A month after the International Olympic Committee reaffirmed its commitment to peace, Kirsty Coventry highlighted the role of International Federations in keeping the Olympic Movement relevant and inspiring amid growing global turbulence.
“We all have the same purpose, and that is to ensure that our sports remain relevant, that we create platforms for athletes to realise their hopes and their dreams and to be able to live those hopes and dreams,” she stressed in her remarks at this week’s IF Forum in Lausanne. “All of you in the room have the responsibility and the keys to unlocking the future dreams of athletes.”
The IOC president highlighted the importance of working together to protect the future of sport and the strength that unity brings,
“We are faced today with many challenges and obstacles, and we are only going to be able to overcome them if we work together. My coach always used to tell me that we’re only as strong as our weakest link,” she said.
“So, to ensure that the weakest link is just as strong as you are, you work together, you embrace each other, you hold each other accountable, and you find ways to get stronger together. And this is what all of us in this room need to do. We need to ensure that we are strengthening our policies on the protection of athletes. We need to ensure that we are protecting, and finding new and innovative ways to uphold, our principles and values.”
The movement has been plagued with conflict in recent years, most recently with Indonesia’s decision to bar Israeli athletes from participating in the FIG Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta amid growing backlash for the Middle Eastern country’s military actions in Gaza. The IOC responded to the move last week, by urging members not host international competitions in the Muslim-majority country until the “Indonesian government provides the IOC with adequate guarantees that it will allow access to the country for all participants, regardless of nationality, to attend” before it can welcome competitions again.”
However, Coventry also acknowledged the diversity of opinions among stakeholders, “I am sure that many of you and I are not always going to agree in the next few years, but that is okay too, because just like a family, I hope we will always try to make decisions for the betterment and the strength of the family.
“We want the next generation to be able to have faith in who we are. They have to trust us, they have to understand the policies we are putting in place. We have to show transparency and neutrality in how and why we are making decisions,” she explained.
While the current political landscape has troubled the movement, with several national Olympic committees, Russia and Belarus, unable to participate in the Games, Coventry reminded members of the long history of what they stand for.
“Our Movement has survived for generations. It survived wars, but it survived because we gave hope. And that is what we need to do and continue to do today. We need to ensure that all athletes from around the world have the ability to come to the Olympic Games, outlive their dreams and showcase the best of humanity.
“Though we can only do that if we strictly uphold our principles and our values. These are some of the areas that I am really looking forward to discussing with you over the next few weeks. Thank you to all the IFs that have already shared their feedback on the surveys. We have had an enormous number of ideas, theories and opinions that have been shared with us. This is only the first step. Right now, we are pausing and reflecting. We are looking back, we are looking forward and we are analysing where we want to go.”
– insidethegames
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