ONOC Prepares for General Assembly in Fiji

(ATR) The annual meeting of Oceania National Olympic Committees will see an increase in Olympic Solidarity funding and elections for three positions.

ONOC has been meeting in Fiji from March 28-April 1, with its General Assembly taking place on the final day. There President Robin Mitchell will run unopposed for the body’s presidency, with elections taking place for vice president and secretary general.

Ahead of the assembly, smaller group meetings will take place on March 31 covering topics including the 2019 Pacific Games, ONOC finances, and Olympic Solidarity. The ONOC Education Commission will meet and there will be a separate meeting with presentations on potential Oceania training sites for Tokyo 2020.

So far, the 17 NOCs present for the General Assembly have been meeting with Olympic Solidarity for a two-day seminar. Included in the seminar is an overview of funding and addressing governance issues.

"The emphasis is on good governance and how NOCs work hand-in-hand with Olympic Solidarity requirements," Matai Akauola, ONOC Communications Director, told Around the Rings. "The IOC funding to Oceania has increased by 16% to a total of $21,847,000, an annual budget of about $5,500,000 a year."

Discussions about the inclusion of Oceania athletes at the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games will happen in the days after the ONOC General Assembly. Ashgabat 2017 is one of two Olympic Council of Asia events that will feature Oceania athletes after the Sapporo 2017 Asian Winter Games.

"Further discussions on Ashgabat will take place in the next couple of days with the arrival of officials from Turkmenistan," Akauola said. "Finer details will be known soon and Oceania Chef de Missions will be in Ashgabat from April 5th -7th."

Written by Aaron Bauer

25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.