EOC Newsletter No. 202 May 2020 Olympic Family bids farewell to Janez Kocijančič In a moving memorial service held on 5 June at the Grand Union Hotel in Ljubljana, Slovenia, friends, family and colleagues from around the world paid their final respects to European Olympic Committees (EOC) President Janez Kocijančič, who passed away on 1 June. “The Olympic Movement of Europe has lost a great leader and we have all lost a dear and kind friend,” said EOC Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi. “He was a profound believer in the power of sport for good, and tirelessly worked to promote Olympic values and ideals in the certainty that they can help provide our youth with a better tomorrow. He did so with unparalleled wisdom, and we pledge to continue his good work in honour of his memory. Joining Secretary General Pagnozzi in paying tribute were an EOC delegation consisting of Executive Committee (ExCo) Members Zlatko Mateša and Peter Mennel and staff from the EOC headquarters, representatives from the International Olympic Committee and European National Olympic Committees, including Krisztian Kulcsar and Balint Vekassy, respectively President and Secretary General of the Hungarian Olympic Committee. In a touching video tribute, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said: “With our friend Janez Kocijančič, our Olympic Movement has lost a great, great ambassador for the Olympic Values and I personally have lost a true and long-time loyal friend … He was a true European. A true European who looked beyond the borders of the European Union, including all countries and cultures of European origin. This made conversations with him always inspiring and interesting because of his rich knowledge of culture, literature and science.” Miroslav Cerar, double Olympic champion in gymnastics who together with Kocijančič was one of the founding fathers of the Slovenian Olympic Committee (SOC), said he remembered Janez as “a constant guiding presence in Slovenian sport and an esteemed figure abroad … Ever creative and decisive, you were also tolerant, brimming with energy and wisdom. You knew how to listen and give weighty arguments that proved invaluable to us.” Read more 1 EOC NEWSLETTER May 2020 EOC 12 EOC ExCo Members confirmed for 2020 IOC Commissions The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 28 May named twelve Members of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) Executive Committee (ExCo) to IOC Commissions for 2020. EOC Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi (ITA) remain in the Olympic Solidarity Commission, along with Gunilla Lindberg (SWE) and Spyros Capralos (GRE), both of whom are also IOC Members. The IOC highlighted that the composition of the Commissions once again made year-on-year progress towards gender equality, with 47.7 per cent of positions across the 30 commissions now held by women, growing from 45.4 per cent in 2019. Women ExCo Members Lindberg and Daina Gudzineviciute (LTU) confirmed their roles in a number of Commissions: Gudzineviciute is part of the Commissions for the XXV Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 and Athletes’ Entourage, while Lindberg is also a Member of the CoComs for the 4th Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2022 and the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad Paris 2024, the Future Host Commission for the Olympic Winter Games and the Olympic Programme Commission. Read more EOC celebrates Europe Day! Europe Day is an icon of the European Union, along with the European flag, the single currency and the Anthem of Europe. It is both a day aimed at raising awareness about the European Union and an occasion for European citizens of each Member State to celebrate their different cultures and traditions. Held on 9 May every year, Europe Day pays tribute to continental peace and unity. The date marks the anniversary of the historic “Schuman Declaration,” a speech delivered in Paris in 1950 by France’s then-Foreign Minister Robert Schuman, in which he put forth his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe that would make war between European nations unthinkable. In the sports world, this concept of union came to fruition a few years later in Europe, the birthplace of Olympism and the modern Olympic Games. The idea of grouping the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of Europe under a single umbrella was first tabled in 1967 at the 65th IOC Session in Tehran, where three enlightened sports leaders – Giulio Onesti (ITA), Raoul Mollet (BEL) and Raymond Gafner (SUI) – laid the foundation of what would later become known as the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC). Read more 2 EOC NEWSLETTER May 2020 First EOC refugee athlete finds new home in Canada Nazret Kobodom, the first European Olympic Committees (EOC) refugee athlete, who competed in the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) Baku 2019, has found a home in Canada along with her family. After training at the Alley South Tel Aviv-Yaffo, a not-for- profit professional track and field club that empowers disadvantaged and marginalised children through sports, Nazret became the Israeli under-16 champion in the cross- country and 2,000-metre events. Then, in a dream come true last summer, she competed at the EYOF in Azerbaijan under the EOC flag and with an EOC uniform. Right after the event, Nazret and her family boarded a plane for Canada and have found a home in Calgary. Read more COMMISSIONS – EOC Gender Equality in Sport Commission meets virtually The EOC Gender Equality in Sport Commission held a videoconference on 25 May 2020. The group, chaired by NOC of Ireland President Sarah Keane, discussed a series of topics related to gender equality in sport. The meeting was joined by IOC Director of Corporate Development, Brand and Sustainability Marie Sallois- Dembreville, who is also in charge of the IOC Women in Sport Commission, along with some of her colleagues from the IOC. In particular, the EOC Commission’s members were updated on some of the good initiatives carried out by the IOC Women in Sport Commission, of which Keane is also a member. Discussions focused on the following topics: sharing best practices on the basis of data collected from a survey recently conducted by the IOC, identifying gaps and areas of improvement and defining the future roadmap. The outcome of the survey conducted by the IOC will be soon shared with the European NOCs. During 2019, the Commission put forward two important initiatives: the EOC Gender Equality Strategy 2019-2022, which includes a series of action-oriented recommendations for real change, and the New Leaders Programme. PIOTR NUROWSKI PRIZE – Names of five finalists unveiled for 2020 Best Winter European Young Athlete The EOC has announced the five finalists in the running for the 2020 “Piotr Nurowski Prize” Best Winter European Young Athlete. This year again, girls have been favoured with three nominations: Nordic combined skier Lisa-Marie Hirner (AUT), luge athlete Jessica Degenhardt (GER) and biathlete Linda Zingerle (ITA). The list is completed by two boys: luge athlete Gints Bērziņš (LAT) and freestyle skier Matěj Švancer (CZE). The elections and award ceremony were due to take place this May in Slovakia, but have been postponed to a later date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more 3 EOC NEWSLETTER May 2020 EUROPEAN YOUTH OLYMPIC FESTIVAL Vuokatti 2021 – How are you preparing for the Winter EYOF? The EYOF Vuokatti 2021 Organising Committee (OC) has launched a social media campaign called “How are you preparing for the Winter EYOF?”, where it invites NOCs, sports federations, teams and athletes to share how they are getting ready for the event. The campaign posted on the official Winter EYOF account encourages people to “take a photo or a video of how you are preparing for the EYOF Vuokatti 2021 or how much you are looking forward to the event!” All you need to do is publish a photo/video on your Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube account and tag EYOF Vuokatti 2021: IG: @eyof2021vuokatti FB: @EYOF2021Vuokatti Twitter: @EYOFVuokatti YouTube: EYOF2021Vuokatti And don’t forget to add the following hashtags #roadtovuokatti2021 #eyof2021vuokatti The EYOF Vuokatti 2021 OC will draw 10 people from among those who have published a post by the end of June. The winners will be rewarded with a souvenir of the official mascot of the Games, “Quukkel.” More information here Banská Bystrica 2022 - New dates set for Summer EYOF The European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, will now take place from 24 to 30 July 2022 after being postponed from next summer to avoid a clash with the rescheduled Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The joint decision by the EOC and the Organising Committee for the 16th Summer EYOF follows Tokyo 2020 being postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Banská Bystrica EYOF was originally due to take place from 25 to 31 July 2021. “We did not consider cancelling the event at all, even though the global pandemic affected our preparations,” said Ján Nosko, Mayor of Banská Bystrica and Chairman of the Organising Committee. “Banská Bystrica has gained another 12 months, granting us more time to prepare sports infrastructure and an excellent European Youth Olympic Festival. Our aim is to organise a compact event and have as many sports as possible in a relatively small area. Despite the current coronavirus crisis, we do not lack the will or motivation. We are looking forward to welcoming the sports family to Banská Bystrica in July 2022.” Read more 4 EOC NEWSLETTER May 2020 ENOCs ALBANIA – Olympic education goes virtual under COVID-19 lockdown Every spring, Albanian schoolchildren celebrate Olympic Week, were the joy of effort and participation is combined with the Olympic values of friendship, excellent and respect as part of the “Olympic Education in School” project.