The Special Olympics flame was lit in Athens last month for the start of the torch run for the Special Olympics Winter World Games to be held in Anchorage, Alaska this month. The ceremony was based on the flame-lighting ceremonies used to light the Olympic Games torch, but with twelve handicapped girls dressed as high priestesses, holding doves and olive branches. Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos, Anchorage mayor George Wuerch, several US senators and other dignitaries attended the ceremony.

Unfortunately the Mayor of Olympia Giorgos Aidonis, spoke out against the ceremony. "They are turning Olympic values and eternal symbols into tasteless commercial virtual reality,"

Timothy Shriver President and CEO of the Special Olympics said, "In Anchorage, the world will be taught a lesson. No child should be laughed at or forgotten, no parent should be told that their child cannot belong, and no society should be allowed to treat those with special needs any less well that any other citizen."

Winter European Youth Days

Vuokatti, Finland is ready to host the 2001 Winter European Youth Olympic Days.

The European Olympic Committees are to choose between Jaca, Spain and Monthey-Champery, Switzerland for the 2005 Winter Games and Stockholm, Sweden and Lignano, Sabbiadoro, Italy for the 2005 Summer Games.

The 2003 winter games have been awarded to Bled, Slovakia and summer games to Paris, France.

After 2005 the name of the games will change European Youth Olympic Festival.

Nigeria Preparations for 2003

Nigeria has said that they are on schedule for building the facilities for the All-Africa Games in 2003. The capital city of Abuja was made host last year despite having no facilities for major sporting events.

Amos Adamu, Nigeria's director of sports development, told the Association of African Sports Confederations in Abuja that construction of the facilities was going "faster than planned". "We can categorically say that everything for the Games will be ready by December 2002. Firms from Germany, France and China were awarded $40 million worth of contracts to build the facilities for the Games.

The Nigerian sports minister has also indicated his intention to recruit 43,000 volunteers for the games. He said that the volunteers will be recruited from across the geographical zones of the country and will undergo a one-year intensive training program.

Nigeria is also beginning an anti-corruption committee to restore credibility in its sports administrations.

Africa Military Games

Planning continues for the inaugural Africa Military Games, to be held in Nairobi in April 2002. CISM has established a permanent East African Headquarters at the Moi International Sports Complex in Nairobi.

The World Executive Committee of the CISM will meet in Algiers in May to discuss the next World Military Games scheduled for 2003. The US was picked in 1999 to host the 2003 Games but has now pulled out. China and South Korea have been mentioned as alternate possibilities.

Supergames

The growth of new games continues unabated. In this case the Supergames from, Christchurch, New Zealand March30-April 8, 2001. Games are for Air Force, Army, Navy, Police, Fire and Prison personnel.

The games have one interesting eligibility rule, one we haven't seen before.

"Any person who has been convicted in a court of law and sentenced to and served a prison sentence of any length of time is NOT ELIGIBLE to compete in Supergames 2001."

International Police Winter Games

The IPWG committee is Planning Ahead 2002 Hockey and skiing to be in Innsbruck, Austria. (March 1st - March 9th) In 2003 Hockey will be on the East Coast of the US, Skiing most likely back in Lake Tahoe. Davos, Switzerland is the hopeful venue for the 2004 games. The games return to the US in 2005 and in 2006 St. Anton or Kitzbuhel, Austria are in the running.

Capitol Broadcasting to inaugurate another games?

Capitol Broadcasting Company of Raleigh, North Carolina has formed Capitol Sports Management with the goal of creating an international multisport games in the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina area.

Raleigh hosted the 1999 Special Olympics World Games and bid for the 2003 World Military Games and 2007 Pan-American Games but did not land either one.

The goal of the group is to create an event that they would not have to bid for, most likely a games for non-elite adult athletes who would pay their own way to the games.

The games would be held in 2003 to help celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the first Wright Brothers airplane flight at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.

Asian Track and Field hoping to pick up speed

Two new athletics meets the All-Star Athletics Championships and the Asian Grand Prix are on the drawing board in Asia, the Asian Amateur Athletic Association hoping to give the sport a lift in the region.

The Asian All-Star meet is proposed be an annual Asians-only meet that draws the track-and-field gold medallists from the five major regional Asian games- South-East Asia Games, Far East Asian Games, Asian Games, South Asian Games, Central Asian Games and the Asian Championships. The proposed event would be held on an annual basis, though the regional games are held every two and four years.

The Asian Grand Prix meet would be a series of three meets modeled on the IAAF Grand Prix. So far funding is the issue major issue to solve before the events get off the ground.

Mutola gets gold medal and bonus.

Maria Mutola, the 800 meter Olympic Gold Medallist, has received the house and car the Government of Mozambique had promised to the nations first Olympic gold medallist. The house, located along the Costa do Sol Beach, is valued at about 400,000 US dollars, and the car a Mitsubishi Pajero said to cost 75,000 dollars.

Russian Paralympians gain from Paralympic scandal.

The fallout from the Spanish teams disqualification for the basketball tournament in the intellectually disabled section of the Paralympics included a bonus for the Russian team. The Russians were awarded the silver medal and $2000 each from their federation. With the gold medal upgrade each member was eventually given the $5000 promised to gold medal winners.

Two new web links 

2001 Mediterranean Games in Tunis. 

2005 East Asian Games in Macao.

(thanks jörgen persson)

Anniversaries

Fifty years

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Feb. 26 - March 9, 1951

Asian Games New Delhi, India, March 4-15, 1951

Twenty Years

Winter World University Games Jaca, Spain, Feb. 23 - March 4, 1981

Special Olympics Winter World Games Smugglers Cove, USA, March 8-13, 1981