Dear Sponsors and Partners,

We - the BOC 2009 team - are pleased to welcome you to the “IAAF Family” area of the organising committee’s website for the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics berlin 2009™.

Here you will find current information regarding preparations for the most important sports event in the upcoming year. In order to gain access to the relevant news, please register through your respective access area.

Welcome Address Dr. Clemens Prokop

President of the German Athletics Federation (DLV)

Over the past few decades Germany has hosted numerous major sports events. The spectators have always proved keen and enthusiastic, and the organisers are renowned for their excellent work. German athletes are making every effort to ensure that this will also be true of the World Championships 2009 in Berlin. An important part of this endeavour is the desire to make our superb facilities available to athletes from all over the world, so that they can prepare in the best possible conditions and arrive at the competition on top form.

For these final training camps before the World Championships, first-rate facilities in sports schools and special sports hotels are available throughout Germany. In this brochure, the Organising Committee for berlin 2009™ has the pleasure of presenting these possibilities to guests from the IAAF Member Federations. Some of the training venues described here were used by teams taking part in the 2006 FIFA World CupTM, who had nothing but praise for them, and there is no doubt that they also represent very fine training facilities for athletics. I would be delighted if as many national associations as possible decided to arrange for their final preparations for the World Championships to take place in one of these locations.

Athletics fans in Germany are very much looking forward to the 2009 World Championships in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, and we are confident that the event will be entertaining, fair, and offer first-rate performances. The Organising Committee is proud to present these training centres which will give sportsmen and sportswomen a first taste of the excitement they can expect in the run-up to the World Championships.

Foreword

By the governing mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit

The countdown to the 2009 World Championships in Athletics has begun. Berlin is already looking forward to hosting this elite international sporting event and to meeting the many athletes who will be arriving here to train for the competition. We would like to welcome all of you – athletes, officials, organisers and fans – to Germany’s capital city.

Anyone who knows Berlin knows that our city loves sports. Berlin has a wealth of experience hosting major sporting events and offers everything an international athlete might require when preparing for a world championship.

The restored and modernised Olympic Stadium unites sporting history with state-of-the-art facilities and will offer an excellent working environment for the media, officials, and organisers. The people of Berlin are avid athletics fans, as is demonstrated every year on occasions such as the Berlin Marathon and the ISTAF Track Meeting. We are confident that the unique atmosphere in the German capital will not only inspire the athletes but will make the events – and the images of them which will be beamed around the world – an unforgettable experience for the spectators.

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, almost twenty years ago, the two halves of the formerly-divided city have grown together and Berlin is now one of the world’s most exciting cities, with a fascinating arts and culture scene. Berlin attracts increasing numbers of young and creative people from the world over, and with hotels and restaurants to suit every taste, we can ensure visitors always enjoy their stay.

In short, berlin 2009™ promises to provide a great atmosphere and fantastic sporting moments. Prepare for an unforgettable time in the heart of the German capital.