News from the NOCs - IOC Plans India Meeting; Poland Mulls Sports Overhaul

IOC Plans India Meeting

The IOC says it's planning a meeting with Indian government officials regarding the country’s Olympic committee by the end of April.

An IOC spokesperson confirmed to Around the Ringsthe plans with the Indian sports ministry, adding that a date has not been confirmed.

In December, the Indian Olympic Association was suspended by the IOC Executive Board over concerns of management within the organization.

Poland Discusses Overhaul of Sports System

Polish Olympic, sport and government leaders are now considering the future of the country’s sporting efforts.

On March 6, the Polish Olympic Committee (PKOL) organized a meeting with more than 150 participants, including authorities from all areas related to sport and athletes. The first session was to determine how to improve the level of sport in Poland. The meeting was inspired by the team’s performance at the London Olympics, where Poles won 10 medals for the third straight Olympics.

"This first plenary meeting was a first step only," Henry Urbas, spokesperson for the PKOL, said in an email to ATR. "All participants of this debate presented many roads leading to success."

Some of the changes proposed modifications to funding mechanisms for Polish sport, changing Polish law to encourage sponsorship of sports organizations and improving the level of cooperation between the sports ministry and sport federations.

Subcommittees will now study proposals over the next six to seven months, and will make a final presentation to Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski, the Polish Prime Minster and the various ministers.

Australia Forging Stronger Link for Rio

The Australian Olympic Committee and Australian Institute for Sport agreed to forge a stronger relationship ahead of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Representatives of the Olympic sports, the AIS and AOC attended the "Road To Rio 2016 High Performance Forum" in Sydney on Wednesday, agreeing to build a set of consistent values for the Australian Olympic Team.

"The values need to be elevated into the consciousness of the entire Team well before Rio in 2016," Peter Conde, the Performance Director of Australian Sailing, said in a statement. "We need a set of consistent values and build on them for the next three years."

AOC sport director Fiona de Jong added: "We are listening to our sports and we want to achieve solutions come 2016. The purpose of today’s Forum is to see what we can do better in Rio and what lessons we learned from London."

Some of the solutions include increased communication among the sports, AOC and AIS; and preparing Australian athletes for competition in Brazil’s tough environment. A statement said many Australians have never competed in Brazil and specified that the heat, traffic and security were three key areas needing advance preparation.

Australia won 35 medals in London, its lowest total in 20 years.

The AIS is Australia’s training facility for premier sports in the country.

Habib Macki Running for OOC President

IOC member Habib Macki announced he is running for election as president of the Oman Olympic Committee.

Macki is currently the acting president, having led the organization since 2012.

His announcement follows Oman Football Association chairman Sayyid Khalid Al Busaidi and former Oman Tennis Association chairman Khalid Al Zubair both announcing their candidacies.

Written by Ed Hula III.

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