NOCs News -- ONOC Visits Solomons; Sierra Leone Pleas for Unity

ONOC to Meet with Solomon Islands

The secretary general of the Oceania National Olympic Committees, Robin Mitchell, and two ONOC executives will meet with the National Olympic Committee of Solomon Islands next week.

Despite being beset with turmoil over the past year, newly-elected NOCSI President Fred Maetoloa told the Solomon Star newspaper the meeting would be entirely positive.

“They are here purposely to meet and show their support to the newly-elected NOCSI executive. The meeting would be an opportunity to discuss matters relating to sports in the Solomon Islands,” he said.

Maetoloa added that the topic of the years of NOCSI mismanagement will also be discussed with the goal of blazing a new path for the NOC in the future.

Sierra Leone President Calls for Unity

President of the National Olympic Committee Sierra Leone, Henry Moore made a plea on Saturday for unity within Sierra Leonean sport. Moore had just won re-election to lead the NOCSLE over Andre Hope. Allegations of corruption had dogged Moore in the last 12 months.

"The election is over, now we all must work as a family, as a unify body to help improve the activities of NOCSLE and our various sporting disciplines," Moore was quoted as saying in the Concorde Times.

He added, "The media did an outstanding job in term of the election and I am grateful for that. Our relationship with the media would improve and be stronger than before."

Moore was quick to appoint two local journalists as heads of the NOCSLE public relations efforts.

Nauru President Wins Election

The president of Nauru is now the president of the Nauru Olympic Committee. Marcus Stephen defeated 15-year incumbent Vinson Detenamo, who has lead the NOC since it was recognized by the IOC.

New leadership has been elected for the Nauru Olympic Committee. (Getty Images)Stephen has been president of Nauru since 2007 and previously, he was a world class weightlifter. He was the country’s first Olympian, competing at the 1996 Olympics. He also won 12 medals at the Commonwealth Games.

The election of Stephen to the position of NOC chief means he is now part of the fraternity of government leaders in the Olympic movement. Some of the world leaders include IOC Member Prince Albert of Monaco and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who heads the Belarusian National Olympic Committee.

The other executives, all of whom will serve until 2012, are Vice President Marissa Cook and general secretary Pres Nimes Ekwona. The remaining NOC members are Sean Oppenheimer, Aaron Cook, Marjorie Deireragea, Celestine Eoaeo, Lui Eoaeo and Dogabe Jeremiah.

Rogge to Visit Serbian, Romanian NOC Chiefs

IOC President Jacques Rogge met with leaders from the national Olympic committees of Serbia and Romania on Thursday.

The IOC said the NOCs were on courtesy visits to IOC headquarters in Lausanne, with discussions likely to focus on the success of the two countries at the Beijing Olympics and sports development issues in the Eastern European nations.

…Briefs

…Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee President Vidhya Lakhan presented Fijian President Ratu Josefa Uluivuda a pin set, thanking Uluivuda for his support of the Fijian Olympic team in Beijing. The ceremony took place at Government House on Tuesday. Fijian NOC President President Vidhya Lakhan (right) presented Fijian President Ratu Josefa Uluivuda a pin set at Government House on Tuesday, thanking Uluivuda for his support of the Fijian Olympic team. (ONOC)

…Executive elections in the Uganda Olympic Committee are this Saturday. Moses Twesigomwe will take on incumbent President Francis Nyangweso as will Sharifa Sanyu, an executive with the national hockey federation. Multiple candidates are running for each of the slots on the committee. The voting members will convene at the Grand Imperial Hotel in Kampala on Saturday.

…The Philippines Olympic Committee has called for all national sporting bodies to unite under the Olympic Flag to promote sport. Joey Romasanta, the POC media chief, was quoted as saying in local media, “Yes, we all love sports, but issues like these must be resolved within the boundary of the Olympic movement and not through a public forum. These actions and publicity gimmicks will only cause more trouble.” In recent times, the national sports council had used the media to advance their agenda, which often came at the expense of the Olympic movement.

…The Family, Youth, and Sports Ministry of Ukraine will implement 13 spending programs to benefit sport in the country, many of which will benefit the Ukraine Olympic Committee. The ministry will spend nearly $500,000 for training camps and competitions for Olympic athletes, $19 million to prepare Olympic teams for the Games, and another $2.7 million will be given to the Olympic committee.

…American Samoa National Olympic Committee President Ben Solaita was re-elected at the ASNOC General Assembly. Ken Tupua and Salaia Gabbard were elected to the position of secretary general and treasurer respectively. Representatives from the national associations for basketball, judo, softball, swimming and tennis will represent the sport federation on the executive board. All terms last for four years.

Written by Ed Hula III.