Visit - Olympic Youth Development Centre Zambia

23 - 26 Jan, 2014 • Lusaka, Zambia

Course Language: English

ITU FURTHERS TRIATHLON DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA WITH VISIT TO ZAMBIA
(http://www.triathlon.org/news/article/itu_furthers_triathlon_development_in_africa_with_visit_to_zambia)

ITU President and IOC Member Marisol Casado, along with ITU Executive Board Member General Ahmed Nasser and ITU Sport Development Manager Zita Csovelyak, recently visited the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Youth Development Centre (OYDC) in Zambia.

“I was very impressed with the OYDC and its management team,” Casado said. “Growing the sport of triathlon on the continent of Africa is a big priority for us. Holding a World Triathlon Series race in Africa for the first time ever this year will undoubtedly help spur growth. However, we have to go a step further to provide our young athletes with training opportunities, which is exactly what the Centre offers.”

The OYDC, created by the IOC and supported by International Federations, is designed to allow young athletes to train in state of the art facilities. This is the first trip ITU has made to visit the Centre, with hopes ITU could join the project to further its African development goals.

“We are so grateful and honored with the visit of the ITU President,” said OYDC Director Clement Chileshe. ”The Centre has been visited by only a few International Federations since its inauguration in 2010. The presence of an IF helps tremendously in having the OYDC recognized. We would be delighted if we could add triathlon as a sport to the OYDC sport programmes.”

In addition to touring the facilities, ITU met with Zambia’s National Olympic Committee President Miriam Moyo. The NOC, like ITU, is one of few Olympic sports federations to feature women in both its President and Secretary General positions. ITU also met with the Zambia Sports Council to explore the possibility of starting a triathlon National Federation in Zambia, which will be the next necessary step to adding triathlon as a sport at the OYDC.

“I was amazed with the OYDC in Lusaka,” General Nasser said. “I am sure triathlon will be one of the biggest sports in Zambia because everyone we spoke with was very interested. As the African Triathlon Union President, I am very proud of the Centre and am thankful to the IOC for having created it. We hope more like it can be created.”

About the Olympic Youth Development Center (OYDC) – Lusaka, Zambia (based on the presentation, provided by OYDC):

OYDC is a partnership between the Government of the Republic of Zambia, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the National Olympic Committee of Zambia (NOCZ). The Centre was opened on 11 May 2010 by the Zambian President Rupiah Banda and the IOC President Jacques Rogge. The OYCD is the “vehicle” for the IOC

programme. Zambia was the first pilot project and the new centre will be introduced in Haiti.

Vision of OYCD: To be the leading and most inspiring sport institution for athlete and sport leadership development in the region

Mission of OYDC: facility to provide positive sport and life style opportunities for athletes, coaches, administrators and underserved women, youth and children, through high quality facilities, training, competitions, education, health and support services, to promote the principles and values of Olympism.

Objectives:
1. To ensure that the multi-purpose facility is available and accessible to children, youth, sports administrators, match officials coaches and high performance athletes for better sport development and performance
2. To ensure the facility and Olympic solidarity programmes enhance sport development in Zambia by providing organized sport competitions, camps, clinics and coaches and sport administrators seminars
3. To provide community development services and Olympic education , girls empowerment, civic education, health services to athletes including malaria and HIV & AIDS

Target Groups of OYDC:
Primary groups:
The Community
1. Youth
2. Children
3. Adults from the OYDC host community
Sport Organisations:
1. National Sport Federations
2. Sport NGOs
3. Clubs
Secondary groups:
1. Government (and related agencies)
2. Development aid institutions
3. Corporate institutions
4. Non-sport NGOs

OYDC PROGRAMMES:
Sports offered at OYDC at present:
1. Athletics
2. Badminton
3. Basketball
4. Boxing
5. Chess
6. Football
7. Handball
8. Hockey
9. Judo
10. Netball
11. Swimming
12. Table Tennis
13. Taekwondo
14. Tennis
15. Volleyball
16. Weightlifting

In the near future the following sports will be added: Rugby, Beach Volleyball.

Sport Education, Fitness & Leadership at the OYDC:
1. Athlete training and camps
2. League matches and competitions
3. Sport Administrators courses
4. Coaching courses
5. Competition officials courses
6. Sport Science courses
7. Sports conferences/ seminars
8. Sport shows and exhibitions

Sport for Social Change & Development Programmes:
1. Gender education and girls empowerment
2. Life skills training
3. Peer education programmes
4. Psychosocial support
5. Sport for development leadership training courses
6. Entrepreneurship training
7. Literacy education
8. Information and Communication Technology training
9. Expressive and fine arts training

Health & Education:
1. Sport nutrition
2. Dental checks
3. ENT
4. Eye checks
5. First aid
6. HIV and AIDS awareness programmes
7. Environment and Sport programmes
8. Olympic Values Education

Sport Science:
1. Physiotherapy
2. Sports Psychology
3. Sport Nutrition
4. Strength and Conditioning

OYDC 3 Year Key Achievements:

1 Over 13, 000 athletes engaged in various sports and non sport programmes
2 Successfully hosted a number of national and international events such as the 2012 Zone VI Games, 2011 OVEP conference, UN Secretary General’s Visit, 1st Edition of Samsung Olympafrica Youth Games,
3 Completion of a 51 room lodge to accommodate athletes, coaches and technical personnel
4 Successfully attached a number of athletes to national teams
5 Trained over 500 coaches, sport administrators and competition officials in conjunction with partners such government, NOCZ, Olympic Solidarity, sport and non sport NGOS, NFs and Ifs, UN Agencies
6 Established lower leagues for under 15 athletes for 12 sports. 10 sports having them for the first time in Zambia
7 Hosted a number of local, regional and international Games such as the 2012 Zone VI Games, 2012 Zone VI Senior Volleyball Championships, African Schools Badminton Championships, 2011 Afro basketball Championships, CANA Swimming Gala etc

Facebook page of OYDC: https://www.facebook.com/OlympicYouthDevelomentCentre
More details about the OYDC-Zambia: http://www.oydc.org.zm/