Page 68 - World Under 18 Championships

WORLD U18

Protocol and Hospitality

Introduction

he IAAF World under 18 Championships took the delegation convincingly persuaded the IAAF
place at the Moi International Sports Centre Council to endorse its right to host this event, the
Tin Nairobi, Kenya from June 12th- June17th second IAAF World Athletics Series competition to
2017. e spectacular fi ve day event was the 10th and be held in the country after the 2007 IAAF World
fi nal edition of the biennial international athletics Cross Country Championships. Having signed the
KYEB
Event Organization Agreement as well as provided
competition for youth (under-18) athletes: A historic
the guarantees to underwrite the costs of hosting the
moment, not just for Kenya but also for the continent.
event October 31st 2017, Kenya was well on its way.
e championships had 120 countries represented
In February 2017, the Local Organizing Committee
and attracted over 60,000 spectators breaking an at-
for the IAAF World under 18 Championships fl oat-
tendance record for IAAF’s under-18 and under-20
ed a Request for proposals for the selection of an
competitions and exceeding even the most optimis-
agency with expertise in sports marketing & event
tic expectations. Kenya undisputedly proved to the
management services: Tender number WU18-
world that it can host a successful championship
2017/017/2016-17. IMG Events and PR success-
over and above producing quality athletes.
fully submitted its proposal on 28th February 2017
Successful hosting of the championship was real-
and were appointed the Overall Event Manager.
ized through collaboration between various minis-
However, IMG and the Local Organizing Committee
tries, government departments, Athletics Kenya,
(LOC) entered into contract 0n 7th June 2017 with
Kenyan media, corporate bodies and other stake-
the signing of IMG’s Terms of Reference.
holders. As the event management company, IMG
In spite of the late appointment, IMG proceeded to
Events & PR was responsible for the overall successful
KENYA YEARBO0K
sit it diff erent directorates’ meetings with the aim of
running of the Championships in Nairobi reporting
assessing the amount of work already executed by
to the Local Organizing Committee Secretariat’s
the LOC and establish a starting point in the deliv-
Head of Operation.
ery of IMG’s responsibilities. LOC Secretariat Head
Having won the hosting rights of the champion-
EDITORIAL BOARD
of Operations, Regina Gachora, played a key role in
ships, the biggest international sporting event hosted
the onboarding of IMG as she held frequent debrief
in Nairobi since the 1987 All Africa Games and eyeing
meetings with IMG staff members. She also peti-
other global championships, this report reviews the
event and proposes best practice to achieve more for
IMG staff into their teams. e initial expectation was
future events of a similar nature. tioned directorate heads to expedite integration of
that IMG staff would have been integrated into each
Background LOC directorate for a smooth handover of operations
in preparation for execution on the championships
In 2014, Kenya Successfully bid for the opportunity dates. However, there were hitches in the onboard-
to host the IAAF World Youth Championships in ing process where some LOC failed to handover and
2017. Led by Dr. Hassan Wario Arero, the Cabinet proceeded to be operational during the events leaving
Principal Secretary at the Ministry for Sports Culture IMG with limited oversight over key functions such
and the Arts, key former athletes as well as local as Security, Volunteer Management, Accreditation
government and Athletics Kenya (AK) officials, and Marketing. Further, onboarding of other key

68 | ACTIVITIES AND OCCURENCES DURING WORLD U18 CHAMPIONSHIPS