by Larry Eder
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
KYIV (UKR): IAAF Vice President Sergey Bubka has vowed to create tailored Development Plans for every National Federation if he wins the IAAF Presidency election in August. One of the key pillars of his Program, ‘Taking Athletics to the New Heights,’ Bubka wants IAAF officials to visit every National Federation individually and meet with the local governments to discuss ways to develop athletics. Bubka said: “My goal is to use an individual approach for every National Federation just as a coach uses different techniques for the different athletes he trains.” The legendary pole vaulter has another top aim and that is that every national federation will have a synthetic track. New grants need to be established within the IAAF to boost and support new regional competitions for different age groups aims Bubka who celebrated this week 10 years as president of Ukrainian NOC. Bubka, who has chaired the IAAF Development Commission since 2011, stressed that IAAF Regional Development Centres (RDCs) should become the main links in implementation of this idea. Bubka also aims to help every National Federation to be represented at major athletics events. He added: “We must help developing countries to achieve in key athletics events as well. The IAAF should cover all expenses for developing countries to ensure the presence of at least two athletes and one official from every National Federation at World Championships.” Informs Sergey Bubka website.
NICARAGUA (NCA): IAAF Presidential candidate Seb Coe pledged to ensure that the IAAF invests more revenues more directly to its Member Federations for development purposes if he is elected President. Speaking from Nicaragua where he is attending the Greater Central American Championships, Coe also promised a full review of IAAF Development Programmes to ensure they are better tailored to meet the specific requirements of Member Federations and their local needs. “After travelling the world and meeting so many of the hard working representatives of IAAF Member Federations, I am convinced that the time has come to ensure that IAAF redistributes more revenues more directly to its Member Federations for development purposes. I will reveal more details about this plan and my commitments nearer to the Congress in Beijing, but the principle is clear: these reserves do not belong to the IAAF – they belong to all the Member Federations and should now be invested to develop and grow the sport worldwide.” Coe also added: “The role of the IAAF’s Regional Development and High Performance Centres also needs to be reviewed. We need to think more in terms of bringing the RDCs to the Federations and that is why I want to see the introduction of Mobile Regional Development Centres to supplement the RDCs where skilled people, rather than buildings, can connect with and support Member federations year round. There is also huge potential for ‘E learning’ using experts to mentor those from developing Federations cost-effectively.” From a press release.
