Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/441551
4 ITFWORLD WINTER 2014 The ITF AGM was held in the Middle East for the first time in 2014, with Dubai providing a unique backdrop to proceedings. F rom Abidjan to Washington DC, the ITF's Annual General Meeting has been hosted in many cities across the world and in five continents but, until UAE became the 34th country to stage the yearly assembly in 2014, never before in the Middle East. Dubai, with Tennis Emirates as the host, was the glittering venue in September for three days of meetings as 260 delegates and partners from 85 nations came together at the Joharah Conference Centre in the Madinat Jumeirah Resort. While 2014 wasn't an election year for a new Board of Directors or President, there were plenty of serious items for consideration on the agenda. As usual, a series of meetings led up to the formal AGM on Thursday 18 September. Wednesday's programme began with a Key Issues Session on the proposed changes in governance for the ITF, which ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti described as one of the most important challenges facing any international sporting body. This was followed by presentations on the development activities of the ITF and the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. Break-out groups were then held on various topics to allow delegates to share information and ideas, with topics including Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, Development and the ITF Circuits. The formal AGM was opened by HH Sheikh Hasher Maktoum Jumah Al Maktoum, President of Tennis Emirates. After Francesco Ricci Bitti's annual review of the year and two further Key Issues Sessions on Finance and Davis Cup and Fed Cup, the assembly was asked to vote on a number of issues, and the key decisions are shown opposite. These include some important changes to the governance model of the ITF which take effect from the 2015 AGM, and changes to Davis Cup and Fed Cup from the beginning of 2015. Awards for Services to the Game were approved for William Alvarez (COL), Mohammad Ghareeb (KUW), Walter Goethals (BEL), Henk Koster (NED), Alex Metreveli (GEO), Igor Moska (SVK), Masaru Uchiyama (JPN), Olga Zhikhareva (RUS) and Natasha Zvereva (BLR). Additional Awards were approved for France's Jean-Claude Massias (Coaches Commission nomination) and Great Britain's Clare Wood, the London 2012 Competition Manager (Board of Directors nomination). The social programme for the AGM included a Welcome Dinner hosted by Tennis Emirates in the desert on Wednesday evening, following the traditional AGM lunch hosted by Britain's Lawn Tennis Association. The Italian Tennis Federation, as 2013 champions, hosted the annual Fed Cup lunch on Thursday, while Czech Tennis, as last year's Davis Cup champions, co-hosted the Gala Dinner with the ITF at Atlantis, The Palm. The Gala Dinner provided the opportunity to present the Services to the Game Awards, with Ghareeb, Goethals and Moska able to collect theirs in person. The AGM was rounded off by the Draw for the 2015 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas, with the Davis Cup itself taking centre stage. The famous trophy had earlier taken a trip to the top of the Jumeirah Burj Al Arab hotel for a photoshoot on the iconic helipad where Andre Agassi and Roger Federer once played tennis. The 2015 ITF Annual General Meeting will be held in Santiago, Chile in September. ITF AGM