Watch a video interview with Rod Hegselaer
Haarlemmer Ruud Heijselaar, of KV Trekvogels, has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Marathon Committee at the Congress of the International Boat Federation (ICF) in Rome. It was a so-called hybrid conference, meaning that the participants were both physically and online. The vote limited the number of countries present to 102 participants. With the appointment, Heijselaar will also take a seat on the ICF board of directors.
Earlier this year, Dutchman Eli Muller was named an honorary member of the European Boating Association. This happened during the ECA conference in Bratislava at the beginning of October.
Three new countries have joined the ICF
At the 38th Congress of the ICF, on 4, 5 and 6 November, Ruud Hegeselaer, Epp Stormenk and Eli Muller attended on behalf of the Netherlands. The conference opened with a speech by the President of the Italian Olympic Committee, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee. Then the speech of the current president of the ICF, who is also a member of the IOC. Then he delivered (video) a speech to the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach. The first two days, attended by 74 countries, were also used to prepare documents, adopt various proposals and amend laws. In addition, three new countries were adopted as members of the ICF: Sierra Leone, Kosovo, and Saudi Arabia. It has also been reported that Olympic slalom champion Jessica Fox from Australia has been elected to the IOC’s Athletes Commission.
The new president of the International Canoeing Federation
During the conference, Toy Estenguet, Vice President of the ICF, indicated that he is no longer running for election. He wants to be able to fully devote himself to his duties as Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The outgoing president, José Perorina, has been appointed Honorary President of the International Olympic Games Federation. German Thomas Konitzko has been appointed as the new head of the ICF.
All speeches and proposals can be found on the ICF website.
