The Olympic Council of Asia’s Honorary Life Vice President, Wei Jizhong, has praised the spirit of the local organising committee (LOC) ahead of the OCA’s 5th Asian BeachGames in Danang, Vietnam.
Addressing the first meeting of the Chefs de Mission at theRoyal Lotus Hotel and Convention Centre on Thursday morning, Mr Wei said the teamwork and determination of the LOC pointed towards a successful ABG5.
"As you know, to organise a games is not an easy task," saidthe veteran Chinese sports official.
"One week ago in Danang, a strong storm destroyed nearly allthe temporary installations. Yesterday I made an inspection and they havereinstalled all the temporary infrastructure.
"This shows that these games are our games: the OCA,organising committee and all the National Olympic Committees. We have to worktogether because this is our games and our responsibility."
With the team leaders gathering for the first time ahead of ABG5,which will open on September 24 and run until October 3, Mr Wei said it wasnatural that there would be issues to address at the beginning of aninternational multi-sport event, just as there is with the Olympic Games andAsian Games.
"If any delegation has a question, if you have a problem, ifyou have difficulty, you can raise all the points here and we will try our bestto solve all the problems immediately," he added.
"We hope that, before the Opening Ceremony on Saturday,September 24, everything is in order.
"I hope that, with your active participation, goodunderstanding and your cooperation, we can solve together all the difficulties,all the problems and can satisfy all your athletes, your officials, OCA and the organising committee."
The agenda included the Team Welcome Ceremony, which will involve multiple teams in four, one-hour time slots on the afternoons of September22-23, the Opening Ceremony on Saturday at Bien Dong Park from 8pm to 10pm,transportation, accommodation, meals and the sports programme.
The OCA’s Asian Games Director, Haider Farman, asked theNOCs to inform their athletes to be patient if there was adverse weather duringcompetition, forcing events to be halted or delayed, as wind and rain hadaffected Danang in recent days.
"We are expecting the weather will get better and betterfrom now on," he said. "We must work together for a successful games and sothat the athletes have the best opportunity to compete."
Details on the Opening Ceremony, including athlete quota forthe NOCs in the parade and on contingency plans for bad weather, will bepresented at the CDM meeting on Friday morning.
On behalf of the organising committee, Mr Tran Duc Phan,Chairman of the Sport and Technical Sub-committee, welcomed the team leaders tothe central coastal city and said it was a great honour for Danang to behosting countries and regions from all over Asia.
He pointed out that Muay Thai – one of eight martial arts inthe programme of 14 sports, 22 disciplines and 172 events – had alreadystarted, and that the various sports would strengthen the cooperation andfriendship between the nations.
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