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IWF Development Program Technical Official Seminar – Japan Weightlifting Association

For the successful Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (to be held in 2021), a Technical Official Seminar was held for selected ITOs and NTOs for Tokyo 2020 during 22-23 November 2020 at Shin-Yokohama Prince Hotel. IWF Technical Committee Secretary Ms. Reiko Kato Chinen conducted the seminar, 2 ITOs and 17 NTOs participated on-site, including Mr. Jun-ichi Okada, IWF Coaching and Research Committee Member. One NTO participated online. On the first day, after Mr. Tetsuo Komiyama, Japan Weightlifting Association General Secretary opened the seminar, 4 topics were presented by Ms. Chinen – Tokyo 2020 Update after Postponement of the Games, IF Flow in Tokyo International Forum (Tokyo 2020 Weightlifting Venue), Athletes’ Outfit, and Authorised Identifications for Tokyo 2020 (IOC Rule 50). During the evening, each Technical Officials made a short presentation on statement of determination for officiating at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. On the second day, after Ms. Chinen explained about Video Playback Technology, participants were divided into 4 groups to perform Role Plays to review Weigh-in procedure and to study/improve Chief Marshal skill. For the Role Plays, various tricky scenarios made participants remind important points for each role. Only a few days in prior to the seminar, increasing tendency of COVID-19 started especially in the big cities (3rd wave). Japan Weightlifting Association urgently discussed if the seminar should be kept as originally planned, but decided to carry out the event with strengthened countermeasures such as: Change of the hotel room type from double to single Individual countermeasures during the trip between home and seminar site Submission of health inquiry sheet Measuring body temperature upon the arrival and at the beginning of Day2 Wearing a mask whenever in the meeting room or in the hotel Wearing a mask plus face shield while carrying out Role Play Providing disinfectant Change of the style of taking dinner – from round table to meeting table, using one large folding table for one person with 2 meters distance.   The invitation letter sent by Japan Weightlifting Association to participants many weeks in prior to the seminar had also requested daily self-health check. Self-health check will be continued by each participant for 2 weeks more after the seminar. Shin-Yokohama Prince Hotel is a group hotel of The Prince Park Tower Tokyo, where all participants from Japan, China, USA and Russia in 2020 Artistic Gymnastics Friendship and Solidarity Competition stayed. This Competition was held by FIG (the International Gymnastics Federation) on 8 November 2020 in Tokyo under the values of excellence, friendship and solidarity, but also to test all aspects on COVID-19 countermeasures such as PCR tests (before the departure of the country, upon the arrival, in the hotel etc.), restriction of activities, sport and venue operation (disinfection etc.) and the way for meals. The hotel used for this IWF Development Program had already planned to provide a big meeting room before the start of this 3rd wave of COVID-19, but accepted all the demands from Japan Weightlifting Association including last-minutes change requests, furthermore used the same way as applied in FIG event whichever applicable for this seminar. At the end, participants of the Seminar, who normally organize national or regional events, also realized that they need to be prepared for these kinds of possible urgent logistics changes under the pandemic for near future events in Japan. JWA greatly appreciates the contribution of the IWF and IWF Development Program, also for Prince Hotels, Inc., the owner company of the

IWF Statement Regarding the Reduction of Weightlifting Quota Places at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

"Clean weightlifters continue to pay a woefully heavy price for inadequate governance and for those -- from a relatively limited number of countries -- who tried to take shortcuts to success at London 2012 and Beijing 2008. Thanks to help from independent experts like our partners at the ITA, we have already reformed the IWF’s anti-doping practices. And thanks to the help of independent experts, we are now reforming the IWF’s governance. I believe we can meet the IOC’s criteria for remaining on the Paris 2024 Olympic programme and even reach the point where we restore Olympic weightlifting opportunities for a new generation of clean weightlifters. We have already embarked on a journey towards radical governance reform. But we must be under no illusion about the scope and scale of change

Open Championships of Turkmenistan and Election of the National Olympic Committee

The National Weightlifting Federation of Turkmenistan held the Open Championship of Turkmenistan between November 25-28, 2020, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan. The competition was held in a highly organized level at the Ashgabat Olympic Complex, the venue which hosted the 2018 IWF World Championships. The Minister of Sports and Youth Policy of Turkmenistan and several officials has attaned to the medal ceremony. Winners were awarded with gold, silver and bronze medals and with special awards. Next to the competition, the National Olympic Committee of Turkmenistan held its election last week where Mr. Charygeldi Mammedov, General Secretary of the Weightlifting Federation of Turkmenistan was elected as Executive Board

2021 IWF Junior World Championships

In 2021, the IWF Junior World Championships will be held in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between 5-18 March 2021. The program of the Competition: 5 March 2021 Arrival 6 March 2021 IWF Committee Meetings 7-8 March 2021 IWF Executive Board Meeting 9 March 2021 IWF Congress 10-17 March 2021 Competition 18 March 2021 Departure As a like-for-like substitute event for the 2020 IWF Junior World Championships (Bucharest, Romania) which event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the 2021 competition will be a Gold Level Qualification event for the Tokyo 2020 (2021) Olympic Games. As usual, entry submission for the event will be via the E-Entry platform and deadline for the preliminary entries (LONG LIST) is 10 December 2020. Since 2018 it is mandatory to register all athletes before the preliminary entry deadline in case of World Championships. For this purpose, Federations are able to register up to 20 athletes per gender even though the final number of competitors can only be a maximum of 10 athletes (+ 2 Reserves) per gender, which shall be selected by the Final Entry deadline (05 February 2021). Athletes shall also comply with the Anti-Doping requirements and rules of the IWF in regards to World Championships as follows: In accordance with Article 5.6.5 of the IWF Anti-Doping Policy, an Athlete who is not listed on the IWF’s Registered Testing Pool but wishes to participate in an IWF Event shall provide accurate and complete whereabouts information as set out at Annex I of the International Standard for Testing and Investigations for a period of at least three (3) months prior to the IWF Junior World Championships. Athletes who wish to compete at the IWF Junior World Championships shall submit their whereabouts information for the period outlined above at the latest on 10 DECEMBER 2020. An Athlete who does not comply with this provision is not eligible to compete at the 2021 IWF Junior World Championships. More information on the Regulations and Forms can be

David Prowse: 1935-2020

It is with great sadness that we have learned from yesterday's announcement of British Weight Lifting that David Prowse, former international weightlifter of Great Britain and Star Wars actor passed away this weekend. The IWF and the weightlifting family sends the most heartfelt condolences to the British Weight Lifting and to his family and loved ones. The official tribute of British Weight Lifting: "It is with great sadness that British Weight Lifting have recently learned that David Prowse has passed away at the age 85. British Weight Lifting would like to send our deepest condolences to his friends and family. Not many people in the world of weightlifting can claim to have coached a Kryptonian, been idolised as a road safety superhero by thousands of British school kids, then subsequently struck terror into their heart’s years later as a Dark Lord of the Sith. But then again, David Prowse wasn’t your regular weightlifter. As well as winning multiple national weightlifting titles, he appeared in over 70 films, including Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange and George Lucas’s Star Wars. Prowse’s weightlifting exploits, road safety campaigns and Hollywood acting career would ultimately help to inspire a generation. His portrayal of Darth Vader is often cited as one of the most iconic Hollywood villains that tinsel town has ever seen. On Twitter, Star Wars star Mark Hamill paid tribute to his opposite number. “So sad to hear David Prowse has passed,” said the actor who played Luke Skywalker. “He loved his fans as much as they loved him.” The bodybuilder was perfectly cast to fill the boots of the Ralph McQuarrie designed samurai suit due to the powerful presence offered by his 6 ft 7 frame. “David brought a physicality to Darth Vader that was essential for the character,” said Star Wars creator George Lucas. “He made Vader leap off the page and on to the big screen, with an imposing stature and movement performance to match the intensity and undercurrent of Vader’s presence. “David was up for anything and contributed to the success of what would become a memorable, tragic figure. May he rest in peace.” Weightlifting provided the ideal route for Prowse to reach peak physique for the role. It was a hobby he took up to gain strength after being bed bound in hospital during his teenage years. After nine years of training, he started competing in Mr Universe at the age of 25 in 1960 where he would later train and face off against his friends Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator) & Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk). The Bristol-born bodybuilder clinched a bronze medal at the British Amateur Weight Lifters Association (BAWLA) Heavyweight Championships in 1961 before going on to win the event outright for the next three consecutive years. During that period, he also won the English title as well. In October 1963, Prowse married Norma Scammell who remained his wife until his death. The couple had three children together, Steve, James and Rachel. While competing, Prowse sold weightlifting equipment domestically, wrote event reports for fitness magazines covering competitions up and down the country and also helped the BAWLA with the organisation of a one-off Mr Universe Bodybuilding event. Often his pieces would be published under pseudonyms to comply with the amateur ideals that athletes had to abide by at the time. As a result, his work to raise awareness of weightlifting in the media often did not receive the recognition it deserved, until 2011 where he revealed all in his biography ‘Straight from the Forces Mouth’. During his weightlifting career, Prowse represented Great Britain at the 1962 World Championships in Budapest alongside the late great Four-Times World Champion Louis Martin. A couple of months later he formed part of the England squad that competed in The British Empire & Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia. While Prowse didn’t total at either event, he remained in contention to represent Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, before narrowly missing out on the final team. However, like Jason Statham would later emulate in diving, Prowse had the power to transcend the Commonwealth sport in which he originally made his mark. His domestic performances would later springboard him to acting success elsewhere while also attracting attention back to his original discipline. After being in contention to play Superman, Prowse was tasked with getting Christopher Reeve into shape for the role before pounding the pavements as the Green Cross Code Man in a series of road safety films during the 1970s. He toured many schools as part of the latter role which eventually earned him an MBE courtesy of the Queen in 2000 for services to road safety and charity. In the late 1970s, George Lucas came calling for Star Wars and Prowse took on the role of Darth Vader, a part he would play in all three films in the original trilogy. While Prowse provided the physical performance under the armour, his West County accent was dubbed in post-production with James Earl Jones providing the iconic deep vocals. Sebastian Shaw controversially played the part when the mask was removed in Return of the Jedi. However, the powerful physical performance by Prowse still remains popular today and his masked depiction has often been revisited in modern media. Hayden Christensen took inspiration from Prowse’s prowess when he eventually donned the black suit in the Star Wars prequel trilogy while more recently in Rogue One the role of Vader was shared between stuntmen Spencer Wilding and Daniel Naprous. In 2014 Prowse revealed he was diagnosed with dementia and he officially retired from public appearances four years later. He passed away on the 28th November 2020 after a short illness, his agent Thomas Bowington confirmed. "May the force be with him, always!" Bowington said. "Though famous for playing many monsters - for myself, and all who knew Dave and worked with him, he was a hero in our lives." Prowse’s legacy will see him continue to be held in high regard by budding bodybuilders, lightsaber wielders and weightlifting enthusiasts all around the world and he will be sorely missed by all. British Weight

Nordic Weightlifting Senior Online Championships – 80th anniversary of the Nordic Weightlifting Federation

The Nordic Weightlifting Federation is holding its Senior Championships this weekend – 28 and 29 November 2020 – in an online format due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The event is not only special because it will be held online but because in 2020 the Nordic Weightlifting Federation is celebrating its 80th anniversary. Competition will be held according to the rules of the Nordic Weightlifting Federation and the International Weightlifting Federation and also received IWF Development Program funding. All teams will compete at one venue in their home country and while Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway will be represented by athletes, Sweden is only able to send Technical Officials for the event due to restriction in their country. Gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded for the first, second and third places respectively in the total after the competition via postal service and the best male and the best female athlete will receive a special award. The best male and female teams will also receive an award. A livestream of the online competition is available throughout the weekend: http://livestream.com/NVF More information on the event can be found