“RealPlayer” Programme to Educate World Combat Games Athletes About Integrity
Lausanne, 1 October 2013 – The 2013 World Combat Games, taking place from 18-26 October in Saint Petersburg, will be used as a platform to raise awareness among all the participating athletes on the risks and rules related to sports betting and match-fixing. “RealPlayer” is a Sport Integrity online education course developed by SportAccord, and specifically tailored for this international event. It takes approximately 30 minutes to complete it in one of the 9 available language versions.
The Programme is accessible at: http://combat-games.
With the development of the Internet, the sports betting market has grown enormously and impacts all sports. The increasing popularity of martial arts and combat sports worldwide puts them at risk of being manipulated. In a cooperative process, SportAccord, the 2013 World Combat Games organisers and the 15 participating International Federations agreed to make the e-learning programme mandatory for the competing athletes. SportAccord will keep record of all those that finish the programme, including officials or other stakeholders. It is the first time that such certification system for educational purposes about match-fixing is put in place to complete this international multi-sports competition.
SportAccord will extend this possibility to other competitions and sports organisations: “This is the starting point for an extended certification process. We can link various programmes to the platform. SportAccord encourages all federations to use such tools in the future to become integrity-ready”, said SportAccord Director General Vlad Marinescu.
Sport integrity issues, such as illegal sports betting and match-fixing, continue increasing worldwide therefore,it is necessary that international sports federations take the lead in providing their stakeholders with the resources to educate and protect themselves. SportAccord is committed to supporting this move and the World Combat Games are a great opportunity to join forces.
About World Combat Games
World Combat Games take place from 18-26 October 2013 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. SportAccord World Combat Games is an international sporting event which promotes values of self-control, determination and technical mastery. The Martial Arts and Combat Sports integrate elements of culture, wisdom, friendship to create an elite sports competition – the Art of Combat. The Games will feature the world’s top athletes of 15 Martial Arts and Combat Sports; Aikido, Boxing, Fencing, Judo, Jujitsu, Karate, Kendo, Kickboxing, Muaythai, Sambo, Savate, Sumo, Taekwondo, Wrestling, Wushu. Additionally, the Combat Games will feature a Cultural Programme reflecting the ancient traditions of martial arts as well as the social and cultural values of the 15 sports and the event as a whole.
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