I.O.A. NINTH SESSION AT OLYMPIA AUGUST — SEPTEMBER 1969 BOARD OF TRUSTEES EPHORIA OF THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY FOR 1969 Under the Honorary Presidency of H.M. THE KING. (Decision taken at the Full Meeting of the Hellenic Olympic Committee on 14th January 1969.) President: H.R.H. Prince GEORGE of Hanover, LL.D. First Vice-Président: Vice-Admiral Pyrros LAPPAS, Member of the I.O.C. for Greece, Member of the Hellenic Olympic Committee. Second Vice-President Epaminondas PETRALIAS, Hon. Secretary Ge- neral of the H.O.C. Members: Nikolaos PAPARESCOS, Member of the H.O.C. Nikolaos GOUMAS, Member of the H.O.C. Georgios PANZARIS. Curator: Otto SZYMICZEK, Technical Counsellor to the H.O.C. Director General: Rear-Admiral Epaminondas PANAS. The Collaborators: Secretary General for Sports and the Government Commissioner at the H.O.C. Honorary Members: Avery BRUNDAGE, President of the I.O.C. Constantinos GEORGAKOPOULOS, President of the Hellenic Red Gross. Georgios KOURNOUTOS, Director, Letters and Fine Arts Directorate, Ministry of Education and Cults. Nicolaos GIALOURIS, Inspector of Anti- quities. Georgios PAPASTEFANOU, Director of the Historical Museum of the Olympic Games. REPORT OF THE NINTH SESSION OF THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY AT OLYMPIA ATHENS 1970 COMMISSION OF THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY Chairman: Ivar Emil VIND, Member of the I.O.C. for Denmark. Members: Sir Ade ADEMÓLA, Member of the I.O.C. for Nigeria. Juan A. SAMARANCH, Member of the I.O.C. for Spain. Dr. Giorgio de STEFANI, Member of the I.O.C. for Italy. Prince GEORGE of HANOVER, President of the I.O.A. Dr. Ryotaro AZUMA, Member of the I.O.C. for Japan. Alexandru SIPERCO, Member of the I.O.C. for Rumania Jean HAVELANGE, Member of the I.O.C. for Brazil. H.M. KING CONSTANTINE OF THE HELLENES, Member of the I.O.C. for Greece. Vice-Admiral Pyrros LAPPAS, -Member of the I.O.C. for Greece. INTRODUCTION The purpose for which the International Olympic Academy, spiritual heir of Greece, was founded and is working is to maintain the Olympic spirit, to disseminate the principles of the Olympic Movement, to study and apply the educational and social principles of the Games and, finally, to establish the philosophy of the Olympic Idea, according to the principles laid down by the ancient Greeks and those who re- vived the modern Olympic Movement through the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin. In 1969 the International Olympic Academy successfully held its ninth successive Session, under conditions which are steadily improv- ing in every respect. When, in 1961, the International Olympic Academy held its first Session under canvas in the pinewoods of the Cronion Hill overlook- ing ancient Olympia, no one could foresee that only a few years later the spiritual centre of the international Olympic movement would have as its headquarters such an admirable and well equipped group of buildings, erected at a cost of many millions of drachmae by Greece, our motherland, a country which throughout its existence has striven incessantly for the sake of ideas and has never, in all its long history, hesitated to make sacrifices for ideals. The Olympic idea is indeed a noble and lofty aim, which comprises all humanistic ideals and teaches man to fight fair, to respect and aid the weak, to be brave and courteous; through it he learns of the ethos, of intellectual supremacy, true beauty, love for others, solidarity and freedom. The International Olympic Academy holds an annual session whose object is to cultivate and preserve the Olympic ideal and to instil it into the hearts and minds of the young people of the world, just as it was taught and entrusted to us by sacred Olympia. The Ninth International Session took place from 29 August to 17 September 1969, and we are proud to be able to report that a further steady advance was made towards fulfilling the noble aims of the In- ternational Olympic Academy. That the work of the Session was such an unqualified success is due to many factors, which we should like to mention briefly: a) Distinguished speakers from many countries, specialists in the Olympic Movement and the Olympic ideology, lectured on philosophical, historical and special aspects of the Olympic Games. b) One hundred and thirty-two participants from thirty countries 7 of Europe, Asia, Africa and America attended the Session and took part in the fruitful and highly interesting discussions. c) Talks were given by ten speakers and eleven seminars were held during the session, whilst in ten instances participants worked in five separate language groups — English, French, German, Spanish, and Greek. The conclusions and suggestions which resulted from these discussions and seminars were of great interest. d) A considerable number of officials representing the International Olympic Committee and the Hellenic Olympic Committee followed the work of the Session and took part in the discussions. e) For the first time, lectures and discussions took place in the spa cious new hall which was inaugurated during the Ninth Session. The hall is fully equipped to accommodate an audience of 300 people and has all facilities for simultaneous translation into three languages. f) Use was also made, for the first time, of the targe new restau rant, the new assembly and recreation hall, the offices of the Inter national Olympic Academy and the new library. The library will be fully organized by the end of this year, with the addition of the necessary books and publications on world Olympic education, philosophy, li terature and the arts. During the year the library of the late John Ketseas, founder and first President of the International Olympic Academy, which has been bequeathed to the Academy, will be installed in the office of the President. A characteristic feature of this Session, of which special mention should be made, was the genuine and sincere enthusiasm shown by the foreign audiences - especially by those who were attending for the first time - for the great work which is being done by the Hel- lenic Olympic Committee in ancient Olympia, where the International Olympic Academy has the good fortune to have been housed in ac- commodation of a very high order. g) An important factor in the success of the Ninth Session, which was acknowledged by all, was the cordial and sincere support so rea dily given by the General Secretariat for Athletics, in the person of the Secretary-General, Mr. Constantine Aslanidis, who every year offers free hospitality to five representatives from each country, and who has promised further assistance by the Secretariat in completing essential technical work such as the construction of a small stadium and grounds for athletic sports. h) Finally, tribute should be paid to the President, H.R.H. Prince George of Hanover, for his work in directing the labours of the Ses- sion, organizing the seminars and discussions, supervising the meet- ings of the language groups and, above all, for his inspired and de- 8 dicated attachment to the work which is being undertaken by the International Olympic Academy. It is the constant endeavour of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, which believes in the great purpose of the International Olympic Academy and is warmly supported by the International Olympic Com- mittee and the Greek General Secretariat for Athletics, to ensure that the annual meetings of the International Olympic Academy shall be wholly successful, and thus play their part in establishing the Aca- demy in the minds of the friends of the Olympic Games all over the world as the true spiritual home of the world Olympic Movement. It is with this purpose in mind that the Hellenic Olympic Com- mittee offers to the friends of the Olympic idea the present report on the Ninth Session of the International Olympic Academy. The Committee looks with confidence to the future, and is making pre- parations for celebrating, at the next Session in 1970, the completion of a decade devoted to a work whose manifold and beneficial influence on young people all over the world will, We believe, soon be made manifest. 9 FOREWORD by H.R.H. Prince GEORGE of Hanover President of the I.O.A. The International Olympic Academy held its Ninth Session in Olym- pia from August 29th to September 14th, 1969. Since last year, there has been a further considerable improvement in the installations at Olympia. Thanks to the Hellenic Olympic Commit- tee, a restaurant with kitchen and playroom, a lecture hall with faci- lities for simultaneous translation, a library, and administrative offices with facilities for small discussion groups, have been added to the existing buildings of the International Olympic Academy. The great advantage of these improvements is that the scientific work can now be carried on without inconvenience from the heat, and better concentration is possible than can be achieved out of doors. Participants Participants from 30 countries attended the session, and partici- pation by Asian and African countries was stated to have increased. This was appreciated by all participants. Lecturers took part from 12 countries, and 13 members of the I.O.C. and N.O.C.'s attended the session. Selection Although some National Olympic Committees take great care in selecting students of a high academic standard, some participants ar- rived unprepared and with no knowledge of the Academy or of the general theme of the Session, which was notified to the N.O.C.'s together with the invitation. We believe that some preparation is indispensable if good results are to be achieved in a fairly short time. It is hoped that the small In- formation Booklet will be useful in this respect.