2010 Combat Games NEWS From SportAccord

The first SportAccord Combat Games Technical Meeting took place on 27-30 July 2009 in Beijing. The meeting was held in the Intercontinental Hotel, located within walking distance of the National Indoor Stadium, where the opening ceremony of the 2010 SportAccord Combat Games will take place. The meeting was carried out in an open, cooperative and effective manner, with concrete results and action plans worked out.

Beijing paid high attention to this technical meeting. Vice Mayor LIU Jingmin, also President of the Preparatory Committee personally opened the meeting on 28 July. He welcomed all the meeting participants and set up meeting objectives on behalf of the 2010 SportAccord Combat Games Beijing Preparatory Committee.

SportAccord equally regarded the technical meeting as a milestone for the preparation of the inaugural SportAccord Combat Games in 2010 in Beijing. All IF concerned were represented by their respective Technical Delegates. The group was led by AIBA President and IOC Member – Mr. C.K WU (representing SportAccord President – Mr. Hein VERBRUGGEN, and the Chairman of the SportAccord Combat Games Committee – Mr. Antonio ESPINÓS), and supervised by SportAccord’s two Combat Games Committee Deputy Chairmen, Mr. François BESSON and Mr. George YEROLIMPOS.

During the two-day meeting, the two sides updated each other on the event preparation. Most importantly, the IF Technical Delegates met with their counterparts – the competition team of the Beijing Preparatory Committee to work on each sport event technical details such as competition format, rules, equipment and competition schedules. Both sides worked out concrete results and further actions plans. All the meeting participants visited the selected venues, which also hosted the Olympic events in 2008. Taking in consideration the event legacy, the 2010 SportAccord Combat Games proposed primarily Olympic venues located in universities, whose characteristics are perfect for Combat Sports.

Meanwhile, SportAccord officials and the leaders of the Beijing Preparatory Committee carried out an in-depth discussion on the event promotion, marketing and cultural programme. Given the limited time left and based on the guidelines provided by SportAccord, Beijing is determined to explore the full potential of the Combat Games, the 13 sports attached to it, and the people around.

With the conclusion of this technical meeting, the 2010 SportAccord Combat Games preparation work has entered a new phase that calls upon continuous cooperation among all concerned stakeholders, which both SportAccord and the Beijing Organisers are very confident about.