Yearly Archives: 2024

Only Boxing Can Save Itself

By Ed Hula

Unless a grand compromise can be reached in the coming months, Olympic boxing is truly on the ropes from a self-inflicted knockout.

The IOC made it clear earlier this month that unless there’s an international federation to handle the sport by early 2025, boxing will not be on the program of the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.  If that happens, there is a strong likelihood boxing will never return to the sports program after appearing in every Olympics since 1920.

Despite being banished by the IOC last year as the sport’s recognized federation, the International Boxing Association shows no sign of remorse or willingness to go along with demands for reform. Corrupt refereeing, financial transparency and governance concerns are among the IOC’s chief worries.

Worried no longer about IBA, the IOC has left it up to the sport to find a way to organize a federation that meets its standards if it is to have any hope of remaining on the Olympic program.

In addition to addressing governance and integrity issues, the new federation must be able to stage world championships and other events for athletes to qualify for the Olympics. Since the federation was initially suspended in 2019, Olympic competition has been managed by an IOC task force. But after handling Tokyo and now Paris, IOC Pres. Thomas Bach says the organization’s patience is at an end. It’s time for boxing to put up or shut up.

Right now the situation seems bleak.

The fledgling World Boxing, formed late last year, aims to be that new federation for the Olympics. The group includes sporting powers such as the U.S., Great Britain, France and Australia, along with another two dozen national federations that abandoned the IBA following its disbarment. World Boxing is led by Boris van der Vorst, head of the Dutch Federation. He tried to challenge Kremlev for the IBA presidency but was ruled ineligible two days before the vote. Kremlev, the only candidate on the ballot, won. The federation then rejected an order from the Court of Arbitration for Sport to hold another election. Van der Vorst abandoned IBA to launch World Boxing as an IOC- worthy alternative.

While World Boxing speaks to the IOC demands with a strategic plan through the year 2028, it may be stalled in its effort to secure the backing of very many more national federations still aligned with IBA.

Unlike the IBA, World Boxing has no money to dish out. Dozens of federations in Africa and Asia in particular depend upon funding from the IBA. Where the IBA gets that money is not exactly clear. A series of so-called Champions Night bouts in Asia and Europe is generating revenue, but probably nowhere near the $15 million or so from Tokyo and Paris TV revenues the IOC would have allocated to the federation had it not been suspended.

The animus between IBA president Umar Kremlev and Bach is deep and seemingly irreconcilable. Kremlev has hurled insults at the IOC leader and colleagues in Lausanne ever since Kremlev’s controversial election in 2023. Last year he declared the IBA would not “kiss the ass” of the IOC. In a statement last month Kremlev accused Bach and IOC staff of “lining their pockets” and maintaining personal agendas in the battle against IBA.

“Circus management and clown behaviour from Thomas Bach’s camp is apparent; we continue to see this with those disappointing antics, with the IOC hiding their own personal gains to the detriment of others and our boxing community as a whole. IBA remains transparent and will continue to speak up for its loyal members,” says one excerpt of the statement.

World Boxing says national federations that remain loyal to the IBA could spell the end of Olympic boxing.

“Any National Federation or NOC that continues to think its boxers will have an Olympic future elsewhere and without joining World Boxing is making a grave error that will be ruinous for the sport and hugely damaging for its boxers,” says part of the statement issued a few weeks ago when the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected IBA’s appeal of its IOC expulsion.

“This is an urgent situation and the clock is ticking. The leaders of boxing’s National Federations now have a critically important decision to make and we urge every one of them that cares about boxers and the future of the sport to apply to join and support World Boxing in its efforts to ensure boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic Movement, before it is too late,” says the World Boxing statement.

Kremlev counters that his organization is the only one with the expertise to handle the Olympics.

“The reality and truth are that there is no alternative to the IBA as a governing body neither financially, nor in terms of organization and experience. With their statements, the ruling elite of the IOC constantly interferes in the affairs of the IBA and other international sports federations, violating the principles of its own Olympic Charter, freedom of speech and imposing its own fictitious rules,” says the IBA leader.

It would seem the gulf between the IBA, World Boxing and the IOC could not get any deeper.

“The only way to make peace is to make compromises,” British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once opined.

But in the case of Olympic boxing, nobody seems ready to swallow pride and find a way to compromise for the good of the sport. At a time when sports such as mixed martial arts are growing in popularity, there’s no shortage of candidates to take the place of boxing.

Intransigence instead of compromise on the part of boxing’s leaders will only hasten the sport’s Olympic demise.

So here we are in April, the calendar becoming a bowtied referee standing over a boxer, counting down the seconds – or in this case, months – until a knockout is declared.

He’s got eight more to go before Olympic boxing is down for the count.

Orlando Sports Boosters Aim for Olympic-Class Events

By Ed Hula

Results of the U.S. Olympic Marathon trials in Orlando Feb. 3 will send six runners to Paris. The Olympic event is set for August 11, the penultimate day of the 2024 Games.

There were joyful winners — but they weren’t just the athletes. Organizers are buzzing about the success of the event from the host point of view.

“We could not be more pleased with the outcome of the event. Orlando delivered a fun, safe, and secure event with incredible engagement from fans, athletes, officials, and all involved,” says Jason Siegel, CEO of GO Sport, the Greater Orlando Sports Commission. GO Sport has the job of bringing major sports events to the central Florida city. 

Athletes say they also were pleased, praising the organization as well as the tens of thousands of spectators spread across the course. Organizers say 100,000 watched the race from the sidelines and grandstand seating at the start and finish line.

Women’s division winner Fiona O’Keefe said the cheers were “absurdly loud in the city center and it was full of support the whole way.”

“It’s been great. It was a beautiful day, nice wind, not too breezy,” says second place finisher Clayton Young. He visited Orlando three times to prepare for the race but this time came with family. He says Orlando’s theme parks and attractions give them something to do while he readied to run

.

“It takes the pressure off,” he says.

Siegel says the smooth running of the race was due in large part to the work of some 1400 volunteers.

“We have an incredible team who took 281,998 steps on Saturday, which works out to around 141 miles (or 5.38 full marathons) walked by our team to make this event the best it possibly could be. We couldn’t be prouder of the effort put forward by everyone,” Siegel says.

Siegel says the success of the trials means an economic boost for the region.

“For us, success is measured by the positive economic impact on our city, broadcast metrics on NBC and Peacock, ensuring the event was enjoyable for fans and our community, and creating a rise in tourism income during a non-peak travel season,” Siegel says.

“Local Orlando businesses were extremely pleased with the event as it helped bring in new customers and boost the economy, so we appreciate the positive feedback we’ve received from them so far,” he says.

Speaking on public radio station WMFE, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer estimates the knock on effect of the event was $15 million.

“We showed off the city in a remarkable manner,” Dyer said on the Feb. 8 edition of the program Engage, noting that the marathon trials were followed the next day by the Pro Bowl of the NFL. That game with top NFL stars playing flag football, a new sport for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 style,  attracted nearly 60,000 spectators to Camping World Stadium, just outside the center of Orlando.

“We’ve become known as the premier sports destination in the country,” Dyer boasts. He says this is the fifth time Orlando has hosted the Pro Bowl. He says while not official, Orlando has become the home of the US men’s soccer team by playing many of its international matches in the city’s soccer stadium.

“We can host anything the world can bring us in terms of sports,” he says about the facilities available in Orlando and the surrounding Central Florida region. Facilities include ESPN’s Wide World of Sports as well as a sprawling convention center that plays host every year to thousands of young volleyball players competing for national championships. There will be four NCAA championships in May that GO Sport landed for Orlando.

Not everything goes Orlando’s way. It did not win a bid to be one of the US cities hosting matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The event will be held in Mexico, Canada and the U.S.

“We put forward a very aggressive bid,” Siegel says. “The field was obviously very competitive, and we were proud of our efforts and still are,” he continued, saying there are plenty of other events to seek.

“As we saw with the Marathon Trials, Olympic-style events are so exciting and just a blast to host. We are in constant communication with U.S. Olympic National Governing Bodies, and we’d love to bring more Olympic events to Orlando and celebrate our country’s best athletes,” Siegel says.

With the coming of Los Angeles as the host for the 2028 Summer Olympics, Orlando is certain to be in the marketplace for training sites for athletes from the U.S. and abroad. Expect Orlando and the Pro Bowl to become one of the signposts on the way to LA 28, the NFL heavily promoting the Olympic connection to the Games.  

“Continuing to bring world-class events to Orlando is a long-term goal for us, and by successfully hosting an event of this capacity, we feel like we have positioned ourselves well for landing future events,” Siegel said.

Orlando Hosts Olympic Marathon Trials. Big Olympic Dreams Follow?

By Ed Hula

An inevitable question for Orlando leaders this weekend as the city hosts the 2024 Olympic marathon trials is whether this could be a prelude to a bid for the big prize – a Summer Olympics in the Beautiful City.

Assuming all goes well with the race on February 3, government leaders and boosters of sport and tourism in central Florida could be thinking about how Orlando might host a Summer Olympics one day. But with 10,500 athletes from 200+ countries, the summer Games are a big leap from the 374 runners in the Olympic marathon trials.  Instead of one day of competition, the Olympics mean hundreds of thousands of spectators filling venues for 17 days straight.

Florida Assets Boost Readiness

Central Florida already plays host to millions of visitors each year so Olympic sized crowds should be easy to handle. Nonetheless the trials will give Orlando the chance to see how the pieces for an Olympic-class event fit together. Security, volunteers, and transportation, along with the crowds that will line the race route, will all get the chance to shine. It will perhaps ignite dreams of something bigger.

While the idea of an Olympics in Florida may sound far-fetched, Orlando would not be the first to lodge a bid for the Games. That distinction goes to Tampa, one of a half dozen US cities at the turn-of-the-century seeking to be the US nominee to go for the 2012 Olympics eventually awarded to London.

As the world’s leading tourist destination, Orlando is unmatched for accommodations. Sports venues dot the state from St. Pete/Tampa to Orlando and Miami. The Orange County Convention Center is big enough to hold several of the 30+ sports on the Olympic program. These cities are now connected by Brightline passenger rail, which also was just a dream when Tampa wanted the Games.

Get In Line for Olympic Bid

With Los Angeles picked to hold the 2028 Summer Games and a number of other locales around the globe already in line, another Florida bid won’t happen anytime soon. It could easily be 20 or more years before any U.S. city hosts the quadrennial event. Countries in Africa, Asia and Europe are likely to hold the Olympics ahead of the next chance for the U.S.

That kind of timetable should keep aspirations in Orlando on the humble side. There’s no rush to make big plans, and every reason to build slowly toward an Olympic future in Central Florida.

Olympics=Sustainability

The IOC has heard the complaints of critics about the cost and complexity of the Olympics. No longer does it expect newly built arenas or extravagant infrastructure just for the Games. Sustainability is key. Paris 2024 will build just one venue for this year’s Games. LA, in 2028, won’t build any.

An Orlando Olympics could turn the campus of the University of Central Florida into an Olympic Village, much like Atlanta did with Georgia Tech in 1996. Los Angeles will use the dorms at UCLA for its village. In 1984, LA Olympians were housed on the campus of USC.

At the moment, the Florida economy is strong and growing. Should it continue, Olympics organizers would find it relatively easy to sell tickets in the state besides the national and international markets. On the sponsorship side there should be plenty of national as well as Florida-based companies eager to fill sponsorship categories.

Stormy Weather Big Risk

The Olympics come with risk. Maybe those sponsorship sales don’t meet the revenue target. The pandemic could strike, which in 2020 forced the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics by one year, at great extra cost. But in Florida the biggest risk for a smooth running Olympic Games could be weather.

The dates for the Games normally fall in July and August, which for Florida could mean dangerous heat for athletes and visitors alike. It’s also the rainy season when thunderstorms could interrupt competition on a daily basis. And then there is the possibility of tropical storms and hurricanes. Factor the still evolving effects of climate change on the Sunshine State and meteorological conditions could be a dealbreaker.

New Gens Will Decide

The Olympics might seem a good idea for those looking at Orlando and the region in the years ahead. But the decision to go for the Olympics likely won’t be made by anyone in charge today. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer may be the longest serving in the city’s history, but he probably won’t be around to help 25 years from now.

Whether in Orlando or another city, the next Olympics in the U.S. after Los Angeles will be the domain of new generations. Millennials, Generations X and Z and their children being born now — will hold the reins of power when it becomes time to decide whether to bid for a mid-century Olympics in Orlando or any other U.S. city.

Fly Me to the Moon

A tantalizing final thought about the possibility of an Olympics in Florida: the U.S. has embarked on an ambitious program to return to the moon. Plans include colonization and commercial exploitation of space for manufacturing and communications.

I have speculated that as lunar colonies become routine, the notion of some form of physical activity would be part of living healthy on the cratered orb. So too might be Olympic-styled events in conjunction with the Games on Earth. Imagine the events that might be held on a lunar base: high jumps that are truly spectacular in low gravity; same for the long jump. Gymnastics would be out of this world.

In 25 years the timing could be right for Olympics on the moon. And what better place to mark this space first than from Central Florida, launching pad for U.S. galactic endeavors. Imagine the Olympic rings displayed on the VAB at the Kennedy Space Center, or floating above the moon’s horizon.

This weekend in Orlando the dreams may not be so grandiose as Olympics on the moon. But the quest of three men and three women to make the U.S. marathon team for the Paris Olympics will still be close to a superhuman task — for each of them, perhaps, a feat as mighty as reaching the moon.

Orlando for an Olympics? It begins with a dream.

Ed Hula is a resident of Mount Dora. He has covered the Olympics as a journalist and radio, TV and print since 1988.

He can be reached at edhula@hulasportcommunications.com.

AI, Digital Revolution Propels Olympic Storytelling

Artificial Intelligence and digital technology are reshaping the experience of watching the Olympic Games for spectators around the globe. The democratization of Olympic storytelling will be the result says the head of the IOC’s broadcasting arm. The proving ground for this technological shift: the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon Province of South Korea, now in its final days.

Olympic Broadcast Services CEO Yiannis Exarchos calls the winter YOG “an incubator for innovation” for OBS.  The Madrid-based company owned by the IOC is responsible for producing the video and audio signals used by broadcasters and online content producers covering the Games.

“It’s very difficult to be testing many things during the Games, he said during a media briefing this week from the Winter YOG. He says it’s much better to try out new technologies during a lower key event like the YOG instead of debuting at the Summer Olympics, which are five times the size of the winter or summer YOG. “You have to go with very mature technologies. So for us these [Winter YOG] are very special. You’ll see things already being implemented in only a few months for the Games in Paris,” said the OBS chief.

One of these new technologies is a virtual broadcast van.  Instead of a truck packed with servers and other equipment, the virtual van provides all that via software and Cloud-based connections. IOC sponsors Intel and Alibaba are closely involved.  The result, Exarchos says, is a smaller footprint, more cost-effective production and greater flexibility. Fewer staff will be needed as well.

First used in 2022 during the Winter Games in Beijing, the virtual van was trialed for the curling competition. In Gangwon it’s being used for ice hockey as well. In Paris the virtual van will help produce the coverage of judo, wrestling, tennis and shooting.

Exarchos said the digital revolution has meant lower costs of production well beyond the virtual van. Production of nearly half of the OBS Games coverage is handled at OBS headquarters in Madrid. That means fewer staff at the Games, whether the YOG or full-scale Olympics with 10,500 athletes. A smaller International Broadcast Center is also a cost-saving benefit of digital production. Once a mammoth venue, the IBC shrank by 23% from Rio 2016 to Tokyo 2020. In Paris, the IBC will be 13% smaller than in Tokyo. The IBC in Paris is also expected to reduce its power needs by nearly three-quarters from the Rio venue.

Artificial intelligence will also play a role in efficient and sustainable Games, Exarchos said. Ice hockey in Gangwon is providing a test of this technology.  He says AI isn’t ready for Paris. But he sees a day when AI driven cameras are used to cover early rounds of competition and sports that may be not as popular as athletics, swimming or gymnastics.

Exarchos notes that AI is already helping to generate highlights and summaries from the Olympic competition. With OBS providing coverage of 33 sports in Paris in nine languages, he says the need is great for AI to help deliver speedy results across the various digital platforms of the IOC. Speaking alongside Exarchos, IOC director of digital media and marketing Leandro Larrosa says that quick delivery is needed for an online audience that he expects instant results.

Asked about the dark side of AI which produces fakes, misinformation and other falsehoods for mass consumption, Exarchos says the IOC “will always err on protection and caution”. He says AI needs a structure of regulation in place that sets standards and boundaries for the use of this technology. The deliberations about these questions may be “the most important public conversation in the next years around the world”.

Larrosa says the uptake online so far for these Winter YOG is strong. Traffic for these games is up over 1.6 percent from Lausanne 2020, the preceding Winter YOG. He says that number is significant as these Games are taking place in a time zone far removed from the large audiences for winter sports.

“It is truly remarkable that our content is drawing more users than Lausanne,” he said at the media briefing.

Overall Larrosa calls the IOC’s digital presence one of the strongest among sports worldwide. He says there were 115 million users of the IOC digital platforms in 2023, some 28% higher than 2022. Notable is the fact that 2022 was an Olympic year, surpassed in numbers for 2023, without the boost of the Olympics.

In the wake of the digital revolution and adoption of AI, Exarchos says he would be “one of the richest man on Earth” if he could successfully predict the next technology breakthrough adopted for Olympic broadcasting.  Right now he says the mission is to harness the new technologies to drive powerful story telling.

“Deep down, for us at OBS, the single most important thing in relationship to technology is again, storytelling, because this is a very unique human characteristic. I think we perceive reality and we imagine the future though listening to stories. This is also something we constantly try to do in the Olympic Games.

“The reason why the Olympic Games are so attractive and remain so attractive I think for large audiences, actually in Paris, half of the world’s population will engage with the Games, is people still get inspired by the stories of these incredible people who are the athletes of the world.

“For me the key point is to allow technology to help us to tell human stories in a more compelling, in a more authoritative, more inspirational way. What I feel is that there may be a shift in the future and we all should be welcoming that. That would be in finding ways people out there have the capacity to actually  influence and become part of this storytelling. So to really use the capacity of digital technology. We have the capacity to collect individual reactions.

“For me this opportunity is fascinating because it can lead to a gradual complete democratization of storytelling, the participation of every single person in this human commonality that is the Olympic Games”.