IOC VP John Coates expressed hope Thursday that "the issue over the current men-only membership rule" of Kasumigaseki Country Club, scheduled as a competition venue for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, "will be resolved by the end of June," according to KYODO. Coates also suggested the "possibility of allowing the torch relay for the 2020 Games to last longer than 100 days," despite an IOC rule on the maximum duration. Coates said, "My understanding is as recent as this week there have been more discussions with the club that is heading in the right direction for them to have a nondiscriminatory membership procedure, bylaw of their club." As for the torch relay, for which organizers "recently launched a panel to discuss details of the event that leads up to the Olympic Games," Coates said that planning has "just begun" and he has not yet received a proposal for it. Coates: "If the proposal involves more than 100 days -- I don't know that there's a rule that says it's a hundred days -- and even if there was, because of the special circumstances here, we would look at that" (KYODO, 3/2). REUTERS' Chris Gallagher reported the country club has been "under fire" since Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike in January called on it to give equal rights to women, and a Japanese nonprofit group demanded that the Olympic golf venue be moved elsewhere. Organizers "have not set a deadline for the club to make a decision" on its policy but Coates said, "At some point there has to be a cut-off" (REUTERS, 3/2).
MURDERBALL FUNDING: The BBC reported Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby "launched a fundraising campaign after losing its appeal against the removal of UK Sport funding." It was ruled that the team, ranked fifth in the world, was not a "credible medal challenger" for the Tokyo Paralympics. Vice-captain Gavin Walker said, "Since London we have made massive progress and I believe we are good enough to medal in Tokyo" (BBC, 3/2).
TRANS-FRIENDLY GAMES: In London, Bryan Armen Graham reported Tokyo's metropolitan government is "seeking to install gender-neutral public restrooms in the venues it is constructing for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics." While daredemo toire ("everyone's toilets") "suitable for either men or women," have existed for several years in Japan, they have previously been designed as "larger spaces designed to accommodate patrons in wheelchairs" (GUARDIAN, 3/1).
