Dr. Jacques Rogge

Dr. Jacques Rogge
IOC President

republished with the kind permission of Sport Intern

His Vision for the IOC and the Olympic Movement

Together

Under the innovating presidency of Juan Antonio Samaranch, the IOC has realised some of its most important achievements.

The universality of the Games has become reality.

The IOC guides the Olympic Movement and supports it thanks to its financial independence.

The IOC contributed in a signficant way to the important growth of the social and educational role of sport in modern society.

However, the essential values of sport are at risk because of doping, corruption, lack of fair play and other threats.

New challenges also lay ahead of us in a society in constant evolution. The protection and the improvement of its achievements, the fight against the threats and the necessary innovations will require a clear vision and strong leadership from the IOC.

The strength of the IOC lies in the unity and quality of its members. If my colleagues accept my candidature, we will work together to further develop the IOC and the Olympic Movement for the benefit of the youth of the world.

The Olympic Ideals

A consultation of the members confirmed that the role and ideals of the IOC, as last defined during the Olympic Congress of Paris in 1994, are still valid.

We will work together to defend the fundamental principles enacted by the Olympic Charter and the legacy handed down to us by our founder, Pierre de Coubertin, and his successors.

Together, we will consider future projects in which the respect of ethics and transparency will be a necessity.

Together, we will take measures that will enable us to fulfill our duty with the dignity worthy of us.

The International Olympic Committee

The IOC and Society

The IOC has initiated and developed exemplary policies in many fields which go beyond the boundaries of sport and relate to society as a whole:

the support for the participation of women in sports and in the management of sports organisations;
the creation of the Court of Arbitration for Sport;
the IOC efforts for the protection of the environment;
the IOC support for culture and education and the support for the International Olympic Academy as well as for the Olympic Museum, which together enable us to pass our values to the youth of the world;
the humanitarian actions centered around the practice of sports;
the creation of the International Olympic Truce Foundation, which has obtained backing from the governments.

These policies strengthen the social and educational role of sport in society and must be pursued, within the boundaries of the IOC's financial potential.

Universality

The universality of the IOC and of the Olympic Movement must be strengthened;

in terms of the composition of the Executive Board and by electing new IOC members to correct the present imbalance between the continents;
in terms of the administration in Lausanne, which should be more representative of the five continents;
in the attribution of the Games, which once made less expensive, will be easier for all the continents and regions to organize;
by holding meetings and Sessions, made less expensive, on all the continents;
by promoting the participation of women;
in terms of participation in the Games, by changing the procedure for inviting non-qualified athletes.

These invitations should be issued not a few weeks before the Games as is currently the case, but two years before. The athletes and their coaches could benefit from a special Olympic Solidarity program, which could help to significantly improve their standards.

Reforms and Modernisation

The aim of the reforms introduced in 2000 is to ensure the transparency, modernity and democracy of the IOC. The reforms should not be frozen in time. They must be open to change and progress and allow for a continual process of modernisation of the IOC. It will be up to the IOC members, through the Session, to reassess and amend the reforms at regular intervals.

The Unity of the IOC

The actual composition of the IOC better meets the need for representation of the IFs, NOCs and athletes. While there are several categories of members today, it is important for all to feel and act as full-fledged members.

The IOC President will need to preserve the unity of all the members, who all have the same rights and duties and who are, first and foremost, IOC members before representing their group.

The Role of Members

The role of the members must be redefined:

within the IOC, where international democracy and the participation of all the members in the decision-making process must be strengthened. The members must be constantly kept informed and consulted. The Sessions should be more interactive and allow for debates on the fundamental subjects of Olympism. An Olympic Congress will provide an opportunity to reassess the policy of the Olympic Movement.
and externally, where the role and place of the IOC member in his or her country must be reviewed. The IOC could make better use of the high potential of its members, who are its ambassadors and who must be given material and financial backing for this task when required. The President and the members must remain volunteers.

The Functioning of the IOC

They are the symbol of all the volunteers of the world who benevolently devote their time and energy to the organisation of sport.

The Management of the IOC

The principles of good governance and transparency must be applied to the management of the IOC. An operational and financial audit should be carried out on the activities of the administration in order to identify potential savings and improvements.

The Commissions

The functioning of the commissions must be reviewed in order to increase their efficiency. The IOC must put the contribution of knowledge and expertise from its members to better use.

Communications

Communications, both internal and external, must be improved. It must also be proactive, take into account the different linguistic and cultural factors and integrate the members who must be assisted with modern technology means.

Financial Resources

The financial independence of the IOC and the redistribution of the revenues to the NOCs, IFs and Organizing Committees can continue to be ensured on the basis of diversification between television rights and sponsorship.

The IOC must remain in charge of its own destiny and see the financial resources as a means rather than as an end. The defence of ethical values should never be compromised in the search for resources.

The Games would lose their prestige by accepting advertising in the stadia. In negotiations on television rights, universal and free broadcasting must remain the main objective.

The Athletes

The athletes' representation within the IOC is guaranteed by the reforms and the importance assigned to the Athletes' Commission. It should be the ambition of the IOC to care for the athletes throughout their entire career.

Through Olympic Solidarity, the IOC supports the detection and development of athletes at the beginning of their career.
The IOC Medical Commission, actly jointly with the Medical Commission of the IFs and the NOCs, must protect the physical and mental health of athletes during their career by informing them of the dangers of over-training and excessive competition.
The IOC has the moral duty to contribute towards the integration of athletes into working life at the end of their sporting careers, in agreement with its partners in the Olympic Movement.

The Olympic Movement

With its network of 80,000 members around the world, the World Olympians Association could play an important role in this integration.

Too many athletes decide to stay outside the Olympic Village. The quality of the accommodations and the concentration of competition sites are a priority, which will enable the Village to remain the heart of the Games.

The Olympic Games

The Sydney Games were a great success. An in-depth study of the organisation, however, revealed that the Summer Games have reached a size that is now only within the reach of a wealthy city. Common sense should incite us to look at ways of slightly reducing the size, cost and complexity of the Games in order to make them less vulnerable in the future. This approach would enable all continents and regions to organise the Games more easily and would encourage geographical rotation.

Cutting costs would help to proportionately reduce the IOC's financial assistance to the Organizing Committee and, thereby allow more revenue distribution to the IFs and NOCs.

These measures must not be allowed to impair the success of the Games but, on the contrary, should help improve their quality and preserve their unique status.

The number of athletes, sports and events can be managed with no real problems and should not be revised downwards. The main reduction can be achieved in the number of accredited persons and savings can be made in technology and the building of infrastructure.

The IOC has already substantially improved the co-ordination with the organisers of the Games, by, among other things, consolidating its mission of control and supervision, as well as by introducing the "Transfer of Knowledge" program. This partnership should become even stronger and lead to a franchiser - franchisee relationship.

Non-Olympic Sports

The support for the Paralympic Games, the World Games, Sport for All and the recognised non-Olympic federations must be maintained in addition to the IOC's priorities.

Coaches

Coaches are often forgotten members of the Olympic Movement. Their role is crucial to the long-term development of sport, as well as in preventing doping and defending ethical values. A structured dialogue with them is essential.

Doping

Doping is the greatest threat to the credibility of sport. It endangers athletes' health and is a gross breach of ethical values. The IOC must continue to play its historic role and continue to support the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which it founded. The battle against doping will require ever increasing efforts in education, prevention, scientific research, obtaining the backing of governments and the harmonisation of laws and regulations.

Until WADA becomes fully operational, the IOC must continue to assume its responsibilities by carrying out the anti-doping controls at the Games in the presence of independent observers.

Olympic Solidarity Olympic Solidarity has allowed the Games to become universal. Reducing the gap between rich and disadvantaged countries remains a top priority. The NOCs and athletes from developing countries must be supported as a matter of priority and through initiatives enabling more structural development.

The recent reforms granting greater autonomy to the five continents are a move in the right direction.

Financial operational audits will ensure an optimal management of funds. Bt reducing the costs of the Games and the financial support of the Games organiser, the IOC could increase the budget of Olympic Solidarity.

Dr. Jacques Rogge (Belgium)
The New IOC President

The Unity of the Olympic Movement

The IOC President's task will be to ensure unity through constant dialogue between the IOC, NOCs and IFs, while maintaining a fair balance between them. It is essential for the financial means to be distributed equally among the three pillars of the Olympic Movement.

The Political World and the Development of Sport

The IOC must pursue and intensify its current policy of co-operation with governments and international political institutions for a better development of sport in all countries. The economic world should be approached to take part in this endeavour.

A constant dialogue with the international political organisations and governments could lead to the inclusion of the support for sport in legislation and governmental development programs.

This dialogue will require the intervention of the IOC members in their respective countries.

Developing countries would benefit from a development strategy in which the support of governments, the Olympic Movement and the economic world are co-ordinated.