The World Minigolf Federation have held their latest Technical Committee meeting in Prague ©WMF

World Minigolf Federation (WMF) have awarded two of this year's Continental Championships to Portugal and Japan, it has been announced following a meeting in Prague.

Vizela will play host to the Open European Championships from August 24 to 28 and the Open Asian Championships will be held in Yokohama from October 8 to 10.

The planning for the two events took up a significant part of a meeting of the WMF Technical Committee in the Czech Republic capital, while the Committee also undertook a review of the events in 2015.

Last year, the World Adventure Golf Masters were held in English town Hastings, while the World Championships were staged in Lahti in Finland.

The 2016 World Adventure Golf Masters, considered one of the key events on the WMF circuit, will be held in Kosovan capital Pristina.

WMF have also revealed that the competition calendar for 2017 and 2018 will be finalised in the near future.

Two of the main events on the calendar for 2016 have been awarded to Portugal and Japan by the World Minigolf Federation ©WMF
Two of the main events on the calendar for 2016 have been awarded to Portugal and Japan by the World Minigolf Federation ©WMF

During the meeting, the WMF Technical Committee again reiterated their vow for Member Associations to come forward with anyone interested in becoming a referee in the sport.

The organisation are hoping to create a larger pool of referees in order to be able to hold more international competitions and to be able to test officials more thoroughly in a bid to improve the quality.

According to the WMF, a number of rule issues were discussed following queries from the governing body’s members.

“The Technical Committee is always welcoming issues from the members, whether they are about real situations or mere improvement proposals,” a WMF statement said.

A number of key issues were discussed at the meeting, including preparations for the two Continental Championships due to take place this year
A number of key issues were discussed at the meeting, including preparations for the two Continental Championships due to take place this year ©WMF

It was a historic meeting for the newly-formed Oceanian Confederation, who sent Oliver Hicks from New Zealand, their first-ever technical delegate at the event.

The WMF is part of the Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport (AIMS), which is soon to be officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee after its status was granted by the ruling Executive Board in December.