National Olympic Committee of South African

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National Olympic Committee of South African

• Portfolio Committee Presentation

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NOCSA Mandate

• NOCSA is charged with the preparation and
  assembly of high performance athletes both Summer
  and Winter Olympic Games at every Olympiad.

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Sydney Strategy and Preparation

• Planning for 2000 Sydney Games
• Started in 1997
• Commonwealth Games 1998
• All Africa Games 1999
• Sports Codes on the Sydney Program
• 28 sports
• Qualification competitions
• Nocsa financed all travel

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Operation Excellence Programme

• Operation Excellence Programme of preparation was
  instituted to distribute appropriate funding
• Level one Potential Medallists
• Level Two Potential Finalists
• Level Three - Potential Participants
• All team sports
• were given an annual grant of R60,000
• Special grants for qualification events
• All probable participants were provided with
  monthly grants, medical and scientific testing
  and team travel grants.
• NOCSA held training camps
• Durban
• Cape town

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Selection Policy

• Selection criteria for Sydney
• Agreed unanimously by all federation May 1998
• Prior to a Special General Meeting of Nocsa
  April 1998 adopted the selection policy.
• Levelling imbalances of the Past
• Federation were advised since 1991 to accelerate
  the development of the historically disadvantage
  sector
• That teams are representative of the demographics
  of our country
• In fact, our team of 1992 Olympic Games
• IOC request team to compose not only exclusively
  of the advantage sector
• IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch made it
  clear to former President Nelson Mandela that the
  team must have athletes from the disadvantaged
  sector
• Qualification for the Olympic Games
• Quality criteria
• Established standard measurers
• Times,Distances,
• Ranking, and
• Elimination tournaments

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Selection Policy

• IOC Policy Caters for
• Quality
• Ensure that the world best athletes participate
  in the Olympic Games
• All the medallists and commendable performances
  comes from this group
• Universality Criteria
• Would guarantee that there is adequate
  representation at the Olympic games from all
  continents and provide the inspiration at the
  developing nations to develop athletes to
  greater performances in 2004
• South Africa being a member of the African
  continent is eligible to enter via general
  international qualification competitions and also
  through continental elimination tournaments.
• Many Olympic sports in Africa are still at the
  developmental stage,while others enjoy an
  extremely high standard.

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Selection Policy

• This poses a serious dilemma for NOCSA
• South African sport is highly developed but
  because of the inequities of the apartheid, many
  of these sports are still dominated by Whites
• It is therefore easy to exploit the Olympic
  qualification system and dominate our National
  Olympic Team with the previously advantaged
  sector of our society under the dubious banner of
  merit
• This would be a blatant circumvention of the
  principle of qualification procedure established
  especially for developing countries so that they
  may identify athletes to develop their talents
  for future Olympic Games.
• We respected the IOC policy with regard to
  universality and widespread participation.

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Selection Policy

• In our case this means transforming the
  demographic composition of our team
• NOCSA policy is to encourage its sports teams to
  seek dialogue and contact with teams from Africa.
• Assess the standard of play within Africa on a
  sport by-sport basis.
• This ensure appropriate and adequate competition
  and preparations of our teams whether exclusive
  and developmental for Olympic qualification.
• Where the level and standard of competition is
  relatively low NOCSAs selection should depend on
  the proportion of members of the disadvantage
  community in the South African Team.
• This would represent universality within the
  South African context.
• NOCSA as is the case with the IOC has ensured
  that our policy of universality will not, in any
  way, restrict high-level competition

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Selection Policy

• Principles that are not negotiable
• Representation
• Transformation

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Final Selection and Preparation

• Team selection was finalised in conjunction with
  each relevant National Federation
• There was only one dispute that of the
  non-selection of the mens hockey team because
  they did not meet qualification criteria
• According to IOC regulations, a National
  Federations may appeal to the IOC Executive Board
  through their appropriate International
  Federations.
• The International Hockey Federation submitted an
  appeal on behalf of the South African Hockey
  Association.
• The IOC held a hearing and upheld the decision of
  NOCSA
• All members of the Olympic team undertook
  extensive competition preparation.
• NOCSA made available psychologists for
  counselling many took advantage of this
  facility

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Drug Testing

• NOCSA policy is to ensure that no athlete brings
  disgrace to our country by being caught in
  underhand activity.
• NOCSA ensures all its athletes are drug-free and
  that their performances are not tainted by the
  use of performance enhancing substances
• All Olympic Team athletes undergo mandatory drug
  testing.
• One potential medallist was left out of the team
  because he was penalised for a drug offence a
  year before the Games.
• Although his six-month suspension had been
  completed well in advance of the Games he was
  not allowed to compete in the Olympic Games.

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Result in Sydney

• Sydney Olympic Games are now a matter of record
  and we can honestly say that the South African
  Team performed well
• Of course our public expected more that a fistful
  of medals
• South African are passionate about our sport
• Therefore hardly surprised that almost everyone
  entered the debate about the performance of our
  Olympic Team in Sydney.

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Medal Incentive Scheme

• Vodacom incentive scheme
• Gold Medal - One Million Rand
• Sliver Medal - Five Hundred Thousand Rand
• Bronze Medal Two hundred Thousand Rand

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Performance Evaluation - Sydney

• It vital to establish the fact that our Olympic
  Team in Sydney did South Africa proud in the face
  of remarkably improved world standards. Consider
• Never before in the history of South African
  participation in the Olympic Games(during and
  post apartheid) have members of the team
  qualified for 28 finals. This is a proud new
  record.
• In the process several new African and South
  African records were set.
• For the first time South Africa reached the
  finals of three rowing and two in canoeing
  events
• Many of these performances would have been good
  enough to win medals in Atlanta but in Sydney
  resulted in non-medal positions
• NOCSA sent more professional coaches to Sydney
  than ever before
• None of our athletes tested positive in the many
  doping evaluations done by the IOC.
• We returned with five medals three short of our
  anticipated count but no gold.
• In doing so South Africa was one of the only 70
  out of 199 countries that won medals, and only
  one of 41 to win five medals or more

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Macro Environment

• Disparate structures competing to assemble and
  prepare multi coded sports teams
• Lack of coherent medical and scientific support
• Lack of coherent training, assessment
  preparation programme
• Lack of maximisation funding raising and
  inefficient utilisation of limited resources
• Lack of adequate government funding

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Way Forward Athens 2004 Strategy

• The above stated problems require urgent
  attention
• Consider NOCSAs responsibility to evaluate our
  Performance at the games and to plan proactively
• Consolidate the growth we have seen and ensure
  active development programmes continue, with the
  eye on Athens 2004 and on other International
  Games.
• Levels of preparation of athletes from other
  countries has improved substantially.
• Australian spent Aus800 million on preparing its
  team about R3.3 Billion

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Way Forward Athens 2004 Strategy

• Since NOCSA, in tandem with the National
  Federations of various sports, is charged with
  the selection and preparations of the South
  African Olympic Team, it is determined that our
  performance should improve every four years.
  (more medals)
• Better performance, improved coaching and
  committed ongoing clean administration.
• Seeking sufficient funding to ensure all teams
  and their support staff are appropriately
  prepared for the grueling and unique event

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Way Forward Athens 2004 Strategy

• Operation Excellence Programme is already under
  way for Athens 2004 ,but is currently under
  review in consultation with the National
  Federations.
• We are negotiating with other Olympic partners
  and countries in acquiring coaching and technical
  expertise of the highest level.

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Olympic Foundation

• The establishment of the Olympic Foundation was a
  most positive step
• Top Class South African Businessmen driving the
  fundraising campaign .
• Enabling greater support from the corporate sector

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Conclusion

• The Stage is set now to encourage all
  stakeholders Government, National Federations,
  administrators, corporate sponsors and the
  private sector to contribute in a spirit of
  going forward in the interest of the countrys
  sporting ambitions

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