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Global federation wary of choosing CanadianHOCKSYBy Alan AdameCanadian PrassITS NOT who he is but where he's from that is working against Gord Renwick in his bid to become president of the International Ice Hockey Federation.Being Canadian may be too much for Renwick to overcome when UHF delegates assemble in Venice, Italy, next week for the annual meeting of hockey's internationalgoverning body.An IIHF vice-president for 12 years, Renwick has secured respect because of his tireless behind-the-scenes work and his unwavering devotion to global hockey.For months, Renwick was the only declared candidate. Gunther Sa-betzki, who had run the IIHF for 19 years, was not expected to seek another term. However, he changedRenwick had high-profile people like Rickard Fagerlund, president of the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation,and his Swiss counterpart, Rene Fa-sel, in his camp.But things have changed and now the Cambridge, Ont., businessman faces an uphill battle.“They all think I would make a good president, but they all add ‘But . .”The but” is the fact that Renwick is a Canadian. They’re worried about a possible NHL move into Europe and the feeling seems to be that they'd rather have one of their own dealing with the likes of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and BobGoodenow, executive director of the NHL Players’ Association.Fred Meredith, president of the British Ice Hockey Federation, says that’s a mistake the IIHF can ill afford to make.“I have met Bettman and Goode-now, I understand what Gordon is up against and 1 do not think the IIHF people understand that,' said Meredith. “I’m afraid it’s going to be a beauty contest and not a skills contest,”Meredith said Renwick needs to make delegates aware of theamount of work he's done and that IIHF prosperity is his top priority.Renwick recently found out how cut-throat the IIHF political arena can be. At the world hockey championships in Italy, Fasel surprised many by announcing his candidacy and Fagerlund withdrew his support for Renwick, saying Europeans are not ready to be led by a Canadian.“Most of the hockey business carried out by the IIHF goes on in Europe,” Fagerlund said last week. “The most important market for the IIHF is Europe“Therefore, it is difficult to have a North American president. My personal opinion is 1 don't believe he has a chance to become president.”So far, Renwick, Fasel, Paul See-ber of Italy and Sabetzki are the only committed candidates. Undeclared possibilities include Miroslav Subrt of the Czech Republic, Hans Dobida of Austria and Frans van Erp of the Netherlands.Nominations close two hours before the vote, which will be held June 10 or 11.
Newspaper Details
Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA
Fri, Jun 03, 1994
Page 35
Full Page
Clipped by
Jason P.
USA 13 Dec 2018
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