MUSCAT: Within the framework of Oman Olympic Committee (OOC) keenness to benefit from the opportunities available from International Olympic Solidarity Programmes for National Olympic Committees (NOCs), OOC succeeded in obtaining support for the preparation of a number of Omani athletes within the Olympic Scholarships for Athletes Programme. This is in four sports included in the Olympic programme represented in shooting, swimming, athletics, and weightlifting, a programme that aims to support a number of beneficiary athletes and contribute to the financing of programmes and plans for their preparation and rehabilitation in preparation for their participation in the Olympic Games (Paris 2024).
In the context of preparing for this file in accordance with the approved international standards, OOC had previously nominated a number of players based on coordination with the Planning and Following-up Committee (formerly), which raised the list of athletes authorised and qualified to benefit from the grant and compete for it according to the nomination of sports federations and committees, where the selection was made based on the recorded numbers and achievements of athletes from the national teams.
OOC was able to obtain 9 grants for Omani athletes, which is the first time that this number of supports has been granted to OOC, as the International Olympic Solidarity usually grants 5 grants to athletes from each NOC that participated in less than 70 athletes in the last Olympic Games. OOC has been excluded this time based on its active request in this regard and its desire to support the largest possible number of deserving athletes who meet the conditions for obtaining support cards.
It should be noted that it is fortunate that OOC succeeded in obtaining this important number of grants within the Olympic Solidarity Programme coincides with the new formation of the sub-committees, where the “High Level Sports and Olympic Planning Committee” was created, which will work in effective partnership with the Solidarity Committee Olympic. One of the priorities of the newly created committee will be the development of a system for classifying high-level athletes, including the criteria for enjoying Olympic Solidarity grants. Which will enable concerted efforts, pool the available capabilities under one roof and rationalise their use, so that this programme is the unified national reference for classifying athletes and targeting them with exceptional support programmes that may be provided by various stakeholders.
On the other hand, the aforementioned nine grants were fairly distributed and circulated to a larger number of athletes, federations and sports committees to benefit from them. The list includes Al Anoud al Khalili from Oman Shooting Association, Abdulrahman al Kulaibi and Issa al Adawi from Oman Swimming Federation, weightlifter Amer al Khanjari from Oman Weightlifting and Physical Strength Committee and 5 players from Oman Athletics Association, Mubeen al Kindi, Ali al Balushi, Hussein al Farsi, Mohammed al Sulaimani and Fateh Bait Jaaboub.
The grants provided by the Olympic Solidarity aim to assist athletes who are selected and proposed to participate by NOCs in the stages of preparation and qualification for the 33rd Olympic Games in France. This programme allows NOCs to obtain financial and technical support for high-level athletes who are seeking to qualify for the Olympic Games.
IOC has set a set of qualitative standards at the continental and international levels that have been adopted as a condition for obtaining the support card. It is the need for the athlete to have the technical level that enables him to qualify for the Olympic Games, provided that this is proven through the results he has achieved in national and international competitions, and his practice for any individual sport at the international level. Provided that, this sport is included in the Summer Olympics programme, in addition to adherence to the standards of sports ethics in accordance with the Olympic Charter and IOC, and adherence to the Code of the World Anti-Doping Agency and not being convicted of any violation of anti-doping rules.
On the nature of the support, IOC has allocated financial support to the nine players for a programme to prepare them to qualify them to participate in Paris 2024 Olympic Games, so that this support will continue until August 2024 before the start of the Olympic Games. As well as, there is a continuous follow-up of the technical levels of the nine players through the preparation plans and the established executive programmes by their federations and sports committees, technical reports and results achieved at the Arab, continental and international levels. This support can also be used to qualify the players technically through local or regional qualification centres, in addition to the possibility of using high-level coaches by the relevant sports federations and committees to qualify the selected players, each according to his sport.
IOC, in coordination with the sports federations and committees, seeks to benefit from these grants by providing all facilities for training, and allocating qualified and specialised trainers to train these players with the aim of raising their technical levels in a way that will achieve the desired results and numbers that qualify them to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
It is worth noting that Olympic Solidarity Committee of IOC provides 4 support programmes to NOCs every 4 years according to a budget allocated for this. These programmes are represented in support programmes for athletes, programmes to support coaches, programmes to support Olympic values, and programmes for the management of NOCs and knowledge exchange. OOC is keen to benefit from these programmes, which aim to refine and qualify national technical and administrative cadres for the benefit and benefit of them and enhance their capabilities in the field of sports.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
