A special signing ceremony has taken place here today to mark a new partnership between the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) and the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF).

The agreement, signed at the Fairmont Hotel  on the eve of the Summer Youth Olympic Games here, will see exchange programmes and opportunities for collaboration between officials, staff, athletes and coaches from the two bodies.

The agreement was signed by a group, including JOC President Tsunekazu Takeda and French counterpart Denis Masseglia.

Former canoeist Tony Estanguet, a triple Olympic gold medallist, the French Chef de Mission at Nanjing 2014 and, like Takeda, a member of the International Olympic Committee, was also present, along with JOC vice-president and secretary general Tsuyoshi Aoki.

Both parties will exchange marketing knowledge and pool information on the Olympic Movement.

French athletes will use the facilities at the National Training Centre in Tokyo, while their Japanese counterparts will take advantage of the National Institute of Sport and Physical Education, in Paris.

It is hoped this will boost the two countries to perform better than they did at the London 2012 Olympic Games, where France were seventh on the medals table and Japan 11th.

This brings the number of deals between the JOC and other National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to 30, over a decade since an initial partnership was signed with the the Austrian and Cuban Olympic Committees in 2002.

Agreements with the United States, Germany and China soon followed, the latter particularly interesting given the current antagonism between the two countries showcased by the boos which greeted the Japanese Flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony of Nanjing 2014 this evening.

Other partnerships have taken place with NOC's ranging from Barbados to Bhutan, and from Panama to Egypt.

Source

The Argentine Olympic Committee (COA) has signed an agreement with the Universidad Nacional del Litoral which will offer students the opportunity to undertake a course focusing specifically on the Olympic Movement.

It is the first time a course like this will be on offer in Argentina for university students.

The Universidad Nacional del Litoral caters for around 40,000 students, who will now have the opportunity to choose the sport, culture and values ​​of Olympism module as part of their studies.

The agreement was signed by COA secretary general Mario Moccia and Rector of the Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Albor Cantard.

Moccia gave a lecture to students on the Olympic Movement following the signing of the agreement.

"[The] spread and reach each one of the areas that have to do with sports and education in terms of contributing our bit to the education system is one of the purposes of the Committee," said Moccia.

"The International Olympic Committee (IOC) aims to transform society through sport, seeking to be better people and trying to contribute to education."

Moccia also spoke about the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games due to take place in Argentine capital Buenos Aires and the impact they will have on youth sport in the country.

Buenos Aires was awarded the Games at a meeting of the IOC Extraordinary Session in Lausanne last year ahead of bids from Glasgow in Britain and Colombian city Medellin.

"This is a historical fact," he said.

"Choosing the host city is a complicated process.

"Argentina was presented five times [for the Olympics] and recently was chosen to the Games for the first time.

"We need to prioritise sport because it is a hub for social inclusion, to improve the quality of life and to contribute to the training of young people."

Moccia was joined at the signing of the historic agreement by the COA's general manager Carlos Ferrea, President of the Committee on Constitution and Bylaws, José Luis Marco and director of its Olympic Education Programme Silvia Dalotto.

Dalotto, a former marathon swimming world champion, also gave an address on the Olympic Movement and Olympic Education.

Source

England have banished the heartache of three successive Women's Rugby World Cup final losses with a hard-fought triumph in tonight's final over a battling Canadian side.

Having drawn 13-13 when they met in the pool stages of the competition, England and Canada came to the Stade Jean-Bouin in Paris knowing there would be little to choose between them.

And so it proved, as final debutants Canada kept the pressure on the favourites throughout, before England finished with a flurry to secure a 21-9 win and lift the World Cup for the first time in 20 years.

It was a penalty kick from the boot of Emily Scarratt that handed England the early lead.

But try as they might, Canada's defence proved to be a tricky obstacle to overcome.

England doubled their lead with another penalty kick, but it was not until just after the half-hour mark that the first try of the final came.

Maggie Alphonsi sent full back Danielle Waterman, starting her third Rugby World Cup final, on her way to launch the England fans in the stands into raptures.

Canada had the final say of the half, with Magali Harvey's penalty making it 11-3 at the break.

The Canadians emerged from the tunnel with renewed confidence, and had just a two-point deficit after two Harvey penalties.

But they almost immediately conceded a penalty to allow Scarratt to restore a five-point cushion for England on the hour mark.

It was not until the final six minutes that England put the contest beyond doubt.

Scarratt glided through the Canadian defence to score a decisive try, which she converted for a 12-point lead.

The final whistle was too close for Canada to be able to respond.

"All credit to Canada, they were fantastic today, but this group of girls and this group of staff deserve everything that we have got because we have worked so hard for this," said jubilant England captain Katy McLean.

"So many great legends that have gone before us haven't won [a World Cup] in an England shirt and that was for all them that were here today and for all of the England rugby family."

England last won the tournament in 1994 with a 38-23 win over the United States.

New Zealand have won the last four World Cups, beating England in the finals of the last three.

But they failed to make it into the semi-finals for the first time in their history.

In the third place playoff, hosts France beat Ireland 25-18 in a tight affair.

New Zealand secured fifth with a 55-5 hammering of the United States, Australia claimed seventh by beating Wales 30-3, Spain thumped South Africa 36-0 to seal ninth, while Samoa finished 11th in the classification with a 31-0 win over Kazakhstan.

Source

Samsung Electronics has extended its deal to be a worldwide TOP sponsor of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) until the end of 2020, it was announced here today.

The South Korean multinational conglomerate, which has been a TOP sponsor since before the Nagano 1998 Winter Olympic Games, becomes the 11th company to commit to the programme for the next six years as the IOC continues to consolidate its financial security.

They will act as the official Worldwide Olympic Partner in the Wireless Communication Equipment and Computing Equipment category.

The extension of the partnership was made official during a Signing Ceremony at the Summer Youth Olympic Games here between IOC President Thomas Bach, and Samsung Electronics vice-chairman Jay Y Lee, who was acting on behalf of chairman Lee Kun-hee - his father who is also a member of the IOC - as the 72-year-old continues his recovery from emergency heart surgery earlier this year.

"We are delighted to be able to continue our partnership with Samsung," said Bach.

"The funding generated by the TOP Programme directly supports the staging of every Olympic Games, as well as every one of the National Olympic Committees, enabling athletes from all over the world to prepare for and compete at each Games.

"Samsung also supports the operations of each Games by providing leading wireless telecommunications and technology equipment.

"In addition, Samsung's technologies and global marketing reach will engage fans around the world with the Olympic values and the Olympic Movement."

Samsung will now support the next two editions of the Summer Olympics, in Rio in 2016 and in Tokyo four years later, as well as the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games in South Korea.

They will also continue to support the IOC and every National Olympic Committee.

The deal is another major boost for the IOC as the organisation's strong foundations are further cemented into the future, with Bridgestone, Atos and Panasonic three other companies to have signed similar agreements earlier this year.

All of its existing TOP sponsors are now onboard until 2020.

"Samsung aims to spread the Olympic spirit through our innovative wireless and computing technologies, enabling all fans around the world to stay connected and share the excitement of the Games," said Samsung Electronics executive vice-president of Global Marketing, IT and Mobile Division, Younghee Lee.

"We are proud to extend our involvement in the Olympic Movement, as it is meaningful to us to inspire people through the passion that lies behind the Games and contribute to creating a smarter Olympic Games."

IOC Marketing Commission chairman Tsunekazu Takeda added: "I am delighted that we have now reached agreements with all of our existing partners through to at least 2020".

"This is a clear sign of the strength of the programme and the global appeal of the Olympic Games and the Olympic values."

Source

Trinidad and Tobago athletes displayed grit and determination on Saturday the opening day of the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games.
At the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre Natatorium,  David Mc Leod was the first T & T athlete in action.
Mc Leod,  a Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships (CISC) and Carifta champion,  placed second in heat two of five in the Men's 100 m backstroke preliminaries but 27th overall in a new personal best time of 58.18.  His previous PR was 58.72.
From the starter's signal,  Mc Leod was always in second,  splitting in 27.57 seconds at the midway point behind eventual heat two winner Canada's Javier Acevedo (57.87) and maintained his position for two laps of the Olympic-sized pool.
After the race,  Mc Leod said:"I am pleased with my swim because I felt strong and did a new best time.  It augurs well for my pet event,  the 50 m back,  on Tuesday (tomorrow) where I expect to be even stronger and faster and hopefully achieve a semifinal place. "
Mc Leod takes his final splash in the pool in the Men's 50m backstroke on Tuesday while World Juniors silver medalist Dylan Carter also dives into action on that day in the Men's 50 m freestyle prelims.
At the Youth Olympic Sport Park, T&T Beach Volleyballers Chelsi Ward and Malika Davidson battled but went down in straight sets 2-0 (21-17, 21-10) to Germany’s Sarah Schneider and Lisa Arnholdt.
Coach Sean Morrison said Ward and Davidson traded point for point up to 15 in the first set before the Germans imposed their will while the T&T team started too relaxed in the second set,  making too many errors and conceding  a big lead to the Germans from which  they failed to recover.
The T & T duo will try and look for their first points of Group E competition when they tackle Indonesia today from 3 pm (3 am local).
" Indonesia is even a better team defensively than Germany but we will try  to out-hustle them to score points tomorrow (today), " Morrison,  a national Men's player,  said.
Morrison added that he is looking to score wins over easier Group E opponents Bolivia and Congo for T&T  to advance  out of Group E, a group that also includes hosts China.
" Once the girls keep focus on their game throughout   we will be okay against Indonesia, "he said.
In sailing,  T&T' sole representative Abigail Affoo took to the waters of Jinniu Lake for the Women's One Person Dinghy from 11 am (11 pm Sunday TT time).
On Sunday,  Affoo put the finishing touches to her Dinghy and also had a trial race in preparation for today's race.

T&T athletes get there track and field campaign on the way on Wed 20th, with Jeminise Parris in the women's 100m Hurdles.

Interested persons can follow the progress of the T&T team at the T&T Olympic Committee (T&TOC) social media websites, twitter  www.ttoc.org and the Games’ websitewww.nanjing2014.org/en.

Trinidad and Tobago swimmer David Mc Leod and T&T Volleyballers Chelsi Ward and Malika Davidson will be the first athletes to compete for this country on the opening day of the 2014 Nanjing Youth Games.

Mc Leod will splash into action in the first  of two events he is entered in today from 10:30 am in Nanjing (10:30 pm Saturday local time)  in  heat two lane two of the Men's 100 m backstroke at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Center Natatorium. He is seeded 29th in the event.
At 8:00 pm (8:00 am local time) at the Youth Olympic Sport Park,  Ward and Davidson will spike off against the German team in Group E action in the 36-team competition. Group E is one of six groups and also includes Indonesia,  Congo, Bolivia and hosts China.