(March 13,2013) BASOC CEO Anne Cribbs honors Chinese Consul General Gao with Honorary BASOC membership at his farewell reception
Presented To Consul General Gao Zhansheng
With Great Appreciation and Friendship
Honorary Member of the San Francisco Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee
Bringing our Countries – China and USA - Together Thru Sport!
(February 15,2013) Op Ed - Wrestling is Ready for this Challenge
Wrestling is Ready for this Challenge
By Rich Bender, Executive Director, USA Wrestling
The Olympic Games provides wrestling with unique promotional opportunities and gives our sport relevance all over the globe. Our sport's formal history dates back to the ancient Olympics in 708 B.C. and signs of our sport have been identified in cave drawings back to 3,000 B.C. Wrestling has been a part of each of the Modern Olympic Games since 1896, when the new Olympic Games were formally re-introduced.
Rich Bender (USA Wrestling)
More different countries won medals in wrestling than nearly every sport on the Olympic program including sports such as swimming, which awards many more medals. This fact alone provides justification for wrestling to rightfully be included on the Olympic Games program. It shows our universal reach.
Based upon Tuesday's IOC Executive Committee recommendation that wrestling not be a core sport for the 2020 Olympics, our sport has a difficult battle ahead, but it is definitely winnable. In just a few short months, this same 15-member group will meet again in St. Petersburg, Russia to decide which three of the following eight sports (baseball/softball, karate, roller sports, squash, sport climbing, wakeboard, wushu and wrestling) will be brought forward to the 114-person General Assembly.
The General Assembly will then take two votes: First, do they agree with the Executive Board's Recommendation to eliminate wrestling from the core program (if the General Assembly disagrees, we are back on the program). If they agree, the next vote will be for which of the three sports will be on the 2020 program.
We must over the next short weeks do all in our power to "win friends and influence people." To do this, we have engaged many of the most connected and brightest minds in our sport. This group will be led by Bill Scherr (World Champion and Olympic Bronze Medalist). Bill represented the Chicago 2016 bid and has a personal relationship with nearly every Executive Board Member. Bill will be joined by his brother Jim Scherr. As we all know, Jim led the United States Olympic Committee for nearly eight years and has many personal connections to IOC Members. Also joining the battle will be successful international business leaders Andy Barth, John Bardis, Jeff Levitetz, Art Martori and our President James Ravannack. I will also direct my full attention to this fight. World and Olympic champions Bruce Baumgartner, John Smith, Rulon Gardner and Dan Gable and two-time Olympians Kerry McCoy and Clarissa Chun will handle our heavy lifting. Rounding out our strong team will be our spokesperson Mike Novogratz. Folks, we've established this All-Star cast to take the fight to the IOC. We have a great opportunity to show the world that wrestling belongs and that when the going gets tough, the stars and stripes are who you want on your team. In addition to this team we will be hiring several public relations experts to shape and refine our strategy.
Initially, we will turn our focus within our borders. We have established several touch points and informational portals for the wrestling community to use to help us stay informed; all of these will be accessible through TheMat.com. We endeavor for anyone that believes as we do to join the fight. What does that mean? Signing petitions, writing letters, making phone calls, donating resources, doing radio and TV interviews and most importantly being available on a moment's notice to act on behalf of the effort.
Wrestling was on the program of the first Olympics almost 3,000 years ago and has been part of every modern Games since 1904. (ATR/Panasonic Lumix)
Next and nearly simultaneously, USA Wrestling and the international wrestling community will begin our work on the IOC. We will reach out to each and every member and ask for their support. We will also provide facts and results about our sport's rich and vast history. We will call in every chip we have with IOC members and ask for their support. We are also investigating possible ways that previous decisions could be re-addressed and maybe even reverse the decision to drop any sports from the program. The focus will be to rally the sport worldwide. I leave for Iran on Monday and will be meeting with wrestling leaders from Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Georgia, Bulgaria, Turkey and Belarus, all nations devastated by this decision. We will also reach out to wrestling powers such as India, Japan, Korea, Cuba and others. This battle cannot be won by us alone and we must help organize the world wrestling powers.
Finally we will work as hard as we can to help FILA, the International Wrestling Federation, prepare their formal presentation to the IOC Executive Board. Although these are times when we could easily look to blame someone for this poor decision, we will not focus on that at this time. The International Federation must be the one that makes the formal
presentation on behalf of our sport. We will also use this opportunity to call for sweeping changes in our international governing body. As a sport internationally, we cannot go on as business as usual. If changes in rules, policies and procedures are needed, we will boldly point them out. That starts today.
Friends, USA Wrestling will also self review as well. Where changes are needed and new opportunities identified within our organization, we put them into action. Our sport and athletes deserve that.
Wrestling remains strong in our country. College and High School Championships are more popular than ever. More wrestlers are participating in the sport than ever in our history. USA Wrestling has been setting membership records monthly for several years straight; sponsor and support at all levels is at a all-time high. Because of this, we are well prepared for this fight.
The United States Olympic Committee has also pledged their full support. With wrestling as the No. 4 medal producing sport for the United States, they will continue to support our efforts and be an active resource going forward.
We ask you to stay involved and stay informed. Visit TheMat.com. Go to our Facebook page "Keep Wrestling In the Olympics." Donate if you can.
In closing, I reach out to our wrestlers, young and old. You motivate us to fight to the end on this matter. I encourage you to train now harder than ever. Your opportunity will come to make a difference for our sport both on and off the mat.
Rich Bender is Executive Director of USA Wrestling.
Op Ed is a column of opinion and ideas from Around the Rings. Comments, as well as guest columns are welcomed:
(September 10, 2012) Olympians Anne Warner Cribbs and Rowdy Gaines support Olympian Cullen Jones and the USA Swimming Foundation's Make a Splash Program in San Jose at Harker Academy.
(August 28, 2012) Stanford University alumni & Stanford Olympians meet in London at the US Embassy to celebrate the Olympic Games. Anne Warner Cribbs, CEO BASOC & 1960 Olympian welcomed the attendees.
(August 3, 2012) Olympians Marilyn King, Ted Murphy and Sean Nolan join former mayor Willie Brown and Phil Ginsberg, Parks & Recreation Dept. Manager in raising the Olympic flag over San Francisco City Hall.
A Peninsula summer program's 5,731-mile "journey" to the Summer Olympics in London started with a torch relay at Sacred Heart Preparatory in Atherton on Monday.
The relay and other Olympic-themed events – including speeches from 1960 gold medalist Anne Cribbs and 1984 silver medalist Christ Dorst – kicked off the five-week educational and fundraising effort by nonprofit Peninsula Bridge. Peninsula Bridge provides free academic summer programs for local middle-school students.
The SummerFest program will divide the hypothetical trip's 5,731 miles among 400 pedometer-carrying Peninsula Bridge participants and encourage them to walk an average of 14.3 miles over a five-week period while attending free classes in geography, physical education, science and other study areas, according to Executive Director Deirdre Marlowe.
(June 22, 2012)USA Olympic Fencing Team & China Olympic Fencing Team, 2 Junior Fencers with the Consul General of the People's Republic of China Gao Shansheng and BASOC CEO & Olympian Anne Warner Cribbs celebrated the "Friendly Match" at the San Francisco Olympic Club
(June 13, 2012) San Francisco Fencing Father-Son Duo Hones An Olympic Dream Read the article >>
(May 9, 2012) Bay Area's own Ariel Hsing's Olympic Dream Coming True Read the article >>
(May 6, 2012) 2012 San Francisco Olympic Bid Award Winning Poster series being Auctioned off in New York Auction House Read the article >>
(February 16, 2012) Los Angeles again welcomes leaders of the worldwide Olympic Movement Read the press release >>
(February 2008) USOC and U.S. Sports Academy Announce IOC Sport and Singing Contest. Read the press release >>
(August 2007) Teams and Players set for Table Tennis World Championships World Junior Players at Stanford University in December. Read the press release >>
(June 2007) The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) announced today that San Jose State University (SJSU) and the City of San Jose have been selected as the site for the U.S. Olympic team processing for the 2008 Games in Beijing Read the press release >>
January 2007 - BASOC at 20 Years 2007 marked BASOC's 20th Anniversary, so it is appropriate to take note of our history as we review the past. We can be very proud of our longstanding allegiance to the goals, tenets, values and aspirations of the Olympic Movement. We have remained true to our ultimate goal of hosting an Olympic Games by promoting amateur sports, youth fitness, lifetime wellness and major national and international sporting events. We have operated with integrity and transparency, with never a hint of financial or operational controversy. And we have much to look forward to; the best is yet to come.
Read more »
(March 13, 2004) Federation Internationale de Natation
Amateur awards 2006 World Masters Championships to Stanford
University; more than 6,000 international athletes expected.
(May 25, 2004) BASOC’s Welcome Home Olympians Dinner
to be held at the San Francisco Fairmont Hotel, November 3,
2004.
For media inquiries please contact
Tel. (650) 323-9400 info@basoc.org
