LUC WELCOMES THE DECISION BY THE INTERNATIONAL BOBSLEIGH & SKELETON FEDERATION (IBSF) TO RELOCATE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 FROM SOCHI, RUSSIA TO ANOTHER COUNTRY
December 14, 2016
(Toronto – Canada) – The National Executive of the League of Ukrainian Canadians welcomes the decision of the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) to change the location of the World Championship in 2017 from Sochi, Russia to a different country.
After multiple teams, including American and Latvian athletes, decided to boycott the world championship event in Russia due to an insufficient response by various international sports organizations to the Russian doping scandal, the IBSF decided to move the event.
The two major reasons that influenced IBSF’s decision are the following:
1) To allow athletes and coaches from all nations to participate in a competition that focuses on sport rather than accusations and discussions.
2) The Russian Bobsleigh Federation has put great effort into the preparation of the World Championships, but the current climate would make it nearly impossible to appreciate the efforts of the Organizing Committee to host a great event or to appreciate the quality of the Sanki Sliding Center as one of the best tracks in the World.
This decision was made several days after Canadian sports lawyer Richard McLaren published his second report prepared for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), where he provided concrete evidence of Russia’s doping scheme, which was covered up by Russia’s Sports Ministry, its national anti-doping agency, and its FSB intelligence service.
The International Olympic Committee as well as other sports organizations should immediately address the issues highlighted in McLaren’s second report, as doping schemes not only threaten the integrity of sport but also put athletes’ health at risk. By supporting doping on the highest level, the Russian Olympic Committee, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, and Russia’s Ministry of Sport have violated the fundamental goal of the Olympic movement, which is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world. This is done by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding and a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.
The international sports community should act swiftly and decisively to punish those implicated in the Russian state-sponsored doping scandal and to prevent this destructive behavior from spreading any further.
