OLYMPIC REVIEW13Vancouver 2010The OrganisingCommittee for theOlympic andParalympic WinterGames in 2010 inVancouver (VANOC)announced that almostone ton of medical anddental supplies - sur-plus from the Games -is being sent to Haiti tohelp the victims of theearthquake of 12January. VANOC isworking with theCanadian Forces to dis-patch these supplies. The London 2012 OrganisingCommittee has launched its Olympicmascot. Going by the name ofWenlock (below left), the mascot was"created" from one of the last two drops of theBritish steel being used for London's OlympicStadium. With a shiny outer skin and a single eye,Wenlock will travel around Great Britain over thenext two years as it heads towards its ultimatedestination - the Olympic Games in London inJuly 2012.Wenlock's head is inspired by the lights onLondon's iconic black taxis, and the shape of itshead is based on that of London's OlympicStadium roof. It also has three points on its head,which represent the places on the medalspodium. Wenlock loves all Olympic sports, and willdo its best to learn everything that it can aboutthem between now and the Games.The only thing Wenlock likes better thanlearning about the Olympics is making friends andseeing other people make friends. Wenlock wearsfive friendship bands in the colour of the Olympicrings, and is looking forward to makingas many friends as possiblebetween now and Games time.Wenlock's friend Mandeville (right) is theLondon 2012 Paralympicmascot -named after theBritish town of StokeMandeville, where theParalympics were first held.The first officialOlympic mascot - Waldi thedachshund - was launched onthe occasion of the 1972Olympic Games in Munich.Since that time, the mascothas become a regular featureat the Games, appearingalone or with friends andtaking not only animal formsbut also those of traditionaldolls, and even an ice cube and a piece of snow!The IOC Coordination Commission for the 2016Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro successfullyconcluded its first visit to the Brazilian hostcity, with Commission Chair Nawal ElMoutawakel saying she was pleased withthe outcome of the three-day series ofmeetings. In addition to talks with key figuresof the Rio Games project, including membersof the federal, state and city governments, MinisterOrlando Silva, Governor Sérgio Cabral, and MayorEduardo Paes, the Commission also got a first-handlook at the venues and was provided with detailedinformation by the Games organisers. "Rio has made a good start to the project", saidEl Moutawakel. "It has laid a solid foundation, butthe scope of the Olympic project is immense, and it is important that no time is wasted. That is whyit's fantastic to note that all 26 originally plannedOlympic sports now have a home and that thevenue locations are secured. We were alsopleased to see that the whole of Brazil continuesto be behind the Games, which was underlined tous by the strong support for the Gamesfrom all levels of government."The Commission visited a number of venues, including the RioCentroConvention Centre, Rio OIympic Arena, Maria LenkAquatic Centre and João Havelange Stadium. The Commission will make its second visit to Rio in 2011.Below The IOC Coordination Commission, led by Nawal El Moutawakel (centre)LONDONMASCOTSFIRSTCOORDINATIONCOMMISSIONVISITTORIOIOCPRAISESSOCHI2014PREPARATIONSThe IOC CoordinationCommission for the Sochi 2014 Games praised the progress being made bylocal organisers in the Russian city as it gears upto host the XXII Olympic Winter Games. Led byChairman Jean-Claude Killy, the Commissionconvened in Sochi from 13 to 15 April to assessthe developments made by the Sochi 2014Organising Committee and its partners since theCommission's last full visit in May 2009. Speakingafter the meetings, Chairman Killy said: "It is awe-inspiring work that is being undertaken in the Sochi region. With 43 construction sites that areoperational 24 hours a day, employing around16,000 workers, we are looking at one ofEurope's biggest and most ambitious constructionprojects, and I am pleased to report that work is on schedule."Sochi 2014 has also learnt a number oflessons from their observation of the VancouverGames, and this was obvious in thecomprehensive presentations that we receivedfrom the very motivated staff that we heard from this week."He concluded: "We reminded the organisersthat they need to continue moving forward in some areas, including accommodation,workforce recruitment and training, andconstruction, but we are confident that theproject is on track and are impressed with theprogress they have made over the past year,particularly in their very successful marketingprogramme."The next full Coordination Commission visitto Sochi is scheduled from 12 to 14 October. NEWS INBRIEF

14OLYMPIC REVIEWThe NOC of Serbiaorganised a seminar inthe framework of theIOC Athlete CareerProgramme (ACP), incollaboration withAdecco Serbia. Some60 active or recentlyretired athletes learnthow to exploit theirsporting success in thejob market and how tosucceed in their careerchange after theirsports careers. The British OlympicAssociation recentlyannounced the launchof its new Athletes'Commission. Made upof 12 Olympians, it wascreated to fulfil a simplebut crucial objective: tobring the perspective,expertise and talent ofthese athletes to themany NOC programmesand initiatives. The Argentinean NOCand the province ofEntre Rios, representedrespectively by NOCPresident GerardoWerthein and GovernorSergio Urribarri, havesigned an agreementfor Olympism to betaught in schools in theprovince. The eventtook place in the city ofParaná, the birthplace ofone of the 13 originalmembers of the IOC,José Benjamin Zubiaur. The Indian Olympic Association organised its veryfirst national seminar on the Olympic ValuesEducation Programme (OVEP) from 22 to 26 Marchin Delhi. This IOC programme was officiallylaunched by the IOC President during theCommonwealth Youth Games in October 2008 inPune. During the workshop, national delegates fromthe various Indian states and union territories wereintroduced to the Programme and its educationalresource, "Teaching Values: an Olympic EducationToolkit", and were given tips on how to use thismanual effectively. They also had the opportunity tovisit the headquarters of the Commonwealth GamesOrganising Committee and some sports venues, inthe presence of NOC President Suresh Kalmadi andSecretary General Randhir Singh, who is also anIOC member. The participants received theirparticipation certificates from Randhir Singh and IOC Director of International Cooperation andDevelopment T.A. Ganda Sithole.BelowSuresh Kalmadi (left) and Randhir SinghThe NOC of Brazil has been awarded the insigniaof the Order of Rio Branco by the Ministry ofForeign Affairs. The President of the Republic,Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attended the ceremony.The NOC was represented by the Chairman of itsAthletes' Commission, volleyball player BernardRajzman, silver medallist in Los Angeles in 1984.This distinction was awarded in recognition of thejoint work with the Ministry (Itamaraty) for thevictorious candidature for the 2016 Games (right)and of the positive image of Brazil given on thisoccasion to other countries.INDIANSEMINARONOLYMPICVALUESAWARDFORBRAZILIANNOCFESTIVAL OF SPORTSPORTSCOURSEThe 53rd Bank of China (Hong Kong) Festival ofSport took place in mid-March in Hong Kong. On the programme of the two days of festivities,organised by the NOC of Hong Kong, China,were sports demonstrations and games toencourage people to participate in varioussports. The 74 national sports associationsparaded at the opening of this Festival, whichwas officially opened by NOC President and IOCmember Timothy Tsun Ting Fok. With itstraditional theme of "Sport for All", the Festivalencourages the general public to practise sport and thus have a healthy lifestyle. The Peruvian NOC has begun training activities atnational level with a sports administration course in the city of Chiclayo. Organised with the supportof Olympic Solidarity, this course brought togetherrepresentatives of the region's sportsorganisations, coaches, PE teachers, sportsjournalists, referees and events organisers. Thespeakers included NOC President José QuiñonesGonzalez; the technical adviser of the PeruvianInstitute of Sport, Rudy Montero Quispe; andarcher Mariana Quintanilla. Subjects included: theOlympic Movement, administration, management,women and sport, communications methods,doping-free sport, challenges for developingcountries, and the values and ethics in sport.NEWS IN BRIEF