Katie Taylor and Jennifer Chieng honoured at ANOC Awards in Washington D.C.

Thursday night saw the second edition of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) Awards in Washington D.C. Held to recognise the achievements of the biggest stars from the five Continental Games that have taken place over the past 14 months, two greats of women’s boxing were among the athletes to receive awards.

Irish hero Katie Taylor and Jennifer Chieng from the Federated States of Micronesia received the Best Female at the European Games in Baku and Best Female at the Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea awards respectively, underlining the huge impact women’s boxing has had since AIBA introduced it into the Olympic program at London 2012.

“These awards are a recognition of how far women’s boxing has come in the short time since we introduced it to the Olympic program at London 2012″ said AIBA President Ching-Kuo Wu. “The women’s events have proved to be as competitive as they are impressive and a fantastic addition to the world of boxing, thanks in no small part to these two great athletes that I would like to vividly congratulate for their accomplishments”

Taylor’s gold in Baku was her 18th major international title, underlining a dominance of women’s boxing since bursting onto the scene in 2005 that she will be hoping to continue with a second Olympic gold next year.

“It was amazing to compete at the first ever European Games in Baku and to become the first ever women’s European Games lightweight champion. This recognition is extremely humbling and I am very grateful to ANOC for awarding me this honour. I am looking forward to travelling to Rio with the OCI and bringing home some more medals for Ireland.”

Katie taylor and AIBA President Ching-Kuo Wu

The awards proved to be yet another milestone in the continuing growth of women’s boxing. Among those present at the star-studded ceremony in Washington as they collected the awards were IOC President Thomas Bach and ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah.

ANOC SIGNS MOU WITH SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

ANOC enhances opportunities for NOCs through collaborative agreement

The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) has today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Division of Global Sport Management Talent Development at Seoul National University (GSM-SNU) as ANOC continues to identify ways to improve the service it offers its NOCs.

The MOU aims to encourage greater academic cooperation between the two organisations in order to contribute to the development of sport within the international community. As part of the agreement, ANOC will recommend prospective candidates from NOCs for the Dream Together Master Programme and will help assist with the placement of students from the Programme in careers and internships within NOCs.

Supported by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and the Next Generation Sports Talent Foundation, Seoul National University launched the Dream Together Master Programme to educate and support next generation sport administrators in the world in 2013. Taught by internationally recognised professors, the Dream Together Master Programme provides world-class education for the next generation of sports administrators across a variety of topics including sport humanities, organisation and governance, marketing, the Olympic Movement and international sport development.

ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah (centre), ANOC Secretary General Gunilla Lindberg (left) and ANOC Vice-President Patrick Hickey (right) during ANOC press briefing

Speaking following the MOU signing, ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah said:

“We are very happy to have entered into this partnership with the Seoul National University. We are always looking at ways of improving our offering to the NOCs and creating a route for them to enter into further education and learn from international best practice is an excellent way of doing that.

“Many smaller NOCs will not have access to the same level of international expertise as their colleagues from larger NOCs. The Dream Together Master Programme is specifically designed to target sports administrators at NOCs and National Federation of countries where sport is less well developed. Working with Seoul National University will allow ANOC to offer greater opportunities to our NOCs and equip them with the tools they need to advance the sports movement within their countries and beyond.”

Dr. Joon-ho Kang, Director and professor of the Dream Together Master Programme added:

“We are very excited about the opportunities that our collaborative partnership with ANOC will bring. ANOC represents 204 NOCs worldwide and so is ideally placed to help us connect with nations around the world. We want to work with as many NOCs as possible to ensure that they are maximising sport’s full potential to change society for the better.”

“This programme is a kind of platform that any entity can join to develop future leaders in sport management for public and private sectors. As one of the world-class comprehensive universities representing Asia, Seoul National University is the only institution offering Master’s and PhD degrees in sport management among the top 50 universities in the world.”

ANOC DELIVERS MESSAGE OF NOC SUPPORT AT 127TH IOC SESSION

ANOC DELIVERS MESSAGE OF NOC SUPPORT AT 127TH IOC SESSION

All 40 recommendations of Olympic Agenda 2020 unanimously approved by IOC Session

ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah (right) addresses the ANOC Executive Council with IOC President Thomas Bach (left)

The ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah delivered a message of unanimous support from the 203 National Olympic Committees for Olympic Agenda 2020 as he addressed the IOC membership during the historic 127th IOC Session.

The IOC unanimously approved all 40 recommendations of Olympic Agenda 2020 on the opening day of the IOC Session at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. The chairs of the 14 working groups who produced the recommendations following extensive contributions from Olympic stakeholders – including the world’s NOCs – presented their proposals to the IOC Session before they were voted on one by one.

The 14 topics discussed were:
· Bidding: ensuring appeal and diversity
· Sustainability and legacy
· Differentiation of the Olympic Games
· Procedure for the composition of the Olympic programme
· Olympic Games management
· Protecting clean athletes
· Olympic Channel
· Shape Olympism in Action, including Youth Strategy
· Youth Olympic Games
· Culture policy
· Autonomy, good governance and integrity

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Speaking on the final day of the 127th IOC Session, ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah said:

“Yesterday was an historic day in the future development of the Olympic Movement. I would like to congratulate IOC President Thomas Bach and the IOC for taking such a significant step towards a better and healthier future. The unanimous approval of the 40 recommendations is a testament to the process of collaboration and cooperation that the IOC has undergone under President Bach’s leadership over the last year.

“I was delighted to address the IOC Session and deliver a message of support from the 203 NOCs. The NOCs have taken an active part in the discussions on Olympic Agenda 2020 and we have every confidence that these recommendations will benefit the entire Olympic Movement. We look forward to working closely with the IOC President Bach and the IOC over the coming months and years.”

The full list of approved recommendations can be found on the link below:

Click to access Olympic_Agenda_2020-20-20_Recommendations-ENG.pdf

Olympic Summit Gives Full Support To Olympic Agenda 2020

Leading representatives of the Olympic Movement met in Lausanne today, with the Olympic Agenda 2020 process central to their discussions. Sports leaders heard updates on the proposals that have so far been generated on Olympic Agenda 2020, the strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement, which is scheduled for further consideration and final approval at the Extraordinary IOC Session in December.

The Olympic Summit was convened by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne. It forms part of the on-going dialogue and consultation on the main topics of interest and concern to the Olympic Movement. It brings together the IOC Vice-Presidents and Presidents of the major stakeholders of the Olympic Movement. *(See list of attendees at the end of this press release.)

The Summit welcomed the inclusive and transparent process that has also received contributions from civil society and the general public and enhanced good governance at the IOC. Under the direction of the IOC, Olympic Agenda 2020 has addressed three major themes: sustainability, credibility and youth. The Summit fully supported the direction of the reforms. Detailed discussions have taken place on a range of key issues including cost management of the Games, protecting the clean athletes, good governance and youth strategy. Click here for the 14 sub-themes.

In particular the Summit supported:

– A new strategy for the bidding procedure. This includes giving more flexibility to bid cities, with emphasis on the sustainability of the Olympic Games. Candidate Cities should focus on what legacies the Olympic Games can bring to the area and its citizens from the very beginning of the bid procedure, and in particular how the Games fit best into the social, environmental and long-term development plan of a host region. The need for Olympic Movement stakeholders to remain flexible and open to reasonable adaptation to this concept was also agreed.

– Changes to the procedure for the composition of the Olympic programme. The goal is to present proposals for a more flexible approach by adopting an event-based rather than a sport-based approach to the composition of the programme, while retaining the limit on the number of athletes participating.

– The establishment of an Olympic TV channel. Participants supported an Olympic TV channel, recognising the potential to greatly increase the presence of sports and the promotion of the Olympic values year round and worldwide. The IOC will contact all the relevant stakeholders in the coming months to further develop the concept.

Further consultations on Olympic Agenda 2020 are scheduled for September, when today’s contributions, along with the discussions of the Working Groups in June, will be presented to the IOC commissions. The refined proposals will then be discussed again at an Executive Board (EB) meeting in October, before being presented for discussion by the entire IOC membership and final approval at the Extraordinary IOC Session in Monaco, on 8 and 9 December 2014.

The Olympic Summit participants acknowledged the benefits for the entire Olympic Movement from the growing collaboration enjoyed at the highest level between the IOC and the United Nations following the signing of a historic memorandum of understanding between the two organisations earlier this year.

The participants were looking with confidence in the future of the Olympic Movement with regard to long-term financial stability following a number of agreements finalised this year: The recently signed broadcast and TOP sponsor agreements not only guarantee the long-term financial stability of the IOC and the Olympic Movement but also exhibit the trust that corporations have in the IOC. Earlier this year, the IOC completed a long-term deal until 2032 with US broadcaster NBC Universal and another with the Japanese consortium for the Japan broadcasting rights, in addition to signing Bridgestone as a new TOP partner and extending the TOP partnership with Panasonic.

Updates were also given on the subjects addressed at the previous Olympic Summits, and progress reports on three key issues were provided. These included the fight against doping; the sports calendar; autonomy and good governance; and the fight against match-fixing and related corruption.

1) Protecting the clean athletes
A report was given on the additional fund of USD 20 million set aside by the IOC in the fight to protect clean athletes, which is to be shared equally between the fight against doping and combating match-fixing and related corruption.

The President of ASOIF presented the latest developments in the Olympic Movement’s efforts in the fight against match-fixing. These include closer cooperation with governments and betting operators to better coordinate efforts in the field of education, monitoring and the harmonisation of legislation.

The IOC has introduced the IBIS monitoring system and put it at the service of the stakeholders of the Olympic Movement. An update was also given on cooperation with Interpol, including the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two organisations.

The participants heard a report from the WADA President on the current position of WADA on how to ensure the permanent protection of clean athletes in cooperation with all stakeholders of the Olympic Movement. He also reported on WADA’s efforts to convince governments to match the additional IOC fund.

2) The sports calendar
The participants agreed on the creation of a Sports Calendar online database for the coordination of the scheduling of sports competitions at a global level, agreeing to a project to compile a comprehensive universal spring calendar of current events in order to find the best options for planning sports competitions at a global level, in particular when proposals for new events arise.

3) Autonomy and good governance
The participants noted with satisfaction the good results already achieved by the Working Group on Good Governance established at the last summit meeting, and encouraged the IOC to continue its good work.
A proposal was also discussed to implement an intelligence system to monitor conflicts, for the benefit of the Olympic Movement.
Finally, the participants agreed on the process of creating ad-hoc taskforces to resolve specific conflicts.

*LIST OF PARTICIPANTS:

Thomas BACH, IOC President

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad AL-SABAH, ANOC President

Claudia BOKEL, Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission

John D. COATES, AC, IOC Vice-President

Bruno GRANDI, FIG President

Patrick HICKEY, IOC EB Member

Gian-Franco KASPER, AIOWF President

Peng LIU, Chinese Olympic Committee President

Julio César MAGLIONE, FINA President

Lawrence PROBST III, United States Olympic Committee President

Craig REEDIE, IOC Vice-President

Francesco RICCI BITTI, ASOIF President

Marius VIZER, SportAccord President

Ching-Kuo WU, IOC EB Member

Alexander ZHUKOV, Russian Olympic Committee President

Zaiqing YU, IOC Vice-President

ANOC ANNOUNCES CATEGORIES FOR INAUGURAL ANOC GALA AWARDS

ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah addresses the ANOC Executive Council alongside IOC President Thomas Bach and ANOC Secretary General Gunilla Lindberg

Following today’s 64th ANOC Executive Council meeting, ANOC has announced the prizes to be awarded at the inaugural ANOC Gala Awards Dinner, recognising the achievements of the NOCs and their athletes around the world.

The awards were approved by the ANOC Executive Council during a meeting attended by IOC President Thomas Bach in the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne.

President Bach delivered a speech updating the ANOC Executive Council on the latest developments on Olympic Agenda 2020 before reports from each of the nine ANOC Commissions and Working Groups were given.

ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah said:

“This has been a highly productive and successful ANOC Executive Council meeting. The ANOC Gala Awards Dinner is a concept that we have been discussing for a while and as chair of the ANOC Events Working Group, it is a project I am particularly passionate about.

The NOCs and their athletes are at the very core of the Olympic Movement but their hard work and dedication is not always recognised.

The ANOC Gala Awards Dinner will be a celebration of all NOCs and a chance to give them the recognition they deserve.”

The awards will be decided by a carefully selected committee. The approved awards categories are:

· Best athletes from London 2012 (male individual, female individual, male team and female team)

· Best athletes from Sochi 2014 (male individual, female individual, male team and female team)

· Coach of the year

· Most successful NOC in 2012 and 2014

· Best breakthrough NOC

· ANOC Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award

President Bach updated the ANOC Executive Council on a range of topics, including Olympic Agenda 2020 and new commercial and broadcast deals.

He said:
“Olympic Agenda 2020 is making progress. There is a broad consensus for change among all the stakeholders, including the NOCs, the IFs and IOC members.

All the stakeholders have understood that we need to make some major changes to address new challenges. We have to adapt, and it is always better to lead the change ourselves.”

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah added:
“We were honoured that President Bach attended the meeting and gave us an update on Olympic Agenda 2020.

We are united behind Olympic Agenda 2020 and fully support President Bach’s commitment to making the process as collaborative as possible.

Through our nine Commissions and Working Groups we are undergoing a similar process of reform and I was delighted to hear during the ANOC Executive Council meeting that they are all making excellent progress ahead of November’s General Assembly.”

ANOC AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS FOR SECOND MSA COURSE AT RIOU

Students from Europe and Oceania selected to study at state-of-the-art Russian International Olympic University

The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) today reinforced its commitment to disseminating best practice amongst its 204 member NOCs as it awarded two students from the Republic of Moldova and Vanuatu scholarships to study on the Master of Sport Administration (MSA) course at the Russian International Olympic University (RIOU).

The two full scholarships – provided courtesy of the Vladimir Potanin Foundation – have been awarded to Natalia Brebu, Secretary General of the Moldovan Tennis Federation, and Trevor Toka, National Sports Programmes Coordinator, Research Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at the Government of the Republic of Vanuatu’s Ministry of Youth Development Sports and Training. The scholars were proposed by their countries’ NOCs following ANOC’s call for applications through the NOC network in March earlier this year.

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ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah commented:
“We are delighted to be able to offer these two scholarships to Natalia Brebu and Trevor Toka.

The National Olympic Committees of the Republic of Moldova and Vanuatu, like many NOCs, do not always enjoy the same opportunities that the bigger, more established NOCs are afforded.

It is our job at ANOC to ensure that all 204 NOCs – big and small – receive the very highest level of service and are given access to Olympic best practice so they can continue to grow and develop.

The RIOU scholarships are an excellent way of doing this and we thank Vladimir Potanin and his foundation for providing this opportunity.”

This will be the second year that ANOC has awarded scholarships to study the MSA course to its members with Evelyn Hopp from the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), Jorge Mario Marroquín Menéndez from Guatemala and Llanga Pathirathnalage Wijeratne from the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka all taking part in the inaugural course in the last academic year.

RIOU Rector Professor Lev Belousov said:
“We are very pleased that ANOC will continue to have a presence at RIOU next year. Just last week the ANOC scholars on the inaugural MSA, along with their fellow students, received qualifications after they successfully completed the inaugural programme. Now we look ahead with excitement to next year’s intake of students who – just as those that have just graduated – will benefit from our state-of-the-art campus, excellent facilities and world-class lecturers.”

ANOC LAUNCHES NEW DIGITAL PLATFORMS

New digital platforms set to improve communication with NOCs

The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) today launched its brand new website and Facebook and Twitter accounts, with this latest step forward in its modernisation process designed to provide new platforms for promotion and connectivity to the world’s 204 NOCs.

The new digital platforms, incorporating ANOC’s new brand look and feel, will allow the organisation to communicate with its NOCs more efficiently.

The ANOC website (www.anocolympic.org) has been restructured to be more user friendly and has introduced new features including ‘Olympic Voices’ – a section collating interviews from senior Olympic stakeholders and athletes – and ‘Media Centre’ – a dedicated media section reflecting the organisation’s commitment to openness and transparency.

ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah said:

“We are living in an increasingly digital age and it is imperative that ANOC takes full advantage of the wealth of opportunities that this presents us with to communicate with our NOCs.

Our website is a very important resource for the NOCs so we needed to make sure that it was as comprehensive and informative as possible. The new, more user friendly, website will do just that whilst also providing a platform to highlight and celebrate the excellent and often unrecognised work the NOCs are doing worldwide.”

New Twitter and Facebook platforms have also been created to maximise the organisation’s potential to connect with its NOCs and their athletes.

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah added:

“Our social media platforms will open up new ways for us to interact directly with our NOCs and their athletes and share news and photos with as wide an audience as possible – particularly young people. Our Twitter and Facebook accounts will be particularly important in the run up to our inaugural ANOC Gala Awards Dinner.”

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