About Me

I'm a computer networking consultant working in the Washington, DC metro area. In my spare time I enjoy learning about other cultures and languages, homebrewing, cooking, swimming, bowling, fishing, reading and listening to music. I work out at the National Capital YMCA and I'm considering joining a local curling club.  I enjoy hard science-fiction but I'm also a fan of Star Trek, Sailor Moon and James Bond. I love to travel and I am very fond of southern Italy and the Caribbean, especially the US Virgin Islands. I'll be visiting Quito, Ecuador in December and hopefully visit Bogota and Amsterdam this spring and Athens again in the fall. I sometimes spend my freetime playing in the Society for Creative Anachronism, an international organization of hobbists who study and recreate the European Middle Ages and early Rennaisance. These interests keep me pretty busy.

Rodney Mark Jones

This Month's Featured
International Federation


World Curling Federation

It looks like the competition for the 2006 Winter Games host cities is beginning to heat up.

The Swedish Olympic Committee has denied Ostersund's application for another shot at hosting the Winter Games. The SOK members voted unanimously against pursuing a bid for the Winter Games of 2006 while public support is at such low levels following the bombings associated with Stockholm's bid for the 2004 Summer Games. They also stated that Ostersund appears to be no better prepared for this bid competition than it was for the 1998 or 2002 Winter Games, despite spending upwards of $30 million on sports venues during the last few years.

Ostersund has made nine previous unsuccessful attempts to bring the Winter Games to Sweden. The small city in northern Sweden earned 14 votes to tie with Sion, Switzerland for second place in its bid for the 2002 Winter Games, finished third in the race for the 1998 Winter Games and second in its attempt for the 1994 Winter Games. Still, the town seems to be determined to host the Games and is revising its bid in an attempt to gain support from the Swedish Olympic Committee. If they are unsuccessful, Ostersund is likely to try again in the competition for the Winter Games of 2010. Bids for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games are due to the International Olympic Committee in February 1998.

Meanwhile, IOC President Juan Antonio Samarach has provided some encouragement to the organizers of the Finnish bid for the 2006 Winter Games during his recent visit to Stockholm for the meeting of the European Olympic Committees. The city of Helsinki, Finland has developed a preliminary bid plan in which it will host the Games but, since it does not have the necessary terrain, the alpine events will be hosted by Lillehammer, Norway. The King of Norway recently expressed his support for Norwegian cooperation in the Helsinki bid. The IOC President suggested that Sweden could participate as a third partner in the Helsinki bid. If Helsinki is successful in winning the right to host the Games it will be the first city in Olympic history to host both the Summer Games and the Winter Games.

Several other European cities have expressed interest in entering bids. A few of those are also likely to be joint bids between cities in different countries. IOC President Samarach has said he does not believe that a bid run-off, such as that used by the IOC in the selection of the 2004 Summer Games, will be necessary for 2006.

UN Urges Olympic Truce

The United Nations General Assembly, adopted a resolution on Tuesday, 25 November 1997 urging the nations of the world to abide by the Olympic Truce during the Olympic Winter Games from 7 February 1998 through 22 February 1998. The resolution also supported the IOC in their decision to fly the flag of the United Nations at the Olympic venues in Nagano, Japan during the course of the Games. Nearly all member nations sponsored the resolution, which was adopted without a vote.

Nagano Downhill Update

The organizers of the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano have asked for a little more time to settle their dispute with International Ski Federation (FIS) over the length of the men's downhill course. Bernard Russi, downhill course designer for FIS, examined the current downhill course on Tuesday, 25 November 1997. FIS ordered him to produce a new course design to be delivered on Saturday, 30 November 1997, that would address the concerns of both FIS and the Nagano organizers. NAOC director-general Makoto Kobayashi stated at a news conference on Tuesday that a special panel, who accompanied Mr. Russi on his inspection tour, "will meet on December 1. Until then, nothing will be decided."