Gosper Steps Down as ONOC President

Kevan Gosper (Getty Images) (ATR) Kevan Gosper has stepped down after 20 years as president of the Oceania National Olympic Committees and few could argue that he has made a significant contribution to the region’s Olympics community competition during his reign.

A rare moment during the closing dinner of the recent Oceania National Olympic Committees general assembly meetingin Queenstown, New Zealand -- Gosper’s last as president --saw the Australian almost moved to tears while addressing guests.

Of all his work in furthering the Oceania Olympics cause, Gosper nominates as his proudest a development borne from his decision to vacate the leadership.

“I can’t emphasize enough what a privilege it is to hand over to Robin Mitchell, who’s supported me superbly as president, but to bring a representative of the Pacific Islands into the presidency for the first time was memorable for me,” Gosper tells Around The Rings.

New ONOC president Robin Mitchell (ATR/A. Stavrinos/Panasonic:Lumix)“And to fill his executive with first class people and to see Ric Blas, who has equally been very loyal and supportive to me, go into that secretary general job, with a New Zealander – Barrie Maister – the vice president, that was just a great thrill.”

Apart from the office bearers, the general assembly vote elected Vanuatu’s Joe Carlo, Ken Tupua of American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia’s Jim Tobin and Baklai Temengil of Palau.

A memorable closing dinner for the annual ONOC General Assembly and related meetings took place in a restaurant only accessible via a steamboat ride up the river in Queenstown, with the trip complete with sing-a-longs.

Gosper was moved close to tears when he addressed guests at the dinner, declaring in a shaky voice: “You have made me so happy today” and reaffirming his strong belief in a bright future for Oceania under its new leadership.

A series of tributes to Gosper by his colleagues, highlighted by Pacific Islander-style sing-a-longs throughout the dinner, left fond memories for guests who included IOC president Jacques Rogge, London 2012 chair Sebastian Coe and Swedish IOC member Gunilla Lindberg.

Gosper’s address prompted a standing ovation and thunderous applause before he passed to crowd-pleaser Rogge, who delivered a glowing tribute to his IOC colleague.

“Kevan, you were a great athlete. A silver medalist in ’56 (Olympics in Melbourne), a gold medalist in the Commonwealth Games, and a record holder for a very long time in the 400 meters in Australia,” Rogge told guests.

“You were also a great sport administrator because of that - president of the Australian Olympic Committee, president of ONOC. You were an IOC member since 1977, twice vice president, 10 years as member of the executive board."

“You served in many, many commissions of the IOC. You still serve as chair of the press commission. You were also a very impressive member of the sport and apartheid commission, back in the end of the sixties.”

Rogge noted Gosper’s “fantastic job” as vice chair of the Beijing 2008 Olympics coordination commission, his membership of the Solidarity commission and ANOCA.

“You have had a great interest in the International Olympic Committee and international sport,” he said.

“You’ve proven in the Olympic Committee, all your skills as an athlete and competitor but also, very importantly, your professional skills in corporate life which have helped the Olympic movement.”

The IOC chief praised Gosper for his sense of humor, his sense of reality and pragmatism and the friendship he had shown to IOC colleagues. IOC President Jacques Rogge presents outgoing ONOC president Kevan Gosper with a silver IOC platter at the ONOC General Assembly meeting in Queenstown, New Zealand. (Getty Images)

He drew laughs and enthusiastic applause with his punchline: “But your achievements are absolutely insignificant compared to the achievements of your wife, Judy.” Rogge presented Gosper with a silver IOC platter, as a token of its appreciation.

Barbara Kendall, a former IOC member and gold medal windsurfer for New Zealand, made the night even more memorable by putting on a bit of a show with her partner from the popular New Zealand television series Dancing With The Stars. She even managed to get the likes of Coe and Rogge involved in the fun.

Twenty years of ONOC leadership has steadily built a strong, loyal and largely united association of 17 NOCs, many small island nations that effectively credit Gosper with their democratic places in regional Olympics decision-making.

And Gosper doesn’t mind reminding everybody.

“Significant for me was my first act as President in putting all members of ONOC on to an equal footing with the right to vote,” he earlier told the general assembly in his presidential address.

“The fact that we now have every country recognized by the United Nations enjoying ONOC membership is perhaps our greatest achievement as this allows the important flow of funds going to 17 NOCs for the development of youth and sport.

“That otherwise would not exist and has opened the door for youth across the Pacific to compete at an Olympic Games.”

He says the competence of Oceania’s athletes has been a result of early introduction of sensible sports development programs, which have been bolstered through improved working relationships with OSFO.

Gosper says ONOC’s efforts to bring everyone to the table has been enhanced by

conferring Associate Membership on important island groups which otherwise would have had them outside of the Olympic family.

The formation of ONOC Commissions for athletes and women in sport have been important innovations, Gosper says, adding there is great in the introduction of others, including education initiative OSEP, the regional anti-doping agency (ORADO) and the more recent move into talent identification.

He says Sporting Pulse’s support over recent years has allowed ONOC and NOCs to become part of one of the most advanced regions in the use of electronic communication and sports management.

“Twenty years ago at best it was faxes, telephone calls, pen and paper. All of you deserve great credit for this significant progress within ONOC,” Gosper said.

Written by

Anthony Stavrinos

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