The visit of the TAFISA delegation led by the President of the organization Ju-Ho Chang and the Secretary General Wolfgang Baumann to Russia turned out to be quite eventful. First, the guests visited Nizhny Novgorod, which is bidding to host the 8th TAFISA World Sport for All Games in 2024. If Nizhny Novgorod is chosen to host the Games, the ROC may become the first ever National Olympic Committee to organize these competitions at the amateur level.
Afterwards, the representatives of TAFISA went to Ulyanovsk where the 1st TAFISA World Martial Arts Festival was taking place, a unique event representing 30 different martial art directions: from Brazilian capoeira and Viking traditional fighting to Russian sambo.
Wolfgang Baumann, Secretary General of TAFISA:
– The festival was perfectly prepared and held at the highest level. I am sure that after such a successful start, many other countries will express the desire to host a similar event next time round. There have already been verbal agreements with South Korea and Brazil.
– What are the results of your trip to Nizhny Novgorod?
– As you know, this city is bidding to host the TAFISA World Sport for All Games in 2024. I came here a second time to inspect the sports facilities and infrastructure, experience the atmosphere, talk with the organizers and make sure that if Nizhny Novgorod is chosen, everything will be ready. I have had the most pleasant impressions. The place where the Volga and Oka merge is incredibly beautiful and the old town is wonderful with its temples and churches. The people here are hospitable and open-hearted.
As of today, the chances of Nizhny Novgorod hosting the Games are very high. Voting will take place this November in Tokyo at the TAFISA General Assembly. I have little doubt about the success of Nizhny Novgorod’s application. The city has several substantial advantages. For instance, there are many unoccupied venues that will be perfect for performances in sports that do not require halls or stadiums. Large open spaces are needed for boomerang throwing and Caber toss for example and Nizhny Novgorod has a great mix of the necessary facilities. Furthermore, the city has numerous squares and walking areas which would be suitable as a lot of people will attend the Games – we expect teams from 100 countries.
I would also like to mention that while in Ulyanovsk a meeting was held of the TAFISA Board of Directors. A decision was taken during the meeting to include Vladimir Sengleev, Director General of the ROC, into the governing body. I consider this an important and correct step. On the one hand, TAFISA will be closer to Russia if Nizhny Novgorod is chosen to host our main event – the 2024 Games. On the other hand, Vladimir Sengleev will have the opportunity to get acquainted in detail with all the areas of our work from within. I am sure that such cooperation will be productive. Now we are actively preparing for the TAFISA Congress in Tokyo due to be held very soon.
