ANOC plan to make Beach Games international

HAIYANG, Shandong province - An international beach event may be created in the future, said the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) chief Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah in Haiyang, Shandong provice, on Sunday.

Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, also president of the Olympic Council of Asian (OCA), is here for the ongoing Asian Beach Games, hailed the excellent operation work of the Haiyang organizing committee and said Haiyang has given him the confidence to make Beach Games an international event.

"The Asian Beach Games is new. When it was created nobody knew what Beach Games is. For us it is very difficult to start because we have to work with a new system of broadcasting and we were also looking to start our systems such as operation and transporting," said the 48-year-old Kuwaiti. "But after the first experience in Bali Games, Omen has developed the Games and start to have a better standard for broadcasting."

"Yesterday I was watching TV, the broadcasting level is very very high. The operation, the venues are all excellent. For us officials because we go with details and follow up from A to Z, we know how much this has developed. Now I think Haiyang has successfully not only hosted the Games but also given us the experience to start to prepare for an international event," said Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah.

"After Asia created the Beach Games, Latin America is following up and has decided to host a Beach Games. I think the calendar of IOC has been busy because of the Youth Games, the summer and winter Olympic Games. But as ANOC president, I think ANOC will seriously study through its mechanism to start an international beach event," he said.

The Asian Beach Games is one of the five major multi-sport meets under the OCA. The inaugural Asian Beach Games was held in Bali, Indonesia, in October 2008 while the second edition was held in Muscat, Oman, in December 2010. The next two editions after the Games in Haiyang have already been awarded to Phuket, Thailand, in 2014 and to Nha Trang, Vietnam, in 2016 respectively.

The third Asian Beach Games in Haiyang featuring some 1,600 athletes officially raised its curtain on Saturday evening and will conclude next Friday. A total of 49 gold medals will be contested in 13 sports.

All the 45 member under the OCA participate in the biyearly beach sport gala.