The Melanesian Sub-Regional Athletes’ Forum commenced in Fiji on Wednesday 26 April, with attendance from eight athlete representatives from five National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in the Melanesian sub-region.
The first day of the forum saw the facilitation team deliver presentations on the Olympic Movement, Vision and Athlete 365, the roles and definition of the Athlete Commission (AC), a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of the AC, and information on the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Olympic Solidarity Programme. The day ended with a media session for the athletes.
ONOC Secretary General (SG), Ricardo Blas, stressed the importance of the role ACs played in working with in-country athletes to pave a better way forward.
“The focus of this forum is to empower you to identify all the programmes we (ONOC) want you to explore for your athletes.
“You need to have that aggressive attitude to move forward.
“Take advantage of the situation that you are in and promote programmes for your athletes,” SG Blas said.
SG Blas added that the forum was designed to enable athlete representatives to understand the deliverables of the ACs in preparing for key events in 2023 and beyond.
“You are sitting at the helm of your commissions, and you need to carry the messages you get from this forum back to your athletes to enable them to have the opportunities they rightfully deserve.”
The eight athlete representatives at the forum were made up of three males and five females who come from eight different sports.
Two former Olympians were also in attendance: London 2012 Olympic Games judoka, Tony Lomo, from Solomon Islands (SOL), and Matelita Buadromo from Fiji (FIJ), who participated at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games in swimming.
The forum also features a para-athlete, Ioane Hawaii, who is also the Chair of the Tuvalu Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee’s (TASNOC) Athletes’ Commission.
Article adapted from the ONOC website.