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The World Games

100 days to the opening ceremony of The World Games in Birmingham, USA

Interview with Nick Sellers, CEO of The World Games Birmingham Organising Committee

Witness History!

The countdown is on with under 100 days and counting until the opening ceremony of The World Games 2022 on 7 July at the Protective Stadium. Nick Sellers, CEO of the Birmingham Organising Committee (BOC), says: the energy is growing day by day. We are ready!

TWG2022 Plate to support The World Games 2022’s commitment to education, diversity, and sustainability – image copyright The World Games (https://flic.kr/p/2mZqSnA)

TWG: How does Birmingham honour the 100 Days to Go day?

Nick Sellers: We will honour the “100 Days To Go” by announcing the “Team RWB Old Glory Relay to The World Games 2022 presented by Airbus”. This epic journey will begin on 25 May in Washington, DC with thousands of America’s military veterans carrying the American Flag and The World Games flag from our nation’s capitol, across the heartland of America, and ultimately into Birmingham, USA. And on 7 July, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin and TWG2022 Honorary Co Chair Noah Galloway, who is himself a veteran and a sports enthusiast, will carry those same flags into Opening Ceremonies for the national anthem. This moment will signify a reconnection of global sports fans as The World Games 2022 will be the first major international multi sport event with full venues following the global pandemic.

TWG: What’s more important to you – the anticipation of the opening ceremony or the nervousness that everything will run smoothly?

Nick Sellers: All of this is important to me. I have great confidence in my team, working hard for the Birmingham Organizing Committee and our plan of execution throughout The Games. And I’m excited for the world to see the beautiful Opening Ceremony show with so many well known artists performing. I’m equally excited for fans to “Witness History” as over 3,600 athletes compete and showcase incredible athletic feats. I am convinced that we will remember this moment a long time. But there’s always a little anxiety for the actual show to begin. This gives us the extra adrenaline to ensure that we’ve taken care of the details.

TWG: What are the most important tasks on the home stretch to the Games?

Nick Sellers: We are moving more from planning to execution. And the most important tasks revolve around the different schedules. We call them “GamesTime” plans. The priorities of these plans include ensuring that the volunteers are trained and ready, each venue and our city has a world class “look and decor”, as well as ensuring that the athletes, fans, and sponsors have a safe, fun and memorable experience. There are so many details that go on behind the scenes to make this happen. Our BOC along with our partners in government and the private sector are all working harmoniously with our partners at the IWGA. And I’m pleased with our progress toward the preparation and execution of these plans.

TWG: What are the most important milestones that have already been achieved?

Nick Sellers: We’ve achieved so many milestones at this stage including securing over 100 sponsors, enlisted over 2,500 volunteers, secured many key partnerships, and finalized our marketing and promotional materials. Now, we turn to finalizing all of the accreditation of teams, athletes, dignitaries, officials, media, and so on, as well as a “GamesTime” simulation in May. During this exercise, we will treat eleven days as if each day were a day during TWG 2022 to establish better and more efficient communication and execution plans. This plan will include working on each day with partners from broadcast production to transportation and security.

TWG: What does a CEO’s working day look like at this stage?

Nick Sellers: I try to ensure my weekly team meeting with staff leadership and partners. But I also try to protect my schedule to have the flexibility to communicate with my entire team, public and private partners, and our IWGA partners as needed. Every day matters at this point for successful execution of our plans. And my time is spent mostly ensuring that our team has the necessary resources and support needed to deliver these plans. Not to forget: I am promoting the historic nature of The World Games 2022.

Official mascots of The World Games 2022 Birmingham, embody the spirit of the city’s history of iron and steel in Vulcan and Goddess of the Hearth and Home in Vesta – image copyright The World Games (https://flic.kr/p/2mZuEqR)

TWG: The BOC is now launching an advertising campaign: what are the most important messages? And what does the campaign look like?

Nick Sellers: The final advertising campaign is a “call to action” for everyone to get their ticket to TWG 2022 while they can. Some competitions are already close to selling out. And we believe that this final advertising campaign will really build even more excitement for ticket sales. The theme is “Step Up!”. Because just as these incredible athletes will have their chance to “Step Up” on that medal podium for their moment of glory, it’s also Birmingham’s and all of America’s chance to “Step Up” and buy a ticket to share in this moment and watch something historic. This will be a moment that fans and families will talk about for the rest of their lives. It’s very special. And I believe it will build excitement for these sports that are competing in TWG 2022. We call these sports the “new generation of global sports” in America.

TWG: What is the mood in Birmingham with regard to the event?

Nick Sellers: The energy is growing day by day and it’s very exciting. Just over the past few weeks, it feels like more and more citizens are realizing that the Games are almost here. The World Games 2022 is on the local and statewide news almost every day now. And it is bringing our community and state together in a very special way. We want to show the world our true “southern hospitality” and how Birmingham and the entire State of Alabama is becoming an international destination worthy of such a grand event as The World Games. We believe this will propel us onto the global stage in a big way. And we are ready.

TWG: Do friends and acquaintances talk to you about The World Games and what do they want to know?

Nick Sellers: The World Games 2022 is a constant topic of conversation in my life right now. From family and friends to business colleagues, they all want to know more about how things are going and what they can do to help. It has been a humbling experience to be a part of this special moment. I’m just grateful to have had this chance to work with an incredible team. And I’m especially grateful to have developed a true friendship with IWGA Honorary Life President Ron Froehlich who is a longtime resident of Birmingham. He’s become a mentor to me and he has helped me get through some very challenging and difficult times in this role. I’ve leaned on his experience. There’s many people that I keep in the front of my mind during this time. But he’s among the top. I want to make him proud. He’s worked so hard for many years for the IWGA and The Olympic Movement and he deserves to see his hometown deliver the best Games yet.

Is the war in Ukraine in connection with The World Games a topic in Birmingham?

Nick Sellers: Yes it is. Many of our sponsors and fans have asked what we can do collectively to show our support and solidarity with the Ukrainian athletes and citizens. And during our recent meetings in Birmingham, IWGA President Perurena made a great recommendation that the BOC join with our partners at the IWGA to support the Ukrainian athletes with a share of ticket and merchandise revenue. We are finalising those plans and will announce them very soon.

The World Games is a multi-sport event staged every four years by the International World Games Association, organised with the support of the International Olympic Committee. The 11th edition of The World Games will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, 7-17 July 2022. 3,600 athletes from 34 sports and over 100 countries will take part in The World Games.

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A press interview released on 29 March 2022 by The World Games, this was first published via PRNews/GIG in AsiaFitnessToday.com 100 Days to Go to The World Games, Birmingham, USA and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. Source: https://www.asiafitnesstoday.com/?p=12010

AFTNews, Sport

The World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, moves to July 2022

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4 April 2020 (AFTNN/PRNEWS/GIG) – The International World Games Association (IWGA) and Birmingham Organising Committee (BOC) have agreed to postpone the 11th edition of The World Games until 7th to 17th July 2022. The Games had originally been planned to take place from 15–25 July next year.

The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to move the Tokyo Olympic Games to July 2021 made a significant impact on the planning of The World Games in Birmingham, Alabama. Keeping to the original dates in July 2021 would have meant excluding many athletes and officials involved in the Olympics, and would have led to a potential reduction in public and media interest. When the IOC announced its decision, the BOC urgently set about assessing what alternative dates might be viable, particularly as regards venues and accommodation. Meanwhile, the staff of the IWGA were establishing when the vital services provided by key partners, such as Swiss Timing and International Sports Broadcasting, could still be made available.

It soon became clear that only one 10-day period existed in which venues, accommodation and key partner support could be guaranteed: 7–17 July 2022. The IWGA Member Federations with sports on the programme gave their full support to delaying The World Games, and the joint decision of the IWGA and BOC Boards to adopt these new dates was unanimously approved by the federations in a video conference.

“A great deal of detailed work is now required to implement this decision, and further progress reports will be issued in due course,” says IWGA President José Perurena. “But I am impressed by the flexibility and efficiency of the Birmingham Organising Committee: they have been able, in just two days after the IOC’s announcement, to get all the main organisational items in place.”

IWGA CEO Joachim Gossow says: “I am very proud of the capable organising team in Birmingham. All organisational main pillars such as venues and accommodation are in place for 2022, and we are able to have exactly the same sports programme as we had planned for 2021. We look forward to working together with the chairman Jonathan Porter, his CEO Nick Sellers and their team to organise the best possible Games for our athletes.”

“The date of the event has changed, but Birmingham’s commitment to a world-class event has not wavered,” Mayor of Birmingham, Randall L. Woodfin said. “I want to thank the IWGA and The World Games 2021 Birmingham for their work in making a timely decision. As the City of Birmingham addresses the current pandemic, be assured that we remain focused on the city’s future and making this the best edition of The World Games ever.”

“I want to thank our entire team and partners across the State of Alabama and internationally for their work and support to set our new dates,” said Nick Sellers, CEO of the Birmingham Organizing Committee. “While it wasn’t an easy decision, it was the right one for our athletes, fans, sponsors and community. We share many key partners of the International Olympic Committee, and this move will ensure that we maintain national and international television coverage as well as keeping several sport competitions that participate in the Tokyo Summer Olympics. The World Games Birmingham will be a special time of reconnection as it will be the first major international multi sport event on American soil following this global pandemic, and we are fully confident that we will rise to the occasion. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with our healthcare workers and those impacted by COVID-19 at this time. We will prevail. And we will reconnect.”

“We are supremely confident in this shift, and believe that the circumstances will further increase the significance of The World Games across our state, region, and country,” added Jonathan Porter, Chairman of The Birmingham Organizing Committee Board of Directors. “We are just as excited now as we were when we were scheduled for 2021, and we hope the Birmingham community and the world will share that enthusiasm with us. The World Games Birmingham is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime event. A new date on the calendar isn’t going to change that.”

“The whole world is hurting now and we must all pause and refocus our efforts in order to rid the world of COVID-19. We stand with each of you and very much look forward to The World Games in 2022.” -The Jefferson County Commissioners – Joe Knight, Jimmie Stephens, Lashonda Scales, Sheila Tyson and Steve Ammons.

The World Games is a multi-sport event staged every four years by the International World Games Association under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee. The 11th edition of The World Games will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, 15-25 July 2021. 3,600 athletes from over 30 sports and 100 countries will take part in the Games.