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had some luck in other events, as Zheng Siwei / Huang Yaqiong won the mixed double, Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan won the women’s dou- ble event, while the local duo of Liang/Chan had to bow to Korea’s World Champions Seo Seung Jae and Kang Min Huyk.
The 2023 badminton season officially end- ed after a tournament well run, with a packed stadium most days and packed media rooms – mostly from local media, but not only. After resting for a while the players will head to Ma- laysia for the first major event of 2024 – one of the four Major Super 1000 tournaments. Mean- while the Para-badminton community is also preparing for another season - the last event of 2023, one of the last qualifying tournaments for Paris Paralympic Games, was held in Dubai in December. Only one qualifying event is remain- ing in 2024.
Canoe/Kayak
By Helmar Steindl - AIPS Canoe/Kayak Delegate
2024, a promising year for canoe- ing and kayaking If all goes well, 2024 will
be an outstanding year for Olympic events and canoeing in particular. One major benefit of the Olympics is growing popularity. Canoeing is no exception, as the increasing number of athletes worldwide in the various disciplines shows. Reflecting global trends, there has been a move towards gender equality at the Olympics. In ca- noe slalom, for example, the men’s doubles has been replaced by the women’s singles. Other events have seen rule changes to bring them up to date.
A completely new, exciting singles competition will debut at the Nautical Stadium in Paris: the men’s and women’s kayak cross. Four athletes all slide down a ramp at the same time in iden- tical plastic creek boats, as are commonly used for canoe slalom, to race against each other and the clock over the course. Upstream and downstream gates, contact between the boats, waves and eddies add to the challenges in vari- ous situations. An Eskimo roll, flipping a full 360 degrees, is also mandatory within a designat- ed zone. Special tactics are definitely required to win the preliminary races and ultimately the finals.
In addition to these innovations in canoe slalom, tradition will still play a role at the Paris Olym- pics. After all, it was Baron Pierre de Coubertin who founded the modern Olympic Games in Paris. Continuing this tradition, France is host- ing the Summer Games for the third time. Let us just hope that, however difficult the times we live in, the 2024 Olympics are crowned with success.
Countless medals in the past have cemented France’s reputation as a top sporting nation. Hopes are therefore also high for 2024. Indeed, France has excelled in canoeing and especially in canoe slalom. Many canoe greats have be- come legends in the country. French athletes consequently rank among the favourites for
the six canoe slalom events in 2024, which will bring crowds to the venues.
Not only spectators are drawn to the Olympics, paddlers also see the Games as a unique op- portunity to compete against the best, win a medal as a reward for the sacrifices made dur- ing years of training and gain a lasting reputation in international sport.
Football
By Keir Radnedge - AIPS Football Delegate
Football’s long-term health at stake in 2024 The old footballing year ended on a
sour note as far as governance was concerned. Football bosses had reacted with defiant self-confidence to the direction offered by the European Court of Justice in the Super League case. But the truth remained that a supra-na- tional court had questioned the implicit right of international federations, such as FIFA and UEFA in this case, to direct their own affairs un- hindered by the outside world.
The immediate consequences are clear: the ECJ ruling has been sent back to the Madrid commercial court which first considered UEFA’s disciplinary powers. The Spanish judge’s con- siderations will be complicated by the European federation’s assurance that it has updated its rules, particularly those of pre-authorisation. More uncertain is the long-term effect: this can only be to embolden the bevy of promotional companies – notably from the United States - clamouring to organise independent interna- tional tournaments. Along with this comes the money-no-matter Saudi Arabian appetite for hi- jacking European domestic events. The Coppa Italia and Super Copa de Espana have already been ‘lifted.’
FIFA has succumbed, speedily and happily, to the lure of a Saudi World Cup in 2034. This year will see further tilts in the same southerly direc- tion. All good for Saudi, of course, and also for the increasing power and influence of an Asian confederation which could not wait to endorse a Saudi World Cup even while other members were thinking about bids which, of course, nev- er came.
So expect also to be assailed by a refreshed clamour about sportswashing. Qatar took the practice to a new level with the 2022 World Cup and Saudi Arabia will strive to go much further. However much the Nordic nations, in particular, rail against the strategy no-one can deny that football is a wonderful short-cut to a manipu- lated visibility.
Other issues will continue to harass the game. These include match-fixing - including the deli- cate balance between football and betting - as well as the game’s ambivalent attitude to hack- ers or whistleblowers delving into its dark side. Out on the pitch football will need to beware a relentless desire in some quarters to med- dle with the Laws of the Game just as media focus is dominated by the UEFA Euro finals in Germany, the Copa America in the US then the
AIPS DELEGATES expanded Champions League in the autumn.
Did someone mention player welfare? How many bosses care when there is money to be made? The answer to that question is: Not enough. This wonderful game is packed with golden eggs. All the more reason to take extra care, this year, of the goose which lays them.
Forum Nordicum
ByJosefLanger- AIPSECMember
Discussion on Fluor wax ban head- lines 44th Forum Nordicum in
Austria From November 6 to 9, the 44th "Fo- rum Nordicum" took place in Bad Mitterndorf (AUT) ahead of the Ski Flying World Champi- onships, Kulm 2024 scheduled for January 25 to 28. Sixty-three Nordic journalists from nine countries took part in this traditional meeting, which, as always, was well organised by Thor- sten vom Wege (GER). Austrian and German legends of Nordic Skiing were present and many interesting topics were discussed. Austrian ski jumping heroes, Andreas Goldberg- er, who became Ski Flying World Champion in Kulm in 1996, Olympic champion Toni Innauer and Hubert Neuper, who lives in the region, were present. Also joining the traditional "Fis- cher" evening were Denise Herrmann-Wick (GER/cross country & Biathlon) and former German legends of Nordic combined, Hermann Weinbuch and Eric Frenzel.
However, the ban on fluorine in ski wax ("Fluor wax ban") issued by the European Union, which will be implemented in all disciplines of skiing in the coming winter, was discussed. A limit value must not be exceeded. If you're green, it's okay, if you're in the yellow zone, you'll be warned - and athletes above the threshold will be disqualified. This has already happened to a skier in the first giant slalom of the alpine wom- en World Cup race in October in Sölden. Christian Scherer, Secretary General of the Aus- trian Ski Federation, announced that there will soon be one for women in addition to the tradi- tional Four Hills Tournament for men. And there
Ski jumping legend Andreas Goldberger (R) with Thorsten vom Wege, OC-Chief of the Fo- rum (Photo by Forum Nordicum)
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