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Women’s sport celebrated at Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

International Working Group on Women and Sport calls for more to be done to drive global gender equality

August 4, 2022 via PRNews/GIG – Key figures from sport, media and politics have gathered to celebrate the success of women’s sport at the Commonwealth Games at a special event at New Zealand House. The event, staged in partnership with the International Working Group (IWG) on Women & Sport, was also an opportunity for global leaders to discuss what more can be done to achieve gender equality in sport and the benefits of doing so.

Birmingham 2022 is the first major multi-sport event in history to award more medals to women than men, while the debut of women’s T20 cricket has proved one of the success stories of the competition so far. 

The event at New Zealand House, which is part of the official handover of the IWG from Aotearoa New Zealand to the United Kingdom, saw CGF President Dame Louise Martin DBE, IWG Co-Chairs Annamarie Phelps CBE OLY and Raewyn Lovett ONZM, Minister for Sport Nigel Huddleston and New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister, Grant Robertson come together to celebrate the growing success of women’s sport. It was also an opportunity to reflect on the work still to be done to bring about true equality given:

  • Only 7% of Chairs and Presidents in Olympic and Paralympic sport are women ;
  • According to Forbes, only one of the top 50 highest paid athletes in 2020 was a woman;
  • In 2018 the Lancet Global Health found that more than a quarter of adults globally are insufficiently physically active and across most countries, women are less active than men which means that millions of women globally are missing out on physical health, mental health and social rewards of taking part in sport and activity.

Established almost 30 years ago in Brighton, the IWG is the world’s largest network dedicated to advancing gender equality in sport and physical activity. The network is committed to leading positive change which aligns to the UN Sustainable Development Goal to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

The IWG is currently hosted by New Zealand; with the 8th IWG World Conference on Women & Sport taking place in Auckland on 14-17 November 2022.

The UK will then receive the hosting baton for the quadrennial period of 2022-2026, with the 9th IWG World Conference taking place in Birmingham in four years’ time.
The event at New Zealand House helped to profile the upcoming conference in New Zealand, as a Graphic Illustrator captured discussions for a piece of artwork that aims to showcase the rise of women and sport, while outlining hopes for the future of gender equality.

CGF President Dame Louise Martin DBE said: “A key focus of our Games is women’s sport. 

“In that respect, Birmingham 2022 is quite special as the first major multi-sport event in history to have more medals for women than men. We can be so proud of the progress we have made and we have come a long way towards gender equality in sport, but there is still much more to be done.

“So, while today is a celebration of women’s sport, it is also a chance for us to look ahead and to continue to collaborate to bring about further progress.

“To that end, we are proud to help promote the work of the International Working Group on Women & Sport as they continue to advance gender equity and equality in sport across the world.” 

IWG Co-Chair Annamarie Phelps CBE OLY said: “In the week when England won the women’s Euros, helping to catapult women’s sport into the spotlight like never before, it’s the perfect time to be pushing to achieve gender equality across the globe. 

“The IWG network is a platform to both advocate for change and share insights and learnings to help advance gender equality, harnessing the knowledge and momentum from within the IWG movement.”

New Zealand Co-Chair of the IWG, Raewyn Lovett said: “It’s been an honour and a privilege to have been kaitiaki – to have been the guardian – of the world’s largest network dedicated to advancing gender equity and equality in sport, physical education and physical activity. 

“Today, we opened the circle, with IWG UK taking over Secretariat leadership globally. IWG New Zealand will continue to lead delivery of the 8th IWG World Conference on Women & Sport through to its staging in Auckland this November: where we will close the circle and complete the handover.

“The people and organisations in the room today have extraordinary power and influence and the ability to positively impact the lives of women and girls the world over. We issued them with an invitation to bring this expertise to the table in Auckland, to help us drive change through sport.”

Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston said: “It’s been a seismic week for women’s sport with the Lionesses’ stunning victory at Wembley and many incredible performances at Birmingham 2022.  

“While women’s sport continues to go from strength to strength, we know there is more to be done to support women both on and off the field of play.

“The handover of the IWG is an incredible opportunity to build on the success so far and to push for true gender equality in sport.” 

CEO of UK Sport, Sally Munday, said: “The handover of the IWG from New Zealand to the UK is an opportunity that goes far beyond the four years that we will host it.

“The important thing is that we are consciously making decisions which nurture a strong legacy for gender equality globally. Being part of the world’s largest network that is devoted to achieving gender equality in sport means we all have a responsibility to inspire positive change. The impact that this change will have on the next generation of sport is in our hands.

“What we have witnessed both at the women’s Euros and over the last week here in Birmingham reflects what an exciting time this is for female athletes and all of us involved in sports administration to be promoting change. The scope for progress in this space is immense and I am looking forward to seeing women and girls in sport thrive in the future.”

Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of Sport England, said: “The UK taking the baton as hosts of the IWG could not be coming at a better time as we look to capitalise on the incredible success of so many of our brilliant female sporting stars. 

“Their achievements are a reminder that the work to break down the barriers that stop so many women and girls from participating fully in sport must continue to be a huge focus for us all. 

“Becoming hosts of the IWG provides an important and exciting catalyst for this work, and we must ensure that we use its potential to bring decision-makers and influencers together to create lasting change.”

Dame Janet Beer, Chair of the Sport and Recreation Alliance said: “I am delighted that the collaborative work led by the Sport and Recreation Alliance for the last two years has now officially reached the stage when the Secretariat for this prestigious group moves to the UK. As a part of the Alliance’s strategic commitment to support the improvement of equality, diversity and inclusion, the most influential, impactful and diverse voices from sport and recreation were convened to make this happen and we look forward to playing our part as leaders from across the global sporting stage.”

New Zealand Olympic Committee CEO Nicki Nicol: “New Zealand’s female athletes have contributed to New Zealand’s proud Olympic and Commonwealth Games History and at Birmingham 2022 we have, for the first time, more women than men in the team. Their feats of strength, speed, resilience and commitment contribute to building our nation’s identity. Their potential to connect with and inspire new generations of young boys and girls cannot be understated and we are delighted to be supporting conversations and progress around women in sport.”

Ends.

About the CGF
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) is the organisation that is responsible for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games, and for delivering on the vision of the Commonwealth Sports Movement: through sport, we build peaceful, sustainable and prosperous communities across the Commonwealth. 

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The World Games comes to a close in Birmingham Alabama

2 August 2022 via PRNewsGIG — The World Games 2022 Birmingham, USA are over. Here are some figures of the 11th edition of the multi-sport event that was held 7–17 2022 July in Alabama:

  • Over 3,459 athletes from 99 nations competed.
  • The world saw outstanding performances in 34 sports, 58 disciplines and 223 medal events.
  • All sports were held across 23 venues.
  • 375,000 spectators created this special atmosphere: for the feeling of being in Sweet Home Alabama.
  • Those who could not be present in the stadium watched on the screen. ISB, the host broadcaster, produced 640 hours of TV pictures of the Games with more than 300 employees from 21 countries.
  • These images were shown on TV in more than 80 countries, including the USA, China, Germany and Ukraine, as well as throughout South America.
  • Those who could not watch the Games on TV used Olympics.com to stream the thrilling performances of The World Games 2022. In short, the whole world was watching the athletes perform at their best.
  • 750 media representatives had accredited for the Games. By far the majority came from the United States.
  • 32 National Olympic Committees or National Sports Organizations were present in Birmingham to support the athletes from their countries.
  • To make sure that everyone knew what the score was, what time was run or not run, or what points were awarded by the judges, the Result Module from Swiss Timing provided prompt service. It can be accessed on the website. Congratulations to the tireless efforts of 3,000 volunteers who made the athletes feel that Southern Hospitality.
  • 🇩🇪 Germany won the medal standings for the first time at The World Games with 24 gold, 7 silver and 16 bronze medals. 🇺🇸 Team USA used the home advantage and came second with 16 gold, 18 silver and 10 bronze medals. 🇺🇦Ukraine came in third (16/12/17). Germany is now ranked two (behind Italy) in the overall medal tally of all 11 editions.
  • 73 countries won a medal at The World Games. That is a new record number, and there for several who won their first medal ever: Brunei, Panama, India, Tunisia and Virgin Islands, USA.
  • Johana VIVEROS MONDRAGON from Colombia won four times gold and once silver in Speed Skating. She was the athletes with most medals at The World Games 2022. Nina HOLT from Germany won four times gold and one bronze in Life Saving.
  • Bart SWINGS (Belgium) is the first athlete to win gold at both the Olympic Games and The World Games in the same year. In Birmingham, the speed skater won four gold and one bronze. Earlier this year, in February, he won Olympic gold in Ice Skating.
  • Powerlifter Yukoko Fukushima won gold for the first time at her sixth edition of The World Games. The legendary powerlifter proved that perseverance pays off.
  • The Dutch in Korfball, on the other hand, know no dry spell. They took part for the tenth time and won gold for the tenth time.
  • The first gold medal of the Games went to the Colombian skater Geiny Pajaro, who won the 200 meters time trial at 9:43 am on Friday 8th July. The last one was awarded to the Men’s Canoe Polo Team from Germany on Sunday 18th July at 3:15pm.
  • A new sport on the programme was Wheelchair Rugby – this was the first time a para-sport was on the programme of The World Games. Drone Racing (Air Sports), Breaking (DanceSport), Parkour (Gymnastics) and Flag Football (American Football) made their debut as new disciplines in Birmingham, Alabama.
  • And another premiere: The World Games introduced EGaming for the first time. Fans could try their hand at the virtual versions of our sports Archery, Baseball and Racquetball.
  • Birmingham’s Mayor Randall Woodfin officially opened the Games on 7 July and IWGA President José Perurena ceremoniously closed them on 17 July.
  • IOC President Thomas Bach said during his visit: “If the athletes are happy, we’re happy.” What we heard from the athletes was: “We are very happy here in Birmingham.” The response from the athletes on social media was also overwhelmingly positive.
  • An emotional moment: The 98 athletes from Ukraine were greeted with a standing ovation by the 27,000 spectators as they entered Protective Stadium for the Opening Ceremony.
  • Sergey Bubka, the President of the Ukrainian NOC, received a cheque for 54,000 dollars from the hands of the Chair of the Birmingham Organising Committee, Jonathan Porter. From each ticket and merchandise item sold since April 2022, the organisers had donated one dollar for the reconstruction of sports facilities in Ukraine.
  • The President of the USA, Joe Biden, sent a letter to the athletes and organisers with words of encouragement and appreciation.
  • Chengdu, People’s Republic of China invited us to celebrate the 12th edition of The World Games in 2025.

Congratulations to the people and the host city of Birmingham! 

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

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AFT Interviews: Nicol David, The World Games G.O.A.T.

Video

Livestreamed Interview with Datuk Nicol David, World No. 1 Squash Champion, named The World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time.

The Malaysian retired professional squash player is currently in her second base Colombia, South America and met with Asia Fitness Today co-hosts Nikki Yeo in Kuala Lumpur and Jasmine Low at the studio in Sydney on 5th February 2021.

With a huge total number of votes, 318,943, Nicol David 🇲🇾 was voted as the greatest of the 24 sports legends that started the race on 8th January 2021. Tug of war legend James Kehoe 🇮🇪 is the first runner-up with 113,120 votes, and Larysa Soloviova 🇺🇦, The World Games Champion in powerlifting 2005-2017, second, with her 80,790 votes. Marcel Hassemeier 🇩🇪, victorious lifesaver, with 79,760 votes got very close to 3rd place. All in all, 1,204,637 votes were cast in the poll. Read full article about The World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time here: https://www.asiafitnesstoday.com/?p=8952.

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The Kurang Manis Podcast, Season 1, Episode 1 (9/2/21): Datuk Nicol David

Listen to the interview with Datuk Nicol David, World No.1 Squash Champion voted The World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time | Listen All Platforms

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Asia’s squash darling Nicol David named The World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time

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Watch the livestream interview with Nicol David on Friday, 5 February 2021 6:00am (KUL/PER +8 GMT) / 9:00am (SYD/MEL +11 GMT) / 4 February 2021 2:00pm (LA -8UTC) or 5:00pm (NYC/COLOMBIA -5 UTC). Register now.

Kuala Lumpur, Updated: 2 February 2021 / 1 February / 29 January 2021 / Originally published on 26 January 2021

Sports fans all over the world have cast their votes, over 1,204,637 votes to be exact for The World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time.

Malaysian Nicol David 🇲🇾 has been named The World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time! With a huge total number of votes, 318,943 she was voted as the greatest of the 24 sports legends that started the voting race on 8 January. Ireland’s Tug of war legend James Kehoe 🇮🇪 is the first runner-up with 113,120 votes, and Larysa Soloviova, Ukraine’s and The World Games Champion in powerlifting 2005-2017, second, with her 80,790 votes. Marcel Hassemeier of Germany, victorious lifesaver, with 79,760 votes got very close to 3rd place (Source: The World Games).

The retired professional squash player, Datuk Nicol Ann David DB PJN DSPN KMN AMN (born on August 26, 1983) spoke to AFTNN and when asked if she had a message for the young players, lifting inspiration from how she went from zero to hero, this is what she said:

“Firstly I’d like to thank everyone for their support, their help and encouragement. For the youngsters out there, give yourselves a chance, go out and try whatever you want to do and take care of yourself,”.

Nicol David

Standings at our last report on 1 February 2021

Nicol David MAS (squash) 304909 votes (29/1: 227208)

James Kehoe IRL (tug-of-war) 109655 votes (29/1) 81076

Marcel Hassemeier GER (life saving) 78032 votes (29/1 65295)

Sofia Olofsson SWE (powerlifting) 67057 (29/1 52355)

Paola Longoria MEX (muaythai) 63663 votes (29/1 48489)

Batyr Altyev RUS (sumo) 62947 (29/1 46263)

Fabriana Arias COL (rollersports) 63859 (29/1 44422)

Evgeniya Kanaeva RUS (gymnastics) 64484 (29/1 39688)

Larysa Soloviova UKR (Powerlifting) 71106 votes (29/1 39621)

Gabrielle Goffredo & Anna Matus MDA (DanceSport) 63232 (29/1 39256)

Source: The World Games as of 05:00 KUL +8GMT

David won three gold medals as well as a bronze at The World Games between 2005 and 2017. She also won eight World Championship titles and had an unprecedented nine-year reign as World No.1.

Birmingham, Alabama USA will host The World Games in July 2022 – photo twg2022.com

Career milestones

In 1997, 15-year-old David became the youngest woman to win a World Junior Championship. In 2001 she defended that crown, becoming the first woman to capture the junior championship title twice. David received international attention following her success in 2005, and in January 2006 she was officially ranked the number one female player in the world—a status that was never before held by an Asian woman.  

President Zena Wooldridge of the World Squash Federation says: ”Nicol has beaten a number of distinguished athletes to first place and her victory is recognition of a wonderful career that saw her break numerous records and win everything there was to win in the sport.

David was appointed as the UN Development Programme Ambassador for Malaysia in 2002, and she has since set up her own foundation to enable young girls to take up sport, as a tool to help them establish their values.   

When AFTNN reached out to find out how she felt on being nominated for the Greatest Athlete of All Time, Nicol said,

“It’s a huge honour to be nominated by the World Games for the Greatest Athlete of All Time and to gain so much support from everyone in Malaysia and the squash community. It came as a surprise to see me amongst these other top athletes and I’m grateful for this,”.

Nicol David
Video by the Professional Squash Association in May 2020

The World Games (TWG) is an international multi-sport global event since 1981 and takes place every four years after the summer Olympics. TWG features sporting events which are not contested in the Olympic Games such as aikido, billiards, dancesport, kickboxing, orienteering, parachuting and paragliding, squash, surfing, muaythai, tug of war and water skiing. 

Read more about AFT’s coverage on TWG here.

Voting began on January 8th with nominees from all editions of The World Games from 1981 until 2017 representing 24 different sports as nominated by their International Federations. What is common for all of them is that they are extraordinary athletes who have succeeded in an extraordinary way at one or more editions of The World Games.

The public could vote daily, once per 24 hours, for their favourite. “The first candidate they choose gets two votes, and the second candidate one vote. We started with this initiative a year ago, in order to get The World Games family to know each other better; after choosing your favourite, you will choose a candidate from another sport too. This way you will get to see who else is there and with what kind of background story,” TWG communication officer, Anna Jacobson explains.

“Normally we have a vote for the Athlete of the Year in January. This year, to celebrate the 40 years’ anniversary of The World Games, we wanted to do something special. When we decided to look for The World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time, we did not realise we would find 24 such legendary athletes, and it has been a true pleasure for us to follow the vote as well. Nicol David truly deserves her victory! All the 24 candidates will be promoted throughout this year, as they are all legends in their own sport,” said Jacobson, also Head of Communications IWGA.

“If I get a chance to win this it would be amazing for me just to have the recognition through playing squash and hopefully it can elevate the attention for the future of squash and a proud moment to represent my country and Asia,”.

Nicol David

The voting ended on February 1st and three best athletes will be awarded a trophy and a branded gift from the official sponsor Protective Life.

This article has been researched, compiled and written by the team at Asia Fitness Today News Network (AFTNN); Sneha Ramesh – Intern, Monash University (Sunway campus), Syuhada Adam – Editorial consultant, Nikki Yeo & Jasmine Low – Director/Producer.

Register and get notified about the live streamed interview with Datuk Nicol David on the Asia Fitness Today KURANG MANIS PODCAST. *AFTNN would like to shout out a word of thanks to Nicol who is currently in Colombia, her second base, TWG & PSA for making this interview possible.
AFTNews, Daily Digest, Sport

New name, same games: The World Games 2022 Birmingham

The World Games 2021 Birmingham is getting a new name to go with its new date. With the announcement of The Games shift to July 7-17, 2022, the IWGA and the local organizers have decided that the international multi-sport event will officially become The World Games 2022 Birmingham.

“After careful consideration, we are excited to move forward as The World Games 2022,” said Nick Sellers, CEO of the Birmingham Organizing Committee. “Ultimately, we wanted to ensure consistency and brand recognition for our event. But more than that, our hope is that The World Games 2022 will stand for something more than a date on the calendar; that it will become a time of reconnection for our community and the world.”

The decision to adapt the name, which was made collaboratively between the Birmingham Organizing Committee and International World Games Association comes after the International Olympic Committee postponed the Summer Olympics until 2021, but agreed to retain the name “Tokyo 2020.”

“The excellent relationship between the BOC, the City of Birmingham and the IWGA ensured the quick move of the 11th edition of The World Games to 2022. The flexible organisational structure of the event and our teams makes it easier to manage such a challenge in such a short time: we trust each other and know that we can lean on each other. These are the reasons that we could go back so quickly to our participating federations and partners, confirming for them the new dates for the Games, and also for accommodation, venues and services,” said IWGA CEO Joachim Gossow. “We look forward to organising The World Games 2022 in Birmingham, USA from 7th to 17th July in 2022,” he added.

The World Games 2022 Birmingham today also unveiled its new website, as well as its new logo, which have been updated to reflect the rebrand. The redesigned website, TWG2022.com, features an enhanced navigation and user experience.

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, 7 – 17 July 2022. 3,600 athletes from over 30 sports and 100 countries will take part in the Games.