Nine centres worldwide recognised as IOC Research Centres for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health

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25/11/2014

Protecting athletes’ health and preventing injuries and illnesses in sport are top priorities for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its Medical Commission. Nine research centres from across the world have thus been named as IOC Research Centres for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health.

These centres are:

• Australian Centre for Research into Injury in Sport and its Prevention, Federation University Australia, Australia
• Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre, University of Calgary, Canada
• Institute of Sports Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark
• Yonsei University, Republic of Korea (South Korea)
• Amsterdam Collaboration on Health & Safety in Sports, VU University and Academic Medical Centre, Netherlands
• Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Norway
• Aspetar, Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, Qatar
• Clinical Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Group, University of Cape Town, South Africa
• London’s Institute for Sports, Exercise and Health (ISEH) and National Centre for Sports Exercise and Medicine (NCSEM), United Kingdom

Over the next four years, these centres will be tasked with researching, developing and implementing effective preventive and treatment methods for sports-related injuries and illnesses. They will receive financial support from the IOC and join an international network of expert scientists and clinicians in sports-injury and disease-prevention research.
“We are delighted to have appointed nine highly qualified centres from the four corners of the world to assist us with our mission,” commented IOC Medical Commission Chair and Executive Board member Dr Uğur Erdener. “These centres have all demonstrated that they are at the forefront of research in sports medicine and are committed to our shared goal of using knowledge and resources to ensure the athletes’ well-being so that sportsmen and women can perform at their best level with minimal risks to their health.”  
The IOC Head of Scientific Activities, Lars Engebretsen, added: “While athletes were previously active until they were 25, today they compete until they are 40 to 45 at a very high level. An injury to one of them is a major issue, so treatment and prevention have become all the more important.”
Since 2009, the IOC, under the leadership of its Medical Commission, has supported and partnered with established research centres from around the world which have demonstrated clinical, educational, and research expertise in the fields of sports medicine and elite sports to promote the athletes’ health through the prevention of injury and illness.  
Collaborating closely with the newly-appointed nine research centres, the IOC aims to further promote and protect the health of athletes by:

• Establishing long-term research programmes on injury and disease prevention (including underlying studies on epidemiology, risk factors, and mechanisms),
• Fostering collaborative relationships with individuals, institutions and organisations to improve athletes’ health,
• Implementing applied, ongoing and novel research and development within the framework and long-term strategy of the IOC,
• Setting up knowledge translation mechanisms to share scientific research results with the field throughout the Olympic Movement and sports community and to convert these results into concrete actions to protect the health of the athletes.

Learn more about the IOC Medical Commission
The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up of volunteers, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, helping athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.

Say hello to the mascots of Rio 2016

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©RIO 2016

24/11/2014

The mascots for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games have said Oi! (hello!) to the world for the first time. Inspired by the fauna and flora of Brazil, the mascots feature various influences from pop culture, along with elements of animation and computer game characters.

The mascots blend fiction and reality and were both born on 2 October 2009, when Rio de Janeiro was elected to host the Games and the people’s great joy was felt by nature. It was from this energy that the mascots were created.
The Olympic mascot is a mixture of the different animals of Brazil. It lives its life by playing, jumping, running and smiling, and it can stretch and stretch and stretch itself, as much as it wants. As a mixture of Brazilian animals, it can also do the same things they can, like run faster, jump higher, and be stronger. It’s also able to imitate the voice of any animal, so it’s super communicative. 
The Olympic mascot plays all the Olympic sports and its favourite pastime is making new friends. Its best friend is the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games mascot. It lives in a tree-house, in the Tijuca Forest, from where it can see the whole city and plan animal adventures. The mascot’s mission is to spread joy throughout the world and celebrate the friendship that flourishes between people from all over the world at this super sports event.
The Paralympic mascot is a unique mixture of Brazilian flora. It is able to pull crazy objects out of his head of leaves in order to get out of any jam. It knows all the secrets of nature and understands that with creativity, intelligence and determination, we can achieve whatever we want. It plays all the Paralympic sports and loves samba and all kinds of Brazilian music. Its mission is to inspire everybody to use creativity and determination to always reach further and have fun.
After the mascots’ unveiling, a poll to decide their names was opened. Everyone can vote for their choice from a shortlist of three pairs of names, one for the Olympic mascot, the other for the Paralympic mascot, respectively. The name choices are Oba and Eba; Tiba Tuque and Esquindim; and Vinicius and Tom. People can vote at www.rio2016.com/mascots as well as on the Rio 2016 Twitter feed (@Rio2016). Both mascots will have their own website and profiles on social media.

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Beckie Scott: “An atmosphere of friendship and universal camaraderie”

21/11/2014

Canada’s Beckie Scott was the first North American female cross-country skier to step on to the Olympic podium, winning a gold medal in Salt Lake City in 2002 and a silver medal in Turin in 2006. She talks about her feelings in this new episode of our Words of Olympians video series.

Before being elected for eight years by her peers to the IOC Athletes’ Commission in
2006 in Turin, becoming a member of the Administration Board of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games Organising Committee (VANOC), then Chef de Mission of the Canadian team for the Innsbruck Youth Olympic Games in 2012, Beckie Scott was best female Canadian cross-country skier and the first North American to win an Olympic title in her sport. On 15 February 2002, at the Soldier Hollow venue at the Salt Lake City Games, she finished third in the 5km + 5km combined pursuit behind Russians Olga Danilova and Larissa Lazutina, who were later both disqualified for doping. Beckie thus received her gold medal at a moving ceremony, celebrated by hundreds of people in Vancouver in June 2004.
Recalling her step up to the third level of the podium in the mountains of Utah, Beckie said: “The best moment of all for me was after winning a medal in Salt Lake City, sharing that with my teammates and my friends and family who had come to watch. I think the moment of just being all together in that celebration was the most enjoyable and memorable. It’s a kind of hard feeling to describe, because it’s a very emotional moment, but it’s also a little bit magical. Because it’s a time you’ve been looking, and reaching and driving for, for so long… and to realise it is just amazing.”
Coached on the cross-country trails by a devoted father, Beckie Scott started competing at the age of 7, was a brilliant junior, then a serious contender at the World Cup, and won 17 medals in the sprint, pursuit and relay between 2001 and 2006 - the year she retired from competition - but also another Olympic medal. Indeed, she took silver in the team sprint at the Turin Games with Sara Renner.
A three-time Olympian, Beckie Scott recalls above all: “the atmosphere of friendship and universal camaraderie – it’s so many people from so many places all over the world, coming together to par-ticipate in a sporting  competition. And yes, it’s high level, and it’s very competitive; but there’s also this element of universal friendship; and it’s just such an enjoyable and joyful place to be!”

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European Olympic Committees and athletes gives ‘full support’ to Olympic Agenda 2020 – and welcome President Bach at EOC General Assembly in Baku

22/11/2014

EOC delegates today unanimously passed a resolution publically declaring ‘that they fully support Agenda 2020’. In the resolution the EOC Athletes’ Commission also ‘pledge their full support for Olympic Agenda 2020.’

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach joined representatives of 49 European NOCs in Baku this week for the 43rd General Assembly, outlining plans for Olympic Agenda 2020, the strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement that will be debated and agreed in Monaco, December 8th and 9th.

The Azerbaijan capital is preparing to host the European Games in June next year. Baku 2015 will feature more than 6,000 athletes from the NOCs of Europe in 17 days of competition.

Complementing the EOC, President Bach said ‘the best illustration of the vitality and energy of the EOC is the first ever European Games. I am confident of their success.  You have the strong support from the Government , the national sports movement as well as the enthusiasm of the people.’

During the General Assembly, the President was awarded the EOC’s highest award the Order of Merit.

Accompanied by EOC President Patrick Hickey and IOC Director of NOC Relations Pere Miro, President Bach also met with President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.  The two leaders discussed Olympic Agenda 2020 and the important role that sport can play in the positive development of society.  President Aliyev outlined his plans for the development of the nation including how sport will be used in this transformation.

On Thursday, President Bach was awarded an Honorary Doctor’s Degree by the Azerbaijan State Academy of Physical Training and Sports.

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Second Tokyo 2020 Project Review comes to a close

©TOKYO 2020 - Shugo TAKEMI

19/11/2014

A little over a year after the election of Tokyo as the host city of the Olympic Games in 2020, an International Olympic Committee (IOC) delegation, led by the IOC’s Coordination Commission Chair John Coates and Deputy Chair Alex Gilady, has completed its second Project Review visit to the Japanese capital (18-19 November).

The delegation left Tokyo pleased with the advances being made in preparations, and was reassured with the progress of its venue master plan review, which is being conducted with a view to ensuring cost-effective investments for the Games and in the spirit of Olympic Agenda 2020, to make Tokyo 2020’s concept as sustainable as possible.
Speaking at the end of the meeting, John Coates said, “Tokyo continues to make solid progress on its road to 2020. Under the leadership of President Mori and with the support of its government partners and civil society, particularly in the form of its “best of Japan” Advisory Meeting, Tokyo 2020 is laying the foundations of outstanding Olympic Games for the athletes and the fans.”
He continued, “We were also reassured by the close working relationships that Tokyo has been building with the International Federations, and are confident that the venue master plan review will deliver even more sustainable Games in 2020.”
Tokyo 2020 continues to work on its venue master plan review, but in a manner consistent with the principles of Olympic Agenda 2020, support has been received from the relevant International Federations for Tokyo 2020 to investigate alternative locations for some venues. These decisions will need to be finalised with the appropriate Federations and receive the approval of the IOC Executive Board before being fully confirmed.
Yoshiro Mori, President of The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said, “The second IOC –Tokyo 2020 Project Review was held over a two-day period, and I am delighted that together we were able to hold a series of intensive and extremely productive discussions. Our discussions included a wide range of items, including a review of the Games venue plans, the Games vision, personnel management and commercial matters. We are extremely grateful for the valuable advice offered by Chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission, Mr John Coates, and all members of the IOC delegation. We will of course be incorporating this advice into the formulation of our Games Foundation Plan.”
He continued, “I would like to reiterate my fullest assurance that all members of our All-Japan team, made up of representatives from a broad cross-section of Japanese society, are determined to exert our utmost efforts to ensure the delivery of successful 2020 Games.”
The project review visit included a short venue tour and meetings relating to the foundation process of Games planning, including Tokyo’s vision, governance, sport, people management, finance, engagement and legacy. In addition, it was announced during the meeting that Tokyo has signed the Marketing Plan Agreement and is now open for business. The IOC delegation rounded off its visit to Japan by attending an event run by IOC TOP partner GE, which looked at how to deliver the best legacy possible for the Games and for Japan.
The Project Review meetings for Tokyo 2020 are technical visits to the future host city, which are attended by the Coordination Commission Chair and Deputy Chair and serve as interim updates between full Coordination Commission visits. Other Commission members, where appropriate, the Olympic Games Executive Director and members of the IOC administration also participate in Project Review meetings.

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APEC Targets Doubling of Renewable Energy

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Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 21 November 2014 – APEC member economies, the world’s largest producers and consumers of energy, are advancing new measures to double the share of renewable energy in the region within 15 years to keep pace with rising demand and ease the environmental impact of economic development across the Asia-Pacific.

Actions ranging from technical cooperation to facilitate solar photovoltaic rooftop installation to support for low carbon heating system development and renewable energy grid integration were taken forward during a just concluded week-long assembly of APEC energy officials in Port Moresby, on the heels of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and subsequent bilateral meeting between China and the United States that announced their landmark emissions deal. 

“Economic development and increasing consumption in emerging Asia-Pacific markets will intensify pressure on global energy supplies through the coming decades, even as large, newly accessible reserves come online,” said Nixon Duban, Petroleum and Energy Minister of Papua New Guinea, which began exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a new USD19 billion Exxon Mobile project earlier this year. 

“The only way we are going to satisfy demand needed to keep our diverse economies moving is by improving the development and use of LNG and conventional fossil fuels while taking further steps to diversify the region’s energy mix,” Duban explained. “All of us in APEC want to see renewables play a larger role in production and consumption in the region and we are working closely to address cost and technical bandwidth issues to help make this happen.”  

As APEC economies implement their ground-breaking commitment to reduce tariffs on 54 “environmental goods” to five per cent or less by the end of 2015, improving the accessibility of products such as solar panels and wind turbines, emphasis is turning to the fostering of international standards and best practices that are vital to the mainstream application of renewable technologies. A new gap assessment paper is also being prepared. 

The APEC Low Carbon Model Town initiative, which promotes low carbon urban design based on real-world feasibility testing, is being expanded in-line with these efforts. Renewable energy-powered buildings and community energy management systems that support solar energy and electric vehicle use are among the proposed measures for adoption in San Borja, Peru, a new participant in the initiative in 2014, which could help to cut its emissions by up to 28 per cent within seven years.  

APEC economies this week confirmed Bintung City, in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, as the fifth APEC Low Carbon Model Town whose ranks also include Yujiapu on the outskirts of Tianjin, China; Samui Island, Thailand; and Da Nang, Viet Nam. The initiative was launched by APEC in 2010. 

“Renewables still account for a modest proportion of energy supplies across the APEC region but there is opportunity for growth,” said Dr Phyllis Yoshida, Lead Shepherd of the APEC Energy Working Group. “Technological advancements are making renewables more economically viable and increasing the incentives for governments to put in place policies that remove barriers to, and speed up the employment of, these clean, sustainable energy resources.”  

Renewables constitute about 10 per cent of energy supplies across APEC economies. In September in Beijing, the region’s Energy Ministers committed to doubling this amount by 2030, from 2010 levels. Definitional issues related to this goal, bearing in mind different environment situations and concerns about the employment of certain kinds of renewable energy, are further challenges being addressed. 

A definition for the doubling was adopted this week that includes renewable energy generated by large hydroelectric plants, which APEC economies are collaborating on to make sure is sustainable, but does not include woodfuels, agricultural by-products and dung known as “traditional biomass.” Methodology for measuring progress towards this goal is still being clarified. Monitoring approaches are also being explored. 

“We are working to make renewables a cornerstone of energy development and taking on board new policy innovations to move this process forward,” concluded Dr Yoshida, who also serves as United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy. “This isn’t just pie in the sky kind of stuff we’re dealing with but real, concrete steps to boost renewable energy’s contribution to powering economic growth and in ways that reduce emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change.” 

Collectively, APEC economies account for 55 per cent of global energy production and 60 per cent of total energy consumption. 

Issued by the APEC Energy Working Group

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IOC, FC Barcelona teaming up in Africa

©IOC/Arnaud Meylan

19/11/2014

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach welcomed Barcelona Football Club President Josep Maria Bartomeu i Floreta to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne earlier this week where the pair discussed the impressive reach and progress of the Olympafrica FutbolNet Cup programme.

Jointly run by the IOC, the FC Barcelona Foundation (FFCB) and the Olympafrica Foundation, the programme uses football as an educational tool to promote the values of sport, such as team-building, fair play and respect for others, to young people in Africa. In 2014 – the first year of the programme following a successful pilot project in 2013 – the Olympafrica FutbolNet Cup reached over 95,000 young people in 34 African nations. The programme is scheduled to continue through 2016 with a focus on the strengthening of the regional phase. As of next year, each of the 38 Olympafrica Centres will have the opportunity to participate in a local and regional tournament.

"At the IOC we want to bring the values of sport to all fields of society, across all borders, and to foster Olympism year-round,” said IOC President Bach. “Through this partnership with the FC Barcelona Foundation, we are providing almost 100,000 young people throughout Africa with the opportunity to practise sport and be empowered thanks to the educational programme which promotes Olympic values such as friendship, excellence and respect. I thank FC Barcelona for this collaboration and their commitment to place sport at the service of humankind.”

In addition to providing access to sport and education, the programme is also set to donate up to 12,000 t-shirts, 12,000 bibs and 3,000 footballs to the 38 Olympafrica Centres.
The two organisations first signed an MoU on 17 April 2013 aimed at supporting joint actions in the area of development through sport and the promotion of the Olympic values. In December 2013 a new agreement was signed. The two sports organisations made a commitment to strengthen the Olympafrica Foundation’s existing football programme on offer in community sports centres to young people throughout Africa, adding an educational aspect thanks to the implementation of the FFCB’s FutbolNet method. FutbolNet’s objective is to pass on the positive values of sport to the young participants through the pleasure of playing and practising football.
Olympafrica, which was initiated by the IOC, aims to further social development through sport and promote the creation of small-scale sports and socio-educational centres in African countries, in collaboration with National Olympic Committees and local communities, in order to encourage and assist the development of talented youngsters through local training programmes. The idea for such an initiative was first launched in 1988 to enable developing countries to benefit fully from the positive impact of Olympism. Today, the Olympafrica programme offers a wide range of sporting, social and educational activities for young people and communities in 38 centres across 34 African countries.  
Find out more about the IOC’s development through sport activities

Find out more about the FC Barcelona Foundation

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