Olympic Solidarity Yachting association receives windsurfing equipment from Socga |29 April 2021

Part of the equipment

Following the re-launch of local sports activities after temporary suspension as part of the national effort to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 in the country, the national Olympic governing body has once again brought its support towards the growth and development of sports in Seychelles.

The Seychelles Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (Socga) on Monday presented the Seychelles Yachting Association (SYA) with a batch of windsurfing equipment which will help in the sport’s expansion, thus attracting more youth to practice windsurfing.

SYA treasurer Chantal Hoffman accepted the equipment from Socga president Antonio Gopal during a small ceremony held at Stad Linite, Roche Caïman which harbours Sogca’s headquarters.

Executive committee members of both associations were present to witness the ceremony and the donation amounts to US $5,500.

It forms part of the annual contributions towards local sporting associations and federations by the National Olympic Committee (Noc).

The funding comes from the annual budget Noc receives from its parent organisation, the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Since 2006, mostly all local federations and associations have benefited from Socga’s donation which is US $4,000.

The batch of equipment includes four sails, four harnesses (part of the trapeze used in the sports of windsurfing and kitesurfing to connect the rider to the rig by a line attached to the boom or kitesurfing bar, consisting of a girdle-like contraption that is worn around the body, with a hook for attachment), two harness lines (strings that you put around your boom so that you can windsurf with a harness), one boom (the piece of equipment that attaches to the mast, providing structural support for the sail), and two masts (the spine of the sail without which windsurfing is impossible).

The aim of Olympic Solidarity is to provide assistance to all National Olympic Committees (Nocs) for athlete development programmes, in particular those with the greatest needs of it.

This assistance is achieved through multi-faceted programmes prioritising athlete development, but also training of coaches and sports administrators, and promoting the Olympic values (Olympic charter, rule 5).

The development and assistance budget approved by the Olympic Solidarity Commission for the 2021-2024 plan amounts to US $590,000,000, corresponding to the share of the broadcast rights from the Olympic Games (Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022) which belongs to the Nocs. Olympic Solidarity redistributes these funds through programmes offered to all Nocs recognised by the IOC.

In line with the IOC’s own strategy for 2021-2024, the key priorities of the Olympic Solidarity 2021-2024 plan are to further develop the Noc opportunity offer and place Olympic Solidarity as the main reference of the Olympic Movement for the development of sport.

As a result, the strategic objectives of the Olympic Solidarity 2021-2024 plan are to empower Nocs to keep athletes at the heart of the Olympic Movement, to ensure good governance, financial control and compliance, to strengthen the Olympic Movement’s solidarity funding model, to align with the IOC’s strategy for the post-coronavirus world, to enable Nocs to contribute to the promotion of the Olympic values, to provide individualised services to Nocs, and to measure the real impact of the Olympic Solidarity programmes and fundings on the worldwide development of sports.

Olympic Solidarity was created more than 50 years ago in order to assist newly independent countries, particularly in Asia and Africa, to develop their own structures to favour the expansion of sport at national level.

The Olympic Solidarity Commission is responsible for defining the main course of action and managing the activities of the Olympic Solidarity international office in Lausanne. This office takes care of all operational aspects of the implementation of the programmes and cooperates with five continental offices within the continental associations, as well as with the Association of National Olympic Committees (Anoc).

Roland Duval