Tadas Ivanauskas, General Secretary of the Lithuanian Badminton Federation is looking forward to hosting the event, welcoming young talents from all over Europe: “Our objective is to show that high-level tournaments can be organized in smaller countries such as Lithuania, and that badminton is welcomed and loved in our community. Also, to show that Vilnius and Lithuania, in general, are destinations that attract people to come back not only for sports events, but to find out more about our culture”.

The celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2022 and acquired the right to host and organize its first European badminton championships, in the SEB Arena in Vilnius.

“Lithuania has never hosted European championships, so we see it as a great opportunity to promote badminton in our country as well as a big challenge for the community to make it happen in the best way possible. We dare to say that the BEC and BWF tournaments delivered in Lithuania are always organized at a high level. We see this challenge as a possibility to develop our organizational skills and write down the name of Lithuania in bigger letters in the European badminton history”, adds Ivanauskas.

Badminton Europe’s Deputy General Secretary Jimmy Andersen is confident about next year’s event: “We are very excited to take our European U17 Championships to Lithuania, to its capital city Vilnius in such an important year for the city. It will be a first for Lithuania, but hopefully not last. We are utmost certain that they will deliver a high-level organization, and that everyone coming to Vilnius will have a great experience. We have high hopes for a fruitful cooperation, and we already now look forward to the event in August next year“.

The European U17 Championships is organized every two years. In the 2023 episode players born in 2007 or later can participate. During the competition, both team and individual events will be played. The event was last held in Slovenia in September 2021.

www.vilnius.lt

 

On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in Qatar. MEPs highlight that the Gulf state won the FIFA World Cup bidding process amidst credible allegations of bribery and corruption. They deplore the deaths of thousands of migrant workers primarily in the construction sector who helped the country prepare for the tournament, as well as all those injured.

Describing the corruption within FIFA as “rampant, systemic and deep-rooted”, MEPs also deplore that the process to award the football World Cup to Qatar in 2010 was not transparent and lacked responsible risk-assessment, and underscore how FIFA has seriously damaged the image and integrity of global football.

Parliament urges EU countries, particularly those with large national football leagues, such as Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, to exert pressure on UEFA and FIFA to fundamentally reform FIFA. This would include introducing democratic and transparent procedures when awarding football World Cups and strictly implementing human rights and sustainability criteria for hosting countries.

To protect athletes and fans and put an end to sportswashing, international sporting events should not be awarded to countries in which fundamental and human rights are violated, and where systematic gender-based violence is prevalent.

All victims of World Cup preparations should be compensated

With an estimated more than 2 million foreign nationals making up some 94% of the country’s workforce, the resolution welcomes the fact that, according to the International Labour Organization, the Qatari government has reimbursed USD 320 million to wage abuse victims through the so-called “Workers’ Support and Insurance Fund”. MEPs regret, however, that many workers in Qatar and their families have been excluded from its scope and call for the fund to be extended to include all those affected since the work related to the FIFA World Cup began, covering also workers’ deaths and other human rights abuses.

They also call on FIFA to contribute to a comprehensive remediation programme for workers’ families as compensation for the conditions to which they have been subjected.

Full investigations needed

Acknowledging the important contribution of migrant workers to Qatar’s economy and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Parliament urges the Qatari authorities to conduct full investigations into the deaths of migrant workers in the country and to compensate to families in cases where workers died as a result of their working conditions. It also supports Qatar’s recent efforts to improve the conditions and rights of workers, which the international community has raised, but calls for the full implementation of the adopted reforms.

MEPs deplore the abuse perpetrated by the country’s authorities on the LGBTQ+ community. This includes the use of domestic laws that allow for LGBTQ+ persons to be provisionally detained without charge or trial for up to six months. The resolution also urges Qatar to strengthen gender equality measures, including abolishing the remnants of the women's guardianship, while stepping up efforts to increase the representation of women in the formal labour market.

Ref.: 20221121IPR56305
www.europarl.europa.eu

 

– When we hear about the challenges you set yourself, the first question that comes to mind is "why?". Why did you choose this type of active leisure? For the challenges and overcoming them? Adrenaline rush? The uniqueness of the activity?
– I have always been attracted to sports. Many people wouldn't believe it, but I used to do weightlifting in high school. However, I also excelled in running. Since childhood, I have been fascinated by mountains, especially high-altitude mountaineering in the Himalayas. It was like a dream deferred that one day I will be there too. I haven't joined any expeditions yet, but I'm taking part in mountain running competitions.

I used to watch marathons on TV and think that, I don't know how, but someday I will be ready for such a challenge. Since there were no opportunities to take part in mountain expeditions, I just started training with the idea that I would be physically fit when the opportunity knocks. Later on, running culture became more popular, I started competing in races, and running itself turned into a part of my daily routine.

During my studies, I challenged myself as well: I had to change my major and my specialization, switch to completely new subjects I hadn't studied before, and do a lot of research on my own. It was the run breaks that helped me keep my cool in the moments when it seemed that everyone around me was more intelligent and understood everything, and I was just a black sheep.

Of course, every time I complete a difficult race trail or cross the finish line of a marathon, I feel a spark of euphoria, but I also enjoy the process: the preparation and anticipation for the race, the victory over the occasional "inner sloth" and the rush outside even though I don't feel like running at that moment.

I think that my patience and persistence have led me to where I am now, whether in terms of sports, work or studies. Moreover, sports and work do not conflict, they even help each other: the patience developed in sports is also needed at work, when an experiment fails (and most of them do), but you can't just give up and quit. Then I tell myself that it won't be scarier or more difficult than hanging on a rope in the mountains. Having done that much, I can try harder here too. It is also a kind of marathon to get the results you want.

– What would you highlight as your greatest sporting achievement this season?
– In summer, I remembered what Skyrunning looks like again by completing two mountain marathons in Italy, with about 3000 vertical metres on each course. After the pandemic, it was great to be rerunning mountain races. The first marathon was hard, it was a hot day, the trail was very technical and my mountain skills were gone. My second marathon was better, I finished in the top 20.

– Don't you feel lonely and isolated when you run in the highest spots of the world?
– Maybe I'm lucky here, because I'm more of an introvert, so I don't get tired of the daily training, running for at least an hour with just my thoughts. But it's a bit different in races. There, it's important to stay on track. There are sections in the mountains when you're running alone and you don't see any competitors in front or behind you, and that's when you can look around. And it is in those situations that I realise that this is the moment I've been preparing for, and it is really happening.

– During the toughest stages on the track – what actions or thoughts help you overcome them both physically and emotionally? Maybe you have a particular kilometre or an hour spent running that is the hardest part of the race?
– Anyone who has run a city marathon (42.195 km) knows that the hardest kilometres start at 35 km when you start feeling tired. Then I try to remind myself that it's not just me who is struggling, but other runners too. I try not to let thoughts like "I'm tired, maybe I don't really want to keep trying, maybe a more humble result will do" enter my mind. If I see a competitor in front of me, I try to overtake him and that is what my mind is on. In the mountains, it's a bit different – not just kilometres, but also hours are counted, as each trail is different and 1 km can take up to 20 minutes. If I am running alone at a time when it is getting hard because of fatigue, I think that if I don't make it to a certain point, called "cut-off", I‘ll be kicked out of the track. And if something hurts, I try to focus on the current moment and not think about how many kilometres are left to go.

– Do you have a talisman that you take with you to all competitions?
– I don't have a talisman, but when I pack my suitcase before the trip and my rucksack on the morning of the race, I have already thought through the worst-case scenarios and prepared for them.

– What do you consider the biggest challenge you have overcome in your life so far? What is the next challenge ahead?
– The biggest challenge so far was the 85 km mountain run in 2015 in the French Alps at the World Trail Championship. I think I was not properly prepared for such a challenge at that time. Even though I reached the finish line, I didn't feel euphoric. For now, the challenge is to complete my doctoral studies and defend my dissertation.

I like to keep my running challenges a secret and then surprise everyone. I usually sign up for a new challenge or competition a few months in advance if I can see that I will have the opportunity to prepare properly. As I don't have to prepare from zero, there is no need to register a year in advance. This also makes it easier to plan. But I'll definitely be back in the mountains next summer, and I'm considering a city marathon somewhere in Europe in spring.

www.vu.lt

 

The world football body FIFA’s decision to grant Qatar the right to host the 2022 World Cup in men’s football has sparked controversy among human rights organisations and football fans alike. Data cross-checked by several human rights organisations with diplomatic missions in Doha indicate that thousands of foreign workers have died on construction sites or as a result of construction-related activities in the country ahead of the tournament.

WHEN: Monday 14 November at 15.45 CET.

WHERE: Room 3G-3 in Parliament’s Spinelli building in Brussels and remote participation.

You can follow the meeting live here (14.11.2022). Interpretation into Arabic will be available.

The Subcommittee on Human Rights has invited the following guests to speak:

- Mr Ali Bin Samikh Al Marri, Minister of Labour of the State of Qatar;

- Mr Max Tuñón, Head of the International Labour Organization Office in Doha;

- Ms Minky Worden, Director of Global Initiatives at Human Rights Watch.

Over 90% of Qatar’s workforce are migrants, of which one million work in construction. Although the country has introduced several labour reform measures in the last few years, for instance introducing a minimum wage and allowing workers to change jobs without needing permission from employers, migrant workers in Qatar still face harsh, and sometimes fatal, conditions.

Ref.: 20221110IPR53501
www.europarl.europa.eu

 

This is already the second medal of the 25-year-old Lithuanian swimmer at this event. A few days ago, Meilutytė won the bronze in 100 m breaststroke. President Gitanas Nausėda congratulated the swimmer on such incredible results.

The Government of Lithuania has decided to increase the state bonuses to athletes and their coaches participating in Paralympics and Deaflympics more than three times for medals of 1st – 4th places. For the purpose of gradually equalizing bonuses for winners of all three – Olympics, Paralympics, Deaflympics, amount of bonuses has started to be changed.

The minister of Education, Science and Sport Jurgita Šiugždinienė has emphasized that although state bonuses are an important source of support to athletes but not the only one. Seeking to balance a model of sports support, grants for athletes will be increased and a number of recipients will be enlarged in the future.

From now, state bonus for the 1st place medal in Paralympics and Deaflympics is 64 000 Euro (comparing to 19 200 Euro until now), 32 000 Euro for the 2nd place (9 600 Euro until now), 24 000 for the 3rd place (6 400 Euro until now), 12 800 for the 4th place (4 400 Euro until now).

Lithuania is the second country in EU by the size of bonuses allocated for athletes.

https://smsm.lrv.lt/en/

It was already the 87th edition of the "Przegląd Sportowy" plebiscite co-organized by Polsat TV. The best Polish athletes of the last several months were selected. As expected, Robert Lewandowski, was the winner. 

Here are the top ten awarded:
1. Robert Lewandowski
2. Anita Włodarczyk
3. Bartosz Zmarzlik
4. Dawid Tomala (sport walk)
5. Wojciech Nowicki (hammer throw)
6. Maria Andrejczyk (javelin throw)
7. Mixed 4 × 400 metres relay (Karol Zalewski, Natalia Kaczmarek, Justyna Święty-Ersetic, Kajetan Duszyński, Dariusz Kowaluk, Iga Baumgart-Witan, Małgorzata Hołub-Kowalik)
8. Rowing Women's Four (Agnieszka Kobus-Zawojska, Marta Wieliczko, Maria Sajdak i Katarzyna Zillmann)
9. Karolina Naja i Anna Piławska (canoeing)
10. Tadeusz Michalik (wrestling)

'Lithuania is ready to host the European Track Cycling Championship and we hope that the European Cycling Union will make a positive decision regarding Lithuania. Lithuania has the necessary infrastructure for and experience in organising such high-level events', said Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė.

If Lithuania is granted the right to organise this Championship, it will take place in Panevėžys this October.

In addition, the round of the Track Champions League is planned to be organised in the CIDO arena of Panevėžys on 27 November.

The Head of UEC together with the representatives of the Lithuanian Cycling Federation are planning to meet with the Mayor of Panevėžys and the operators of the CIDO arena.

The European Track Cycling Championship, that was to take place in Belarus, was cancelled in response to the forced landing of a passenger plane by the Minsk regime to arrest the opponents of the regime.

www.lrv.lt

 

After the first lectures, LDSF General Secretary Stasys Petrauskas acquainted students with Federation activities and gave them a task. They had to undertake "Creation of a LDSF Loyalty Programme and Value to Licensed Cyclists," present it to LDSF officials. Later, the project transformed into a contest.

In order to increase the motivation of students, prizes were awarded to the authors of the best written works - Lithuania's National Cycling Team members T-shirts with autographs of the best 2020 Lithuanian female or male cyclists. Six student work groups, having discussed aspects of the task, spent several weeks analyzing and prepared their recommendations. After that, results and recommendations were presented. LDSF came to the conclusion that the most suitable and valuable work was prepared by Master's Degree students of the "Sports Industries Management" programme: Ieva Adomavičiūtė, Aistė Griciūtė, Anastasija Krivcova, and Domantas Savickas.

"Sports Industries Management" Head Prof. Dr. Vilma Čingienė congratulated students along with MRU Leadership and Strategic Management Institute Director Assoc. Prof. Aistė Dromantaitė and LDSF's Stasys Petrauskas.

www.mruni.eu

 

What is the problem with illegal sports streaming?

Broadcasting live sports plays an important role in the economy, providing a major source of revenue to event organisers . However, live sports broadcasts are often transmitted illegally online by dedicated professional websites, whose business model is based on subscription fees or advertising.

This infringes intellectual property rights and could be a security risk for users, who could be exposed to malware or data theft, including credit card fraud.

Sports event and copyright

Sport events as such do not qualify for copyright protection, as they are not a “work” as defined by EU copyright law, although the recording of a sports event is protected. Some countries have introduced specific rules covering live broadcasts, but they are not harmonised at EU level.

The need for swift redress

Live sports broadcasts have a time-limited economic value - the duration of the event - meaning the window for action against piracy is small.

Current procedures against live streaming piracy are long and not immediately applicable, so lack efficacy. MEPs on the legal affairs committee say the best remedy is the immediate termination of an unauthorised broadcast.

The aim is to "tackle those thousands and thousands of illegal broadcasters [who] get the signal from different sport events across Europe and broadcast it illegally," said Adrián Vázquez Lázara (Renew, Spain), the chair of the legal affairs committee. As sports clubs can't currently sell tickets " we have to protect the only income they have left, which is the TV rights".

How MEPs want to tackle illegal sports streaming

The report, approved by the committee on 13 April, calls for the extension of existing rights to live broadcasts. It urges the European Commission to propose concrete measures specifically adapted to live sports events, allowing for the immediate removal of, or the disabling of access to, content without blocking the legal live broadcast.

The removal of illegal content should take place immediately after reception of the notice and no later than 30 minutes after the start of the event. The new rules should target professional illegal broadcasters, not viewers who are often unaware that they are consuming illegal content.

The rules should not apply to live in-venue content or footage by the audience as this does not infringe any rights and is an integral part of fan culture.

Next steps

All MEPs will vote on the report during the May plenary session.

Ref.: 20210408STO01625
www.europarl.europa.eu