Australians under pressure to take down ‘boxing kangaroo’ flag from village

Aussies under pressure to remove kangaroo flag

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Australian Olympic officials say they will take down a giant “boxing kangaroo” flag from the Vancouver athletes’ village if they receive an official request from the IOC.

The green and gold flag, which depicts a red-gloved cartoon kangaroo, has been hanging from a balcony from the Australian team’s living area in the village since Sunday.

The Australian Olympic Committee said an IOC official asked that the flag be removed because it is too commercial and a registered trademark.

AOC spokesman Mike Tancred said Friday the Australians have refused to take it down, but will oblige if they get a written request from the International Olympic Committee.

“If they want us to take it down, we’ll take it down,” he told The Associated Press.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams said the committee is looking into the issue and hopes to have a decision “within the next few days.”

Tancred said the flag has been displayed at all recent Olympics as a mascot for the Australian team and had not been a problem until now. He said the flag has been hugely popular with athletes of all nationalities in the Vancouver village.

Although the flag is a registered trademark, Tancred said it is not being used for commercial purposes in Canada.

“There must be a misunderstanding,” he said. “We have no intention or capability of selling anything. We would never go to an Olympic Games and ambush somebody else’s sponsors.”

The boxing kangaroo flag was originally flown from the Australian yacht which won the America’s Cup in 1983. It is now a registered trademark and used by the AOC to promote sport and fair play in schools in Australia.

Commercial imagery is not allowed at Olympic venues. National flags are usually the only banners permitted and are commonly displayed in the athletes’ villages.

Australia is also awaiting a ruling on it appeal to allow its 2-women bobsled team to compete at the Vancouver Games.

The AOC is seeking to gain a berth for Astrid Loch-Wilkinson and Cecilia McIntosh after the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (FIBT) decided not to award a place to any team from the Oceania region.

The Court of Arbitration, which has set up a special panel in Vancouver to hear any games-related disputes, agreed to hear the case. A hearing, originally scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed until Monday, Tancred said.

The women’s bobsled events start Feb. 23.

Australia was the top-ranked nation in Oceania, and the AOC said the pair met the minimum qualification standards imposed by the FIBT.