201 8 EOC Head Office | Villino Giulio Onesti | Via della Pallacanestro, 19 00135 Rome, Italy | Tel. +39 06 36857828 | Fax +39 06 36857666 | [email protected] www.eurolympic.org JANUARY N.178 EOC Good Winter Olympics to all and one! - In a few days the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games are set to gather the best winter sports athletes in the world to compete for the ultimate prize of Olympic glory. The European Olympic Committees (EOC) would like to wish the best of luck to all European athletes taking part! The new Executive Committee (EC), led by President Janez Kocijančič, has a number of exciting opportunities and challenges ahead over the next four years. The key priority for the EOC remains to provide dedicated support to the 50 European National Olympic Committees (ENOCs) in their activities. The new EC for the 2017-2021 quadrennial met for the first time on 18 January in Lausanne, presenting an opportunity to reaffirm the support of President Kocijančič and the ENOCs to IOC President Thomas Bach. The first major meeting of the EOC will be the annual EOC Seminar, which will take place this year in Belgrade from 11- 12 May. This year, special attention will be devoted to monitoring the preparation of the second European Games, to be held in Minsk, led by Minsk 2019 CoCom Chair Spyros Capralos. The Seminar will also focus on the organisation of the 2019 EYOFs - the winter edition will take place in Sarajevo & East Sarajevo, and the summer edition in Baku. With regard to the European Union, this year's rotating presidency will be held by Bulgaria for the first half of the year, followed by Austria for the second half; the EOC office in Brussels will continue to closely monitor EU issues that have an impact on European sport. To the 50 ENOCs and the whole European family, we wish you an excellent Olympic year! New Executive Committee meet in Lausanne - EOC President Janez Kocijančič chaired a successful first meeting of the newly elected Executive Committee, where the preparations for the Minsk 2019 European Games were a key item on the agenda. The meeting, held in Lausanne, was the first gathering of the new EC for the 2017-2021 quadrennial, which was elected at the 46th EOC General Assembly in Zagreb in November last year. President Kocijančič, who served as Acting President for 15 months before being unanimously elected as President in Zagreb, praised the efforts of the newly elected EC and pledged to keep working hard to provide the 50 European National Olympic Committees (NOCs) with the support they need. IOC President Thomas Bach attended the meeting and gave participants an update on the main issues in the Olympic Movement. He was accompanied by IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper, IOC Deputy Director General Pere Mirò, and Olympic Solidarity Deputy Director Pamela Vipond. The night before the meeting, President Bach hosted a welcome dinner at the Lausanne Palace Hotel for the new EC. President Kocijančič thanked the IOC for its ongoing support and pledged the EOC’s full support to the IOC for its decision regarding Russia’s participation at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. Minsk 2019 European Games Organising Committee (MEGOC) CEO George Katulin and Coordination Commission Chair Spyros Capralos updated the EC on the progress of the organisation of the second edition of the EOC’s flagship event. Katulin presented several small changes to the sports programme, notably the increase in medal events from 198 to 208. Archery will now have three more medal events; wrestling freestyle, wrestling women and wrestling Greco-Roman two more each; and canoe sprint one more. Speaking after the meeting, President Kocijančič said: "I am pleased with the progress we have made today and the number of important issues we have been able to address in detail. In particular, I would like to congratulate the 2019 Minsk Games Coordination Commission and MEGOC for their 2018 JANUARY EOC Newsletter valuable activity and efficiency. It is normal to encounter problems when organising events of this magnitude; however, the dedication of all involved will allow us to quickly overcome any problems we may face. “I have every confidence that the Minsk Games will provide a dynamic blueprint, aligned with the principles of Olympic Agenda 2020, for future editions to follow. Each country is different, and it is important to have an adaptable model that will encourage countries of all sizes to tender for the Games in the years to come.” Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) Secretary General Gunilla Lindberg, who serves as an ex-officio member on the EOC EC, provided an update on the activities of the ANOC. EOC Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi and Treasurer Kikis Lazarides both gave reports to the EC, and the structure of the EOC commissions for the 2017-2021 quadrennial was established. COMMISSIONS EOC Athletes’ Commission’s team completed - The news European Athletes Commission, chaired by Estonia discus thrower Gerd Kanter for the 2017/2021 quadriennium - and composed by six top athletes for summer and two for winter sports, elected last October at the EOC Athletes General Assembly in Monaco - has now 12 members. On 18 January, at the EOC EC meeting, four additional members were nominated to join the commission. In line with the current regulations, it was decided to appoint two members from the former commission: speed skater Luiza Zlotkowska (POL) and freestyle skier Mikko Ronkainen (FIN). The Executive Committee also agreed to add two more members from the 5th General Assembly of the European Athletes candidates list: sabre fencer Olga Kharlan (UKR) and triathlon champion Joao Pedro Lopes Da Silva (POR). This has ensured a well-balanced team that will contribute actively to the EOC’s activities. ENOCs CROATIA – The end of 2017 was celebrated by the Croatian NOC with its traditional awards ceremony. The Croatian Olympic Committee's most prestigious award - “Matija Ljubek” - was presented to Zrinko Gregurek and Dragutin Šurbek from Zagreb, Zvjezdana Tuma Pavlov from Osijek, Vlaho Asić from Split, and the Sports- Fishing Association Priroda Vinkovci, for a remarkable contribution to the development of sport in Croatia. The leading female athlete in Croatia, selected by the NOC, was awarded to world champion and winner of the IAAF Diamond League in discus Sandra Perković. Perković received the award for the sixth time in a row. The best male athlete was, as expected, gymnast Tin Srbić. Srbić had an outstanding year, including winning World Cup gold in horizontal bar. Winners of the Croatian Olympic Committee’s Special Recognition 2017 were TV shows Sport Nedjeljom (Sports on Sundays) and Istinom do gola (With Truth to the Goal) for media promotion of sports, and Dina Levačić, Split native open water swimmer, for Sports Event of the Year. Finally, the 2017 IOC Trophy “Sport Beyond Borders”, which is dedicated to the trends of strengthening the inclusion of women in sport, was presented to the Sports Association of Vukovar-Srijem County. GREECE – This month, the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) held an awards ceremony to celebrate the achievements of Greek sport in 2017. HOC President Spyros Capralos awarded prizes to athletes and their trainers who excelled in 2017 in European and World Championships. The (named after the first president of the IOC) was awarded to the President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopios Pavlopoulos for his practical, unreserved and continuous support for Greek sport. Trophies were also awarded to the former government minister and member of the HOC Plenary Session Fani Palli Petralia and to the HOC Vice President Pavlos Kanellakis, as well as leading personalities in sport who have offered invaluable contributions through volunteer work. The IOC Trophy “Sport Beyond Borders” was awarded to the Mayor of Lesvos Spyros Galinos, following a proposal made by the HOC. Mayor Galinos accepted the IOC Trophy on behalf of the local community for the way they managed the migration crisis. 2 2018 JANUARY EOC Newsletter Personalities who contributed to the staging of the lighting and handover ceremonies of the Olympic flame, as well as the new sponsors of the HOC, were also recognised with awards. During the awards ceremony, Capralos invited eminent businessmen to support the programme “Adopt an Athlete on the Way to Tokyo”. The funds raised by the “adoption programme” are directly allocated to the athletes, without any intervention whatsoever on the part of the HOC or any federation. The athletes who benefited from the previous edition of the programme fully acknowledged the substantial support they received. All six Greek medals during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games were won by “adopted” athletes. KOSOVO – This month, the first "Sport and Media" conference, organised by the Kosovo Olympic Committee (KOC), took place. The conference brought together leaders from the KOC the Kosovo Sports Journalists Association, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, local sports federations, academics and sports journalists. The conference was intended as an opportunity for the heads of different sports bodies in Kosovo to talk to sports journalists about mutual challenges. Panel discussions included the “situation in the sports and media sector” and the “expectations of journalists from sports leaders and vice versa”. The panellists highlighted the many problems faced by sports journalists due to a lack of basic facilities at sports grounds. KOC President Besim Hasani, Director of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports Ibër Alaj, Rio 2016 Olympic Games Kosovo team judo coach Driton Kuka and others expressed their concerns over the coverage of various topics by journalists. However, on a more positive note, they used the opportunity to reflect on the results of the Olympic champion judoka Majlinda Kelmendi. TURKEY - The Turkish Olympic Committee’s (TOC) Sports Culture and Olympic Education Programme (OLI) announced this month that it reached 150,000 children in 350 schools across 14 Turkish cities in 2017.