The meeting between the Russian Olympic Committee and South African NOC took place on the sidelines of the Tokyo Games at the initiative of the South African side.
Negotiations on cooperation between the Russian Olympic Committee and the South African NOC took place on the sidelines of the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo at the initiative of the South African side. The meeting of ROC President Stanislav Pozdnyakov with the leadership of the South African NOC represented by its President Barry Hendricks and acting CEO Ravi Govender took place at the Kokugikan arena, after a joint viewing of the final round boxing competition in men’s under-57 kilograms weight category.
Mr. Hendricks expressed confidence that there would be many vectors of interaction where the NOCs of the two countries could work productively in close cooperation. These would include training coaches, organizing exchange programs in the field of sports management, as well as the development of youth sports.
Stanislav Pozdnyakov thanked his colleagues from the South African NOC for their initiative.
– The possibility of such a meeting is very important for the Russian Olympic Committee because assistance and Olympic solidarity are one of our priorities in international sports activities, – he said.
The ROC President spoke about the program of the Russian International Olympic University “Master of Sports Administration”, available to listeners in English. In addition, he drew attention to the fact that the Russian Olympic Committee provided support in holding international training camps, including sports where Russia was traditionally strong, and those where there was still room for improvement.
Stanislav Pozdnyakov stressed that the national women’s rugby Sevens team, which took part in the Olympic Games, could potentially be interested in joint training camps with the South African team, which has long been successful at the international level. South African NOC’s representatives expressed great interest in cooperation in the field of winter sports, especially ice hockey.
The ROC President shared his memories of South Africa.
– I have a personal story. In 1997 I participated in the World Fencing Championships in Cape Town. There I managed to win the individual championship in sabre fencing. It was not only the only gold medal for our country at that tournament, but also my first individual victory at the world championships. So I have very fond memories of Cape Town.
Messrs Hendricks and Govender invited Stanislav Pozdnyakov and the entire ROC delegation to visit South Africa when the joint programs are launched to see first-hand how effectively they are working.
Both sides agreed to further develop contacts and work out possible joint projects aimed at developing various sports in the two countries.
– We can productively continue developing our relations, – concluded Stanislav Pozdnyakov.
