| World Beach Games |
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The ANOC World Beach Games, known simply as the World Beach Games, is an international multi-sport event organized by the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC). The games are held biennially in odd-numbered years, with a focus on non-Olympic beach and water sports and a primary target audience of 15 to 35 year olds. It was first held in 2019 in Doha, Qatar.
The World Beach Games was first announced as a joint project between ANOC and SportAccord in October 2013. [1] It was inspired by the success of the regional Asian Beach Games first held five years prior. Original plans conceived the Games as a 20–25 discipline event, attracting ~5,000 athletes from all 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) at a cost of $135 million, [2] [3] and would occur biennially. [4] The concept was approved by the ANOC General Assembly in Bangkok, Thailand in November 2014. [5]
Relations between SportAccord and ANOC quickly soured however, and the former unilaterally announced in April 2015 that Sochi, Russia would host the first edition of the Games, more than likely without any involvement from ANOC; [6] the latter then revealed plans for their own, completely independent version of the Games. [7] Shortly after, SportAccord's scheme collapsed, leaving ANOC as the sole organisation moving forward with any such event and opened the application process in the July. [8]
In October 2015, San Diego, United States was approved as hosts of the inaugural edition at ANOC's General Assembly meeting in Washington, D.C. It was scheduled to take place in 2017. [9] [10] In August 2016, it was postponed by two years to 2019; officially, it was delayed to allow "stakeholders to deliver the best possible event" and give NOCs the "optimum time to prepare their athletes". [11] The scope of the event was substantially scaled-back for the new date, now to feature around 15 disciplines, with thousands fewer athletes and many fewer NOCs set to attend, for a tremendously reduced cost of $40 million. [12] But in May 2019, just five months before it was due to start, the event was pulled out of San Diego. The local organising committee (LOC) had been unable to raise the capital needed to stage the event. [13] Within weeks, the event was relocated to Doha, Qatar after a deal was signed with the Qatari Government to secure funding. [14] [15] This gave Doha a mere four months to prepare for the Games. [16] Despite the short timeframe, the first edition of the Games was finally realised there on schedule in October, with Spain topping the medals table, followed by Brazil in second, and both Italy and the United States tied for third; hosts Qatar finished with one medal (silver). [17] ANOC declared the event a success. [18]
Bidding for the second edition of the Games, to be held in 2021, opened in January 2020. However, in May 2020, following the outbreak and subsequent effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a decision was made by ANOC to postpone the next edition of the Games to 2023. [19] Its hosts, Bali, Indonesia, were appointed in June 2022. [20] However, in July 2023, less than a month before the games were due to start, the event was cancelled due to Indonesia's withdrawal as host at short notice, apparently due to the government not releasing the necessary funds. [21]
| Edition | Year | Host city | Host country | Opened by | Start date | End date | Nations | Competitors | Sports | Events | Top-ranked team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 2019 | Doha |  Qatar | Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani | 12 October | 16 October | 97 | 1,237 | 13 | 36 |  Spain | [22] |
| II | 2023 | Bali |  Indonesia | Cancelled | [23] | |||||||
| III | 2025 | Future event | ||||||||||
| Sport (Discipline) | Body | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Badminton (Air badminton) |  | BWF | — |
| Basketball (3x3 basketball) |  | FIBA | 2 |
| Football (Beach soccer) |  | FIFA | 2 |
| Handball (Beach handball) |  | IHF | 2 |
| Karate (Kata) |  | WKF | 2 |
| Rowing (Beach sprint) |  | WRF | — |
| Sailing (Kiteboarding) |  | WS | 2 |
| Sailing (Kitefoiling) | | — | |
| Skateboarding (Park) |  | WSK | 2 |
| Sport Climbing (Bouldering) |  | IFSC | 2 |
| Surfing (Longboard surfing) |  | ISA | — |
| Surfing (Shortboard surfing) | | — | |
| Swimming (Open water swimming) |  | FINA | 2 |
| Tennis (Beach tennis) |  | ITF | 3 |
| Triathlon (Aquathlon) |  | ITU | 3 |
| Volleyball (4x4 beach volleyball) |  | FIVB | 2 |
| Water polo (Water polo) |  | FINA | — |
| Waterskiing (Wakeboarding) |  | IWWF | 2 |
| Waterskiing (Waterski jumping) | | 2 | |
| Wrestling (Beach wrestling) |  | UWW | 8 |
| Total events | 36 | ||
The Arab Games, formerly called the Pan-Arab Games, are a regional multi-sport event held between nations from the Arab world. They are organized by the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees. The first Games took place in 1953 in Alexandria, Egypt. Intended to be held every four years since, political turmoil as well as financial difficulties have made the event an unstable one. Women first competed in 1985.
The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) is an international organization that affiliates the current 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Each year it gathers all its members at the ANOC General Assembly, in which the ANOC Awards are awarded to NOCs and their athletes since 2014. The association organises the ANOC World Beach Games, a multi-sport event held every two years.
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The 2019 World Beach Games, officially known as the ANOC World Beach Games Qatar 2019 and commonly known as Qatar 2019, was the inaugural edition of the international beach and water multi-sport event organized by the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC). It was held for five days from 11 to 16 October 2019, in Doha, Qatar, with 110 medals contested across 14 disciplines.
The Mediterranean Beach Games is a multi-sport event organized by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM) since 2015.
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Karate kata competitions at the 2019 World Beach Games in Doha, Qatar were held on October 10 and October 11. The venue for the competition was at Mission Beach. Thirty-two athletes competed in each of the men's and women's events.
The 2023 World Beach Games, officially known as the 2023 ANOC World Beach Games and colloquially as Bali 2023, would have been the second edition of the World Beach Games, an international beach and water multi-sport event organized by the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC). Originally scheduled for 2021, the event was postponed until 2023 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequently cancelled less than one month before it was due to start.
The beach soccer tournaments at the 2019 World Beach Games, the inaugural edition of the Games, were held from 11 to 16 October 2019 in Doha, Qatar and organised by the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC). The matches were hosted on the Katara Beach at two venues which comprised the Beach Soccer Arena.
Inside the Games is an Olympic news website formerly edited by the British sports journalist Duncan Mackay. In 2023 it was sold to Vox Europe Investment Holding Ltd, with editorial work overseen by a new team based in Spain. In May 2024, control of the site was transferred to Itg Media Dmcc in Dubai.
The men's beach soccer tournament at the 2019 World Beach Games in Doha, Qatar, the inaugural edition of the ANOC World Beach Games, took place over six days from 11–16 October. Held in tandem with the women's tournament, the two events comprised the beach soccer competition at this year's Games.
The women's beach soccer tournament at the 2019 World Beach Games in Doha, Qatar, the inaugural edition of the ANOC World Beach Games, took place over six days from 11–16 October. Along with the men's tournament, the two events comprised the beach soccer competition at this year's Games.
The men's 4x4 beach volleyball tournament at the 2019 World Beach Games in Doha, Qatar, the inaugural edition of the ANOC World Beach Games, will take place over five days from 12–16 October. Held in tandem with the women's tournament, the two events comprise the 4x4 beach volleyball competition at this year's Games.
The 4x4 Beach volleyball World Games Tournament was first Contested in the 1st World Beach Games Event in Qatar, Doha for both genders men and women.
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The Beach volleyball tournaments at the 2023 World Beach Games, the second edition of the Games, will be held from 6 to 12 August 2023 in Bali, Indonesia and organised by the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC).
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