First Visit in Olympia Was in 1998 for Attending the 38Th Young

INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY THIRTY-EIGHTH SESSION 15th JULY- 30th JULY 1998 1 © 1999 International Olympic Committee ISBN 92-9149-053-9 Published and edited jointly by the International Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Academy. 2 INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY REPORT OF THE THIRTY-EIGHTH SESSION 15th JULY- 30th JULY 1998 ANCIENT OLYMPIA 3 IOC COMMISSION FOR THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY President Mr Nikolaos FILARETOS IOC member in Greece Vice-Président Mrs Carol Anne LETHEREN IOC member in Canada Members Mr Fernando Ferreira Lima BELLO IOC member in Portugal Mr Ivan DIBOS IOC member in Peru Major General Francis NYANGWESO IOC member in Uganda HE Mr Mohamed ZERGUINI IOC member in Algeria Mr Abdul-Muttaleb AHMAD Dr Fernando BELRANENA VALLADARES Representatives of the NOC's Mr Dieter LANDSBERG-VELEN Mr René ROCH Representatives of the IF's Mr Philippe RIBOUD Representative of the athletes 4 Mrs Helen BROWNLEE Individual Member Mr Conrado DURANTEZ Individual Member Mrs Yoon-Bang KWON Individual Member Mrs Lia MANOLIU † Individual member Prof. Norbert MUELLER Individual Member Mr Emmanuele MAVROMMATIS Individual Member 5 EPHORIA (BOARD OF TRUSTEES) OF THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY President Mr Nikos FILARETOS IOC Member in Greece Honorary Life President HE Mr Juan Antonio SAMARANCH 1st Vice-Président Mr Sotiris YIAGAS † HOC Member 2nd Vice-Président Mr Georgios MOISSIDIS HOC Member Honorary Vice-Président Mr Nikolaos YALOURIS Members ex officio Mr Lambis NIKOLAOU IOC Member in Greece Members Mr Dimitri DIATHESSOPOULOS HOC Secretary General Mr Epaminondas KIRIAZIS Mr Ioannis THEODORAKOPOULOS President of the Hellenic Association for Sports Journalists Mr Georgios YEROLIMBOS Dean Mr Konstantinos GEORGIADIS 6 FOREWORD The special theme of the IOA's 38th Session for Young Participants was "Some aspects of the Olympic Games". The aim of the Session was to identify some of the basic components, which determine the course of the Olympic Movement at a political, social and sporting level. Furthermore, through the individual topics of the Session, the aim was also to highlight the practical aspects related to the organization and celebration of the Olympics. The Session opened with the official ceremony on the Hill of the Pnyx. The President of the International Olympic Academy, I.O.C. member Nikos Filaretos, addressed a warm welcome to the participants, lecturers and guests of the Session and congratulated Mr Samaranch for his reelection as President of the Internatio- nal Olympic Committee for a fourth consecutive term. He also warmly thanked the I.O.C. President for his special interest in the work of the IOA, which is confirmed by the fact that he has attended the opening ceremony of the Session 15 times during the 17 years of his presidency. During the ceremony, Mrs Niki Bakoyanni (Greece), silver medallist (high jump) at the Olympic Games in Atlanta donated her silver medal to the Museum of Modern Olympic Games in Olympia. The President of the I.O.C. also awarded the Olympic Honorary Order to Mr Athanasios Tzartzanos (former IOA President 1974-1977) and for many years President of the Skiing and Mountaineering Fede- ration. The President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Mr Lambis Nikolaou, decla- red the 38th Session open, noting that "no other human activity today has as many followers as Olympism in its scientific, political, cultural and religious manifesta- tions". The Session's proceedings at the IOA's facilities in Ancient Olympia were attended by a total of 187 participants from 93 countries (96 men and 91 women), 24 group coordinators, 16 lecturers and 15 guests. The President of the Academy and I.O.C. member Nikos Filaretos opened the work of the Session in Olympia with his introductory lecture on the development of the Olympic Games in the last 35 years. He noted that the objectives laid down in the Olympic Charter are not always easily achievable. He also stressed the fact 7 that "education and the shaping of young people's character remain one of the fundamental aims of the Olympic Movement". However, in order for these aims to be achieved, strong ties need to be created between different cultures and social systems, and the Olympic Movement must preserve its unity and autonomy. During the Session lecturers spoke of the Olympic idea, the elements and rules of competition and education, as well as the administrative structure of the games in antiquity. The educational experiences of Pierre de Coubertin were presented, together with his reformative ideas, his first Olympic experience and the ideological context and ideas surrounding the revival of the Olympic Games. On the basis of Pierre de Coubertin's thoughts and work, the humanists' vision and the meaning of cultural events associated with the modern Olympic Games could be defined. The Olympic Games today are a huge enterprise, especially over the last de- cades, following the rapid development of both the Summer and Winter Olympics. The Organising Committee of the Games which is responsible for the staging of all events, security issues, transport and protocol and accommodation for athletes and officials, must cover all the aspects of the Games and ensure their success. The planning structure and time schedule for the Sydney Games were presented to the Session participants. Olympic marketing is an issue of vital importance today for the Olympic Mo- vement as a whole. For the benefit of participants the scope of the I.O.C.'s marketing activities, the historical background and the challenges which the Olympic Movement will be facing in the new millennium were analysed. Lecturers and participants pointed out that the electronic media and the Olympics have formed a perfect alliance. The propagation of the Olympic Ideals has become faster and more effective through radio and television and broadcasters can rely on high qua- lity programmes. The Olympic Village is a unique place in the world during the Games. A village, which is in fact a real city, marked by the warmth of the feelings of a friend- ship that bind athletes together. It is an aspect of the Olympic Games which participants believe can successfully be maintained during future Olympics. Some not so well known aspects of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Mo- vement were also presented at the Session including efforts made to protect the environment, cooperation with the Paralympics and Special Olympics Movement and Olympic Solidarity, a valuable tool for the I.O.C., which allows the Olympic Movement to implement large-scale assistance and development programmes throughout the world. The subject "Doping and Medical Control" for competitors taking part in the Olympic Games attracted a lot of interest. The Session's participants were infor- med about the categories of banned substances and methods, as well as the categories of substances which are subject to certain restrictions and on the effects and side-effects of doping substances. Finally, views and proposals were formulated on future prospects for handling the problem of substance abuse by athletes. 8 Like all previous years, the working groups once again discussed and exchan- ged views on the Session's topics and the question's which had been prepared on the Session's special theme. The social evenings, sports activities and the painting, poetry and dance workshops were also very popular. In conclusion, we can say that the level of proceedings and related events was very high, surpassing previous sessions, and that the 38th Session has effectively contributed to the training of tomorrow's sports administrators. The 4th Joint Session for NOA Directors, Members and Staff of National Olym- pic Committees and International Federations (7-14/05/1998) was also a major success. For the first time it was attended by 101 male and 30 female participants from 54 National Academies, 76 NOCs and 1 IF. Participants and lecturers were able to present specific guidelines, based on their own national experiences that will un- derpin the efforts of all National Olympic Academies for the promotion of Olym- pic Education. The results of the 6th Postgraduate Seminar were also outstanding. It was attended by 34 students from 25 countries who were taught by 9 professors. 34 pa- pers were presented by the postgraduate students, covering the four special topics of the seminar. The proceedings of the Postgraduate Seminar (short presentations by students) and of the Joint NOA Session will be published in a special report by the International Olympic Academy following a decision by the Ephoria. A remarkable initiative, which should also be mentioned, was the organization of the 1st International Olympic Medallists Conference (20-23 September 1998) held at the facilities of the IOA by the Association of Greek Olympic Medallists. 130 Olympic champions from all over the world, the cornerstone of the Olympic Movement, took part in the conference. These outstanding men and women discussed issues related to the Olympic Games on the eve of the third millennium. In all, 33 events were held at the facilities of the IOA in Ancient Olympia with a total number of 2,267 participants. We should emphasize the initiative of 7 Na- tional Olympic Academies to provide training for their staff by means of special courses held at the IOA in Ancient Olympia. For yet another year, thanks to the support of the Hellenic Olympic Committee and the I.O.C., the International Olympic Academy continues to contribute to the propagation of Olympic values and

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