French Olympic Leader Henri Serandour, 72
Ex-IOC member and French NOC (CNOSF) President Henri Serandour died Thursday after a long fight against cancer.
Serandour served as CNOSF President from 1993 to 2009, when he was succeeded by Denis Masseglia.
From 2000 to 2007 he was an IOC member, stepping down when he reached retirement age of 70.
He was active in the Paris bid for 2012.
A former water polo player, he led the French aquatics federation for 16 years.
A statement from French President Nicolas Sarkozy, praised Serandour as someone "with great human qualities'' and "a unifying leader in French sports.''
His funeral will be held Nov. 18 at Notre-Dame de Dinard.
Rwandan NOC Tells IOC to Stay Out
The interim ruling body of the Rwandan National Olympic Committee told the IOC it “has no business” in the affairs of the RNOC.
Last week the government dissolved the RNOC’s executive board, and the IOC’s head of NOC relations Pere Miro wrote a letter saying the dissolved executive was the only legitimate body.
Aimable Bayingana, the temporary head of the RNOC dismissed the IOC’s request.
"In principal, those are their rules but in reality, it is different" he was quoted by local media. "They should come and see what's on ground."
"[The] IOC has no business in choosing RNOC's executive. This is entirely up to the federations," Bayingana added.
Reality may not be on Bayingana’s side however. According to rule 28.9 of the Olympic Charter: “the IOC Executive Board may take any appropriate decisions for the protection of the Olympic Movement in the country of an NOC…[if] any act by any governmental or other body causes the activity of the NOC or the making or expression of its will to be hampered.”
Bayingana’s less-than-polite invitation echoes sports minister Joseph Habineza defiant proclamation that the government would not reverse its course.
"Everything will continue as planned" he said."I encourage the IOC to come to witness the affairs for themselves," the minister adamantly added.
Around the Rings attempted to obtain a copy of the IOC’s letter but was told it is not available to the public. A spokesperson for the IOC did confirm however, that this “looks like a case of government interference within the NOC for Rwanda.”
If the IOC and the Rwandan government can not rectify their positions, the IOC could go so far as to bar Rwanda from competing at the Olympics.
Singapore YOG Broadcast Rights Awarded
MediaCorp, SingTel and StarHub will broadcast the Singapore Youth Olympic Games within Singapore. The rights cover all broadcast platforms, including free-to-air television, radio, cable television, mobile phone and internet.
IOC President Jacques Rogge said: “The first ever Youth Olympic Games will be an important moment for the Olympic Movement… Today’s announcement is a big step forward in ensuring that the Youth Olympic Games are available to viewers on all broadcast platforms, both within Singapore and around the world.”
The agreement came at the end of the IOC’s inspection of YOG preparations.
No financial figures were disclosed.
Pat Ryan to Lead World Sport Chicago
Chicago 2016 Chairman and CEO Pat Ryan was named chairman of World Sport Chicago. Ryan succeeds Bill Scherr, who was named president.
Michael Conley, who previously held the position of president, remains on the board of directors.
World Sport Chicago is the legacy organization of the Chicago 2016 bid, designed to promote Olympic sports throughout Chicago.
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Written by Ed Hula III.
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