The National Olympic Academy developed administratively over the years with greater devolution of authority and responsibility ensuring greater participation. Gradually, the organisation took on the responsibility for the administration of the Sports Leadership training programmes as well as all of the Olympic Solidarity projects under the category, Olympic Values – Culture and Education, Women and Sport, NOC Legacy, Sport for All and Sport and the Environment. The organisation also took responsibility for recommending participants to the annual IOA Session for Directors of NOAs and the Session for Young Participants.
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nternational Olympic Day, 23 June, has always been observed in St. Vincent and the Grenadines since the NOC gained affiliate status with the IOC. St. Vincent and the Grenadines experienced its first Olympic Day Run in 1987. The NOC remained steadfast in its at-
tempts to facilitate the spread of its work. In 2007, the NOC introduced the first in a number of Commissions to assist its work. The decision however was to have the Commissions operate under the ambit of the National Olympic Academy.
The first Commission established by the NOC was the Sport and the Environment Commission. The other Commissions are: Women in Sport, Education and Culture, and Sport For All. The National Olympic Academy has long since been facilitating work on the involvement of women in sport in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
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he NOC has been offered an annual trophy by the IOC for individuals who have aided the development of Olympic sports and the promotion of the Olympic ideals in their work in the country. The first recipient of this prestigious award was Mr Lawrence ‘Larry’ Bascombe. The NOC presented the IOC Trophies for 2009 to Ian Sardine, a teacher at the Kingstown Preparatory School while the winner for 2010 was Sabrina MitchellSutton, two very outstanding personalities in sport in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE
Olympic House No. 1 Kingstown Park P. O. Box 1644, Kingstown St. Vincent and the Grenadines www.svgnoc.org Email: svgnoc@vincysurf.com Phone: 784-457-2970 Cell: 784-533-0868 Fax: 784-485-6412
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n 1982, Lennox Adams and a small grouping of interested individuals from different sporting bodies began work in earnest on the establishment of the NOC. A constitution was drafted and duly approved. On 6 January 1982 the NOC was officially established. The circumstances that led to the National Olympic Committee being accepted as a full member of the International Olympic Committee are very interesting, St. Vincent and the Grenadines began this process immediately following the establishment of the organisation. By late January 1987, the NOC received formal acceptance as a member of the International Olympic Committee. This cleared the way for the realisation of the country’s long sought sporting dream, participation in the Olympic Games. This was realised one year later at the Olympics Games, Seoul, South Korea. St. Vincent and the Grenadines first competed in the Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, in 1988. In many respects it was a dream come true. Some of the athletes who were coming to the end of their athletics career were particularly
enthused at the opportunity afforded them to be part of Vincentian sporting history. In this regard there were two athletes who were selected and who were at this stage of their careers: founder of the NOC, Lennox Adams, then a student at Ouachita Baptist University, USA, and the country’s first Carifta gold medallist, Orde Ballantyne, who was at the time on a one-year scholarship at the University of Idaho, USA. 11 November 1992 saw the official launch of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines National Olympic Academy (NOA), the first such institution in the Olympic Movement in the English-speaking Caribbean. Interestingly, this came 10 years after the establishment of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines NOC and five years after it gained affiliate status with the IOC. The NOA established for itself the following objectives: “1. To organise seminars, workshops and
courses for all age groups on Olympism and the Olympic Movement. 2. To promote Olympic education in the educational institutions of the state and work towards making the Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports Culture and Women’s Affairs,
a full partner in the work of the Academy. 3. To establish close working relationships with other organisations involved in education for national development. 4. To establish a National Sports Library and Archives. 5. To establish itself as an Olympic Study and Research Centre. 6. To make optimum, effective use of the local media to inform and educate the general public about Olympism and the Olympic Movement. 7. To ensure an effective and efficient outreach programme, especially with youth groups and other social organisations. 8. To make recommendations to the NOC in respect of nominees for the annual International Olympic Academy Sessions and on the scheduling of Itinerant Schools and the appropriate target groups. 9. To promote sport through art and cultural forms. 10. To submit an annual Report to the NOC and to the IOA. 11. To establish fraternal ties and organise exchange programmes with other National Olympic Academies across the globe. 12. To organise fundraising activities such as would facilitate the smooth functioning of its operations.”