The first Olympic Virtual Series will start in May
In the last hours an important news related to the Olympics has arrived: the launch of the first historic edition of the Olympic Virtual Series. Therefore, an important opening by the International Olympic Committee in a rapidly growing sector such as virtual sports and in which the Federation has decided to invest, for example, with the eFIV Project.
The Virtual Olympic Series will precede the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and will be held between May 13 and July 23. “This event”, reads the official IOC statement, “will mobilize fans of virtual sports, eSports and games around the world to reach a new Olympic audience.” World Sailing will be one of five international federations participating in this historic event, along with their counterparts in baseball and softball, cycling, rowing and motorsports.
Each of the federations will organize their competition in a format that is capable of maximizing fan participation and inclusion, thus creating an important opportunity for participation in the Olympic environment.
“The Virtual Olympic Series is a new and unique Olympic digital experience,” said Thomas Bach, IOC President, “which aims to increase direct engagement with a new audience in the field of virtual sports.” “The Italian Sailing Federation has firmly believed in the growth of eSports and has supported World Sailing from the beginning in the development of this new frontier,” said Francesco Ettorre. “Our players, and it is a source of great pride, are always at the top of the rankings and the movement in Italy is on the rise,” continues the FIV president. This year the federal commitment has been made more concrete with the creation of the eSailing commission that is organizing an intense sports season ”.
“We have prepared for this and we are prepared to face this very important event”, are the words of Ivan Branciamore, Federal Councilor and Head of the eSailing Commission. “We were the first international sailing federation to draft federal e-sports legislation,” he adds, “an area in which we strongly believe.” “With the commission we have set ourselves the objective of importing the federal classic sailing model to eSailing and the results are rewarding us”, to conclude, “we already have several high-level players to draw from to compose the national team ready to face this first Olympic event ».
