BOC receives the IOC's Olympism in Action 2019 Trophy

The Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) received the Olympics in Action 2019 Trophy from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in recognition of promoting sustainable initiatives at the 2019 Youth School Games. The award, held annually, had as its theme Sports and Sustainability. As part of the IOC's 2020 agenda, sustainability guides the new practices of the international Olympic movement.

"Sustainability has become essential in the sports movement and since its inclusion in the IOC's 2020 agenda, it has been integrated into all aspects of planning and hosting of the Olympic Games. The BOC has developed sustainability strategies not only at its events but also to inspire and engage society in this very valuable topic", says the director of Communication and Marketing, Manoela Penna.

Held since 2005, the Youth School Games (YSG) are the largest student competition in the country and have innovated with regard to sustainability and citizenship, conciliating the sports individual and citizen training of young athletes with the incentive to sustainable practices.

Since 2018, the YSG's organization has dismissed all types of disposable materials that are aggressive to the environment, promotes selective waste collection and distributes squeezes to the participants. On the mentioned year, the event also featured reusable and recycled material in the living area and promoted an action for the cleaning of the Ponta Negra Beach in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme, seeking the awareness of young people, both from the environmental and social points of view.

The Youth School Games are a major project for the development of national sports. In addition to already consolidated actions, such as the ambassador program and socio-educational programs, in 2019 training courses were offered to coaches, the Parents and Educators supporting Fair Play Guide, in addition to the creation of the Monitoring and Evaluation Center, which identified the physical and motor profile of more than 2 thousand young athletes from 12 to 14 years old, in a pilot project for the longitudinal construction of the profile of the Olympic athlete.

Prominent names such as Olympic champion Sarah Menezes and world champion Mayra Aguiar, both from judo, Hugo Calderano (table tennis), Raulzinho (basketball), Ana Claudia Lemos (athletics), Etiene Medeiros and Leonardo de Deus (swimming), who were part of Brazil Team at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, participated in the School Games.

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