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From Lausanne to Tokyo: IOAPA’s report for Olympic year 2020
From Lausanne to Tokyo: IOAPA’s report for Olympic year 2020
IOAPA wishes to express its ongoing support to all our members as well as the broader Olympic Family during the global health crisis that has emerged as a result of the COVID-19 virus. At this time of uncertainty, it is more important than ever that we stand together as a community to confront the challenges we face. The world will emerge from this crisis stronger than ever, celebrating once again all that sport and Olympism has to offer.Below please find a summary of events that IOAPA members participated in both prior to the onset of the COVID crisis and into Fall 2020.IOAPA Reunion in Lausanne 2020 The Olympic capital that became the real heart of Olympism this year hosted the 3rd edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG). As in every edition of the Olympic Games, IOAPA members flock to the city. In different functions and capacities, they get the chance to meet again on many and different occasions, catch up and rekindle the Spirit which was shared in Olympia. This time, the structure of the meeting was quite original, as the participants had the chance to attend a short conference-type event, with Neil Beecroft of Lausanne 2020 delivering a talkon the sustainability strategy of this YOG edition, and Amy Dahmen who discussed of the significant work of Yunus Sports Hub, introducing the concept of social entrepreneurship in sport. Afterwards, around 40 participants moved to a nice sports-bar in one of the most famous areas of Lausanne: Flon. Once again during the reunion we had the chance to interact with participants from the most recent years at the IOA as well as catch-up with our long-standing friends. Although the YOG are now over, such reunions give us a sense of belonging, reminding us that we all belong to the same group of people that have experienced something really special and unique: a life-changing experience in Olympia. IOAPA wishes to thank Mr Thomas Junod, our local organizer, and Mr Nicolas Imhof and Ms Cosima Deleurmoz of the Canton de Vaud for their sponsorship of this reunion.Meeting with Olympic Studies Centre While in Lausanne 2020 IOAPA President Richard Koo and past President Hector Arguelles met with Maria Bogner and Nuria Puig of the Olympic Studies Centre (OSC). The discussion centred around ways IOAPA and our highly engaged membership can assist with the initiatives that the OSC is currently undertaking, as well as strategies to promote the OSC’s extensive digitised “Olympic World Library” holdings to IOAPA members and academic scholars alike. Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay IOAPA members Jim Carrabre (CAN), Lucia Giamberardino (ARG) and Natalia Ramirez Irizarry (PUR) were torchbearers during the opening day of the Tokyo Olympic Torch Relay on March 12, marking the first time IOAPA has participated in this event in nearly 24 years. They were selected from amongst those who attended the 2019 IOAPA Session in Olympia and have extensive backgrounds as athletes, administrators with International Federations, and in Olympic education. IOAPA wishes to thank Hellenic Olympic Committee’s President Mr Spyros Capralos and Torch Relay Commission Chair Mr Athanasios Vasileiadis for granting this opportunity to our members, as well as Logistics responsible Christos Skaliarakis for his invaluable assistance during this event.IOA online 60th Session for Young Participants IOAPA worked with the IOA to help host this year’s Young Participants Session entirely online for the first time in history. IOAPA and its members helped design the portions of the Session outside of the formal lectures including the working groups, arts programmes, social evenings and other excursions that were streamed to participants from all around the world. A number of IOAPA members also worked as coordinators for this Session, guiding participants through all the experiences that the IOA has to offer. While we were not able to physically be in Olympia this year, its spirit and enthusiasm lives on thanks to the technology afforded to us in this era.We thank IOA President Isidoros Kouvelos, Honorary Dean Konstantinos Georgiadis and Session Coordinator Stella Tachtara for the opportunity to contribute to this landmark Session.
“The world will emerge from this crisis stronger than ever, celebrating once again all that sport and Olympism has to offer.”