Highlights of the week

IOC ACTIVITIES

On 28 July, IOC President Jacques Rogge was in London (Great Britain) to sign the contract making the company Procter and Gamble (P&G) a worldwide Olympic partner through to 2020 in the “personal care and household products” category. Accompanied by Gerhard Heiberg, Chairman of the IOC Marketing Commission, President Rogge met P&G’s Global Marketing and Brand Building Officer, Marc Pritchard. Read the press release on www.olympic.org (“news” section).

This Friday, President Rogge is in Munich (Germany) for the opening of the World Shooting Championship organised by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), whose President is IOC member Olegario Vázquez Raña. He will then be going to Barcelona (Spain) for the final days of the European Athletics Championships.

INTERNATIONAL SPORTS FEDERATIONS

International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) President Bruno Grandi recently received the International Fair Play Mecenate Award for 2010 at a ceremony in Cortona (Italy). The award honours more than 50 years devoted to championing the development of sport and justice. In addition, for the first time ever, the Czech Gymnastics Federation has hosted an FIG Academy devoted to the foundation of gymnastics. The course was held in Prague, in the historic Sokol building. A total of 28 coaches and physical education teachers from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland took part. More details on www.fig-gymnastics.com.

NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES

The Cultural Department of the Brazilian NOC has taken part in an educational action in the Chapéu Mangueira Community, in the south zone of Rio de Janeiro.  For around three hours, 50 children could learn about the history and values of the Olympic Movement through various activities and by talking to beach volleyball Olympic medallist Adriana Behar, and Brazil’s leading badminton player Renata Faustino. The programme included videos, a puppet show, a distribution of gifts, forming the Olympic rings with hula hoops and a badminton demonstration by two students from the Community’s “Miratus” project.

We have just learned of the death of François d’Amat, at the age of 69. It was he who discovered the speech by Pierre de Coubertin in November 1892 announcing his wish to re-establish the Olympic Games. This “Olympic Manifesto” was part of an exhibition entitled “Olympism in action” shown by The Olympic Museum at Copenhagen City Hall during the Olympic Congress in October 2009.

On 22 July, during a press conference in the NOC’s Hall of Honour, Italian NOC President Giovanni Petrucci, and the Secretary General, Raffaele Pagnozzi, greeted the Italian team which will be taking part in the 1st Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore next month. The delegation will include 61 athletes, led by Alberta Santuccio (fencing), who will be the flag-bearer. The NOC President expressed his encouragement to the athletes, while the Secretary General focused on the meaning of this first edition of the YOG.  Fabrizia d’Ottavio, an Olympic gymnast and young ambassador for Singapore 2010, plus boxer Domenico Valentino and fencer Valentina Vezzali, YOG athlete role models, also attended the press conference. In addition, a week earlier, a conference entitled “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow – Heritage and Sustainability for Olympic Games of a Human Dimension” officially opened the celebrations in the Italian capital to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. The guests of honour included Senator for Life Giulio Andreotti, who chaired the 1960 Organising Committee; the Undersecretary of State for the Council of Ministers, Gianni Letta; IOC Vice-President Mario Pescante; IOC members Franco Carraro (chairing the Rome 1960 celebrations), Francesco Ricci Bitti and Manuela Di Centa; the Mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno; Sports Minister Rocco Crimi; the Italian Paralympic Committee President, Luca Pancalli; and the son of Giulio Onesti, the founding President of the NOC. Numerous Olympians who competed in the 1960 Games were also there, including the brothers Raimondo and Piero D’Inzeo (water polo), Nino Benvenuti (boxing) and Livio Trap (cycling). More details on www.coni.it.

During the presentation ceremony for the Portuguese team who will be taking part in the YOG in Singapore, the 2010 IOC Trophy “Sport – inspiring young people” was awarded to the “Compal Air” project, a joint venture by the Portuguese Basketball Federation and Sumol Compal company. The Trophy was presented by Portuguese NOC President José Vicente Moura and the Secretary of State for Youth and Sport, Laurentino Dias, to the Basketball Federation President, Mário Saldanha, and Sumol Compal Board Member Rui Frade.

From 11 to 16 July, the town of Piešťany hosted the International Olympic Youth Camp entitled “We Are All One Team”. The camp was organised jointly by the Slovak NOC, the Slovak Olympic Academy and the Fair Play Club. The participants, aged 15 and 16, came from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. They had the chance to talk to Olympians such as Sydney 2000 swimming medallist Martina Moravcova and Beijing 2008 shooting medallists David Kostelecky, from the Czech Republic, and Tore Brovold, from Norway. The programme of activities included presentations, workshops and sports activities. Also present were Katarina Ráczová, Slovak Ambassador for Sport, Tolerance and Fair Play at the Council of Europe and three-time Olympic fencing participant, and Danka Barteková, Slovak YOG ambassador.

The Somali NOC presented the 2010 IOC Trophy “Sport – inspiring young people” to the Youthlink organisation at a ceremony held at the Youthlink Centre in Mogadishu. This organisation received the Trophy in recognition of its efforts for sports development and enhancing young people’s access to sport, education and healthcare, and participation in decision-making and development. Officials from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, national federations, the media, NOC President Aden Hagi Yeberow and the Mayor of Mogadishu attended the ceremony.

LONDON 2012

27 July marked the two-years-to-go point before the opening of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. This important date was celebrated with a number of events organised throughout the host city and country. From 23 to 25 July, the London 2012 Open Weekend was organised across the country, with over 800 “challenging” events for the public. This was followed by the launch of the London 2012 specialist volunteer programme, the opening of the first official shop, special events in the Olympic Park and numerous other events organised by London 2012’s partners. With the main venues in the Olympic Park on track to be completed next year, a number of special events were held in the Park on 27 July, showing the great progress London has made with its construction projects. Read more on www.olympic.org (“news” section) and on www.london2012.com.

RIO 2016

To facilitate preparations for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, the Brazilian NOC and the Brazilian Army have signed a cooperation agreement for courses and seminars to be held with the aim of developing sport in Brazil and increasing the number of professionals in different areas. Held in the São João Fort in Rio de Janeiro, the ceremony was attended by the President of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, who is also the NOC President and an IOC member; Army Commander Enzo Martins Peri; the Rio 2016 Sports Director, Agberto Guimarães; as well as Olympians, Confederation presidents and the military authorities. According to the protocol of intentions, the Army’s Physical Education School will lend the facilities needed for the preparation courses and seminars, as well as the laboratory to help with athlete preparation, using actions linked to sports science. The activities will be open to both the military and civilians. Read the press release on www.rio2016.com.

SINGAPORE 2010

After being lit in Olympia last Friday, the first-ever Youth Olympic flame stopped in Berlin (Germany) on 24 July and Dakar (Senegal) on 26 July on its way to Singapore. Large crowds turned out to welcome the flame and take part in the celebrations organised to mark the occasion. On 30 July, the flame will be in Mexico City (Mexico). Follow its journey on www.olympic.org (“YOG news” in the YOG section).

RECOGNISED ORGANISATIONS

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the World Snowboard Federation (WSF) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate during the 2010-2011 season to develop para-snowboard. The MoU covers the areas of management, competition coordination, development and certification of officials and classifiers, as well as media and communication.