With less than one month to go before World Rugby Conference and Exhibition 2016 (ConfEx) gets underway at the Hilton London Metropole on 14-15 November, World Rugby has announced the speaking line-up for its Rugby sevens beyond Rio – the golden opportunity panel.
Osea Kolinisau, Fiji’s Rio 2016 flag bearer and captain of the Fiji team that won an historic gold medal in Rio, the country’s first ever Olympic medal, will join leading figures from the world of rugby sevens to reflect on the sport’s successful Olympic debut at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
The full panel will be:
· Mark Egan – World Rugby Head of Competitions and Performance
· Mike Friday – USA men’s sevens coach
· Osea Kolinisau – Fiji rugby sevens captain
· Giles Morgan – HSBC Global Head of Sponsorship and Events
The speakers will come together to provide expert analysis on what the future holds for rugby sevens following its game-changing moment at Rio 2016. The panel will examine how the sport’s inclusion on the Olympic programme has been central to its transformation and how the dynamic, fast-paced game, which has experienced record growth since the vote for inclusion in 2009, can make the most of its appearance on sport’s greatest stage.
World Rugby Chief Executive Brett Gosper said: "Rugby sevens made a brilliant debut at the Olympic Games in Rio, underscoring exactly why we believed that it would be a perfect fit. There is no doubt rugby’s inclusion on the Olympic programme was a game-changer, giving the sport unprecedented global exposure and allowing us to reach inspire and engage new players and fans worldwide.
"It’s vital that we continue to review and consider the sevens journey to ensure this golden opportunity can be maximised. We are excited to have four excellent speakers in Mark Egan, Mike Friday, Osea Kolinisau and Giles Morgan join us at World Rugby ConfEx 2016 to add their considerable insight and wealth of experience to the conversation."
Friday added: "Rugby sevens has become the ideal foothold for countries trying to find their way into the sport and the globalisation of rugby has provided developing countries an easier route. More importantly, we’ve seen these countries succeed.
"In sevens it’s always been the case that a player’s decision making, skill and fitness are put under the microscope, and now more people are looking down through that lens. This can only be a good thing for the sport of rugby as a whole."
World Rugby ConfEx offers a dynamic platform to discuss, learn and create partnerships that will project rugby’s values worldwide. Under the theme, The future of rugby, the leading conference will build on the success of previous editions, gathering senior representatives from across the global rugby, sporting and business spectrum, to discuss the key topics, opportunities and challenges of a sport now played by a record 7.73 million men, women and children across 121 member unions.
The World Rugby Awards 2016 will be held on the eve of the event for the first time. Taking place at the Hilton London Metropole on the evening of 13 November, the World Rugby Awards will celebrate the accomplishments of players, coaches and teams from across the globe during 2016.
For more information, please contact:
Media enquiries:
Amelia Fisher-Starzynski – VERO Communications
Email: Afisher-starzynski@verocom.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)207 812 6589 / +44 (0)7557 418 187
Delegate and sponsorship enquiries:
Tim Kilpatrick
Tel: +44 (0)207 036 8082
Email: confexsalestk@worldrugby.org
20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics iswww.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only
Últimas Noticias
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Beyond the final result, Roland Garros left the feeling that the Italian and the Spaniard will shape the great duel that came to help us through the duel for the end of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era.
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
She is the third in her sport and the seventh athlete to achieve it in the same edition; in Santiago 2023 she was the first athlete with disabilities to compete at the Pan American level and won a medal.
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Argentinian Rodrigo Isgró received a five-game suspension for an indiscipline in the circuit’s decisive clash that would exclude him until the final or the bronze match; the Federation will seek to make the appeal successful.
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
The Kenyan received the maximum sanction for irregularities in his biological passport and the Court considered that he was part of a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping” to improve his performance. He will lose his record and the bronze medal at the Doha World Cup.
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
The American, a seven-time Olympic champion, referred to the case of the 23 positive controls before the Tokyo Games that were announced a few weeks ago and shook the swimming world. “I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low,” he said.
