Olympic Newsdesk -- World Games President Reelected; 500 Days to Rugby World Cup

IWGA Elections, New Position

Ron Froehlich of the U.S. has been re-elected president of the International World Games Association, which also changed its constitution to create a new paid position for Achim Gossow as CEO, sports director and general secretary.

Of the federation's 32 members, 28 were in attendance.

Max Bishop (Great Britain), Tom Dielen (Belgium), Lucas Hinder (Switzerland) and Rinaldo Orlandi (Italy) were also re-elected to the executive committee. Jose Perurena (Spain) of the International Canoe Federation is the only new member of the executive committee.

500 Days to Rugby World Cup

Tuesday marked 500 days to the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand with the application process for tickets to the event opening up.

At the end of the first day of applications, 25,000 applications for 90,000 tickets were received. Applications will be received through May 21.

"It’s an encouraging start and is in line with what we expected after 50,000 fans pre-registered their interest in purchasing packs over the last month," said Martin Snedden, Rugby New Zealand 2011 CEO.

The William Webb Ellis trophy, which is awarded to every RWC winner, was on display at Wellington Station Tuesday to mark the event’s countdown.

Isinbayeva Named YOG Ambassador

The IOC has named Olympic pole-vaulting legend Yelena Isinbayeva an official Ambassador of the Youth Olympic Games, joining swimming superstar Michael Phelps, who was announced as an Ambassador in February.

Isinbayeva, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, will support the Youth Olympic Games by encouraging the participation of young people in sport around the world.

"This is a very exciting opportunity for me to pursue whilst I take a break from competition," she said in a statement.

Handball Congress Still TBD

The date and venue for the International Handball Federation's extraordinary congress, which was postponed by the volcanic ash cloud, have not been determined, Hassan Moustafa, president of the IHF, tells Around the Rings.

The congress was supposed to be held in Rome April 23-24 with 131 countries attending. Travel difficulties associated with the volcanic ash cloud over Europe earlier this month forced organizers to reschedule the event.

"It was unfortunate for us, the congress and the Italian handball federation," he said. "It was a force majeure."

The congress agenda included agenda items that would install Moustafa as managing director, financial controller and head of marketing of the federation.

The IHF executive committee will discuss plans to reschedule the congress during meetings at the IHF Super Globe in Doha, Qatar from May 17 to 21.

WADA Executive Board and Foundation Meeting in May

The WADA Executive Committee and Foundation Board will meet May 8 and 9, 2010 in Montreal.

Representatives of governments and the Olympic movement will discuss anti-doping strategies at the meetings.

WADA President John Fahey and WADA secretary general David Howman will hold a conference call with reporters May 10 to discuss the meeting.

Written by Karen Rosen and Ed Hula III.