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Commonwealth Championships – Penang Malaysia

COMMONWEALTH WEIGHTLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS BIGGER THAN EVER The 2009 Commonwealth Junior & Senior Weightlifting Championships will be held in Penang, Malaysia from 18 - 23 October 2009. The organising committee is expecting more than 20 nations to participate in Penang from the five continents in what will be Malaysia's first international weightlifting championships event since the 1998 Commonwealth Games. The Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in the past ten years has gone from strength to strength.Every year, this event is attracting more countries and more participants. The 2009 Commonwealth Championships is no exception. This year the event is to be held in Penang, Malaysia from October 19th to 23rd. Twenty-one Commonwealth nations so far have entered from the five continents. The most encouraging aspect of this event this year is that 170 lifters have entered and if we don't encounter any visa problems, it will be the biggest championships ever held in the Commonwealth history. The countries participating are:Oceania - 10 countries: Nauru, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, Samoa, Fiji, Niue, Cook Islands, Australia, New Zealand. Africa - 4 countries: Seychelles, South Africa, Nigeria, Mauritius Asia - 4 countries: India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore Europe - 2 countries: Cyprus, Wales, America - 1 country: Barbados The schedule of events is as follows: 19th October - Arrival of Delegations 20th October - Verification of entries and CWF Congress at 10.00am 21st October - 56kg men at 10.00am   48kg women at 12.30pm   62kg men at 3.00pm   53kg women at 5.30pm   69kg men at 8.00pm 22nd October - 58Kg women at 10.00am   77kg men at 12.30pm   63kg women at 3.00pm   85kg & 94Kg men at 5.30pm   69Kg Women at 8.00pm 23rd October - 75Kg Women at 10.00am   75+Kg women at 12.30pm   105kg & 105+kg men at 3.00pm 23rd October - Closing function at 8.00pm. 24th October - Departure of Delegation *Please note there may be some slight variation on the categories depending on the final list*. Paul CoffaSECRETARY GENERALCOMMONWEALTH WEIGHTLIFTING

Giorgi Asanidze’s warning

On September 17 Nodar Akhalkatsi, the President of the Georgian Football Federation, resigned due to the Georgian national team's poor results. He gave no other reason for his decision, claiming he was leaving "voluntarily". Giorgi Asanidze, the former Olympic weightlifting champion who is now Chairman of the Sports and Youth Issues Parliamentary Committee, thinks that Akhalkatsi's resignation will not resolve the problems in the Football Federation as there is a complex internal confrontation going on there. Giorgi Asanidze had the following podium finishes: 3rd in the 2000 Olympics Light-Heavyweight class (390.0 kg); 1st in the 2004 Olympics Light-Heavyweight class (382.5 kg); 1st in the 2001 World Championships Light-Heavyweight class (390.0 kg); 2nd in the 2002 World Championships Light-Heavyweight class (385..0 kg); 1st in the 2000 European Championships Light-Heavyweight class (390..0 kg); 1st in the 2001 European Championships Light-Heavyweight class (380..0 kg); 1st in the 2002 European Championships Light-Heavyweight class (380..0 kg). He set two world records in the snatch in 1998 and in 2000.

Wu Shude, OLYMPIC CHAMPION CELEBRATES HIS 50TH BIRTHDAY

Date of birth: 18 September 1959Place of birth: Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous RegionPersonal best: 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games - 1st 56kg class Sports career: Began weightlifting training in Nanning Spare-time Sports School in 1973. Joined the Guangxi team in 1977. High performances:1978 World Youth Championships - World youth record in 52kg snatch (102.5kg)1979 World Youth Championships - World youth record in 52kg snatch & total1980 National Championships - WR in 52kg snatch (112kg)1981 Asian Championships - WR in 56kg snatch (126.5kg) 1982 Asian Games - 1st 56kg snatch & total (AR)1984 World Championships - 1st 56kg C&J & total1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games - 1st 56kg total Honours: 1979-1984 - Awarded National Sports Medal of Honour by the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission for five times in a row1979-1984 - Selected one of National Top Ten Athletes for five times in a row1984 - Voted one of 35 Sports Stars in 35 years since the founding of new China in

Laos Gets Help From Regional Partners To Build SEA Games Venues

In the true spirit of Asean and its regional partners, debutant Laos is getting help from a host of countries in funding the construction of a dozen of stadiums and a games village for the 25th SEA Games in December. The land-locked country and one of the least developed nation in South East Asia, is hosting its first ever SEA Games that also marks its 50th anniversary this year. Vice-President of the Lao National Sports Committee (LNSC), Somphou Phongsa said Laos was grateful that its neighbours and other countries have stepped forward to help them organise the region's mini Olympics. "We initially planned to host the Games in three cities, but because of lack of fund and technical officials, the government decided to have it in Vientiane. All the stadiums will be completed by end of October or at least early November," he said in an interview here. Somphou said the crown in the jewel was the US$100 million National Sports Complex, located in Xaythany district about 16km from the capital, built and funded by the China Yunnan Construction Engineering Group and China Development Bank. The fully-completed complex includes a 20,000-capacity main stadium which will host the opening and closing ceremony, as well as the venues for athletic and football. It also has a swimming pool, tennis courts, a shooting range and two indoor stadiums. Nearby, the Booyoung Company from South Korea is undertaking the construction of a 27-hole golf course on a 150 hectares site, with the now completed 18 holes to play host to SEA Games golfers. Somphou, who coached the Laos football team that stunned Malaysia in the 1997 SEA Games, said more than 5,000 athletes and officials would be staying at the Games Village in the National University compound which would also host seven events. Built by Vietnamese firm Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL), Vietnam provided US$4 million aid and another US$15 million interest-free grant for the US$19 million project that includes a 4,000-bed accommodation. Somphou said an accreditation centre as well as offices for national Olympic committees, IT, results and transportation centres would be set up at the university. A Malaysian firm, WSL MSC Sdn Bhd is providing the IT support for the Games. The Japanese Government has provided a 602 million yen grant to build the Budo Centre, venue for karate and judo while the Korean firm Booyoung also gave US$300,000 to construct a taekwondo venue. Olympic Council of Asia gave US$200,000 for the building of Olympasia Gymnasium which will host boxing while Thailand provided 84 million baht for the Beung Kha Nhong Sport Centre, the venue for Muay and shuttlecock. Somphou also said that the Brunei government also chipped in by contributing US$1.7 million for the construction of a gymnasium and dormitory. With most of the venues already completed, Somphou said several pre-games events have been scheduled to test all the facilities and broadcasting system, including a four-nation football tournament involving Laos, Malaysian, Thailand and Vietnam from Oct 2 to 6. Laos, one of the founding members of the Games, is organising 25 sports which offer 383 gold medals. The sports are athletics, swimming, archery, badminton, snooker and billiards, Muay, cycling, football, golf, judo, karate-do, sepak takraw, shooting, tennis, table-tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, wrestling, weightlifting, boxing, pencak silat, petanque, fin swimming, diving and shuttlecock. by

IWF Executive Board concludes meeting in Budapest

The IWF Executive Board held an Extraordinary meeting in Budapest, Hungary, on 15-16 September 2009. The focus of the 2-day meeting was on an overview and the discussion of the finances and the financial management of the IWF with a perspective for the next 4 years. To complement the Constitution, the Board approved a set of By-Laws which will be duly communicated to the National Federations prior to the next Congress.Mr. Zoltán Varga, Minister of Local Governments in charge of Sport, accompanied by Dr. Beáta Simóka, State Secretary of Sport received the Executive Board who expressed gratitude to the Hungarian Government for the support it has been providing to the IWF Secretariat in Budapest for 33 years.

2009 WMG – Athlete Entries

2009 WMG - Athlete Entries UPDATED: 16 September 2009 Please find the athlete entries for the 2009 World Masters Games (and 2009 IWF World Masters Championships) to be held in Sydney, Australia from 10 - 18 October 2009.Weightlifting Start List Men 090908.pdfWeightlifting Start List Women