms;
- the operational and financial audits of the IOC administration.
The Session expressed its appreciation for the work of the Olympic Programme Commission led by Mr Franco Carraro, which for the first time since 1936 has made a full review of the sports programme. It confirmed the principle of periodic review of the sports programme and decided to postpone the decision on the exclusion of the three recommended sports, i.e. Softball, Baseball and Modern Pentathlon, until after the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens 2004 to allow the International Federations concerned to implement changes. The decision to cap the number of sports at 28, the number of events at 300, and the number of athletes at 10500 was unanimously adopted.
The IOC membership also agreed to study further the means by which the costs, complexity and size of the Olympic Games can be controlled while reiterating that the quality of the Games should be preserved primarily for the sake of the athletes. Several concrete measures will now be discussed with the different constituent groups concerned by the Olympic Games Study Commission led by Mr Richard W. Pound who will present his final report to the next IOC Session in Prague in July 2003.
The reforms adopted by the 110th IOC Session in December 1999 were upheld and in particular the decision not to visit cities bidding to host the Olympic Games was overwhelmingly supported by 108 votes to 6.
The Session also received explanations on the new IOC functional organizational chart, approved earlier in the week by the Executive Board, together with information on the financial reserves that as a matter of prudence the IOC should set aside (US$ 192 million) in order to financially survive a full or partial cancellation of any future Games.
Commenting on the Session, IOC President Dr Jacques Rogge said, "I am very satisfied with the quality of the discussions we had over the last two days. Last year, when I asked the IOC Executive Board for an extraordinary Session, I wanted it to be different from the usual ones that we have with a lot of formalities and administrative dealings. I wanted it to be focused on the four essential issues for the future of the IOC. Through open and transparent debates, the 114th IOC Session has set the trend for the future of the Olympic Movement. The IOC members were able to express their views and they have taken important decisions for the future. The decision to review sports on a regular basis is a fundamental and important change of policy. I believe we also took a good decision to postpone the possible exclusion of softball, baseball and modern pentathlon until after Athens 2004 as this will allow the Federations to demonstrate that they have addressed the issues identified by the Programme Commission report. By approving the report of the Olympic Games Study Commission the IOC Session has, for the first time, decided to make the Games smaller and less costly. I was delighted that the Session endorsed the spirit of the reforms of 1999 and was very satisfied with the audit which will result in major improvements to the efficiency of the IOC administration so that we can better serve our constituents," he added.
Source: The Official Website of the Olympic Movement
IOC reviews sporting programme for future games of the Olympiad
Following its review yesterday of the Olympic programme for the Olympic Winter Games in Turin in 2006, the IOC Executive Board today discussed the Olympic programme for future Games of the Olympiad, specifically the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in 2008 in Beijing. A total of 18 sports for the programme of the Summer Games have been submitted to the Olympic Programme Commission by their relevant International Federations for inclusion in future Games.
The Executive Board decided NOT TO ADMIT the following sports, which had made a request for inclusion into the Olympic Programme of the Games of the Olympiad:
Roller sports (FIRS)
Polo (FIP)
Surfing (ISA)
Bridge (WBF)
Chess (FIDE)
Air sports (FAI)
Billiards (WCBS)
Boules (CMSB)
Dance sport (IDSF)
Bowling (FIQ)
Racquetball (IRF)
Water ski (IWSF)
Squash (WSF)
Underwater sports (CMAS)
It was decided that the request from the International Wushu Federation (IWUF) will be further studied.
Decisions on inclusion/exclusion of sports will be made during the 114th IOC Session in Mexico in November. Changes regarding disciplines and events will be further discussed during future Executive Board meetings.
The full Olympic Programme Commission's report, explaining the Commission's recommendations and outlining the criteria against which summer sport, disciplines and events have been judged can be found below.
Source: The Official Website of the Olympic Movement
