Around the NOCs Austria Dr. Rudolf Nemetschke right, and the General Vladimir Stoytchev, left. Dr. Rudolf Nemetschke, IOC member in Mr. Thomas Nowotny, Austrian Consul Austria from 1969 to 1976, received his silver General in New York (USA), has been apmedal in the Olympic Order (1977 nomina- pointed Olympic attache for the 1980 tions) at a ceremony held in the Spanish Winter Games in Lake Placid. Riding School of Vienna on 21st April. The presentation was made by General Vladimir Stoytchev, IOC member in Bulgaria and himself an outstanding horseman. following Congo which the School arranged a special display of its world-renowned horses and riders in The Congolese Olympic Committee has a honour of the occasion. new postal code: B.P. 1007, Brazzaville. Canada New Vice-Presidents of the Canadian Olympic Association : G. Jacobsen Mr. François Godbout, legal adviser to the Organising Committee- of the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, and a Davis Cup competitor from 1959-1964 and again in 1969. Mr. George Jacobsen, member of the FEI and international dressage and jumping judge since 1954, President of the Canadian federation from 1954-1977 and now its Chairman. These two personalities replace Messrs. Robert M. Sleeth and E. C. Percy who had resigned. F. Godbout The chefs de mission for the 1980 Olympic Games have just been appointed by the COA in the persons of Father Marcel de la Sablonnière (Lake Placid) and Mr. Imre B. Szabo (MOSCOW), both of whom are Vice-Presidents of the NOC. 406
Korea Dr. Chong Ha Lee has just been elected new Secretary General of the Korean Olympic Committee. Born in Seoul on 25th June 1930, currently Professor of Management at the Graduate School of Business Administration of Yonsei University, Seoul, where he was made Director of the Sports Department in 1971. In 1976 he took over several top positions in the administration of Korean sports : Executive Director of the Korea Amateur Sports Association, President of the Korean University Sports Board and Vice-President of the Korean Olympic Committee, in which latter capacity he joined the Korean Olympic delegation at the Games in Montreal. He is also an advisory member of the Korean Red Cross and the South-North Red Cross Conference. United States The annual meeting of the USOC House of Delegates, from 14th to 16th April, reelected the National Collegiate Athletic Association after an absence of five years. The USOC therefore now comprises all major amateur sports organisations in the country. Said President Kane:... We have achieved total support of every amateur sports group helping to prepare US athletes... which should strengthen our teams in the Olympic Games, Pan-American Games and other important international competitions... At the same meeting, all national sports governing bodies unanimously backed the 1978 Athletic Act which was passed by the Senate in May and is currently being introduced to the House of Representatives. Under this act, the USOC will be appointed the coordinating agency for all amateur sports on the programme of the Olympic Games and Pan-American Games, and will receive a federal grant of 30 million dollars for the development of regional training centres and the sports medicine programme, and for direct aid to the national federations. France Mr. Claude Collard, President of the French NOC, has been appointed by government decree to the Economic and Social Council, the highest consultative body in France. Our warmest congratulations on this nomination which will give a top sports authority the opportunity of expressing the sports movement s opinion at debates of national importance. Mr. Christian Jannette, whom the Olympic family appreciated as assistant Chief of Protocol at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, is to act as chef de mission to the French delegation at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, thus succeeding Mr. Roger de Groote who had filled this position since 1960. Count Jean de Beaumont, member of the IOC Executive Board, played host on 9th May at a gala dinner as President of the French Sports Academy. Attended by numerous personalities in the sports world, including Lord Killanin, President of the IOC, Mr. Mohamed Mzali, Vice-President of the IOC, and Mr. Joao Havelange, IOC member in Brazil and President of the FIFA, when the Academy s awards for 1977 were presented on this special occasion. Among those singled out for distinction, let us particularly mention Mr. Robert Dero who received the Henri-Desgrange Prize, attributed to a journalist, author or artist who has best served the cause of sport through the practice of his profession. The French Sports and Cultural Federation, whose Secretary General is none other than Mr. Robert Pringarbe, former Secretary General of the CNOSF, has launched a fund-raising scheme for its clubs through the sale of good wishes cards which reproduce colour action photographs of athletes in various sports. 407
Hong-Kong For the first time ever, Hong Kong will be represented by a participant at the 18th IOA Session this summer. With the organisation of the XXIst Sports Festival in March and April of this year, the NOC has followed its annual tradition started in 1958. According to latest statistics, the territory of Hong 1977 : XXth Festival. Kong has 67 public swimming pools, of which 17 are 50 m Olympic pools, and eight diving pools, as well as a great number of stadia and grounds for football, basketball, etc. The 1978 edition of the NOC s Constitution, Rules and Bye-laws, as adopted in 1953 and amended in 1960, 1967 and 1968, has just been published. Great Britain Mr. Denis Follows, Chairman of the British Olympic Association since 1977 and Secretary of the Football Association from 1962-1973, has been conferred a knighthood by HM The Queen. Our sincere congratulations on this deserved distinction. Recreation, Risk and Reward is the theme of a conference being organised by the Medical Commission on Accident Prevention on 19th and 20th July, at the suggestion of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, past President of the Commission. Discussions by doctors, surgeons, physiotherapists, etc. will concern the problems of, and solutions to loss of life and injury during recreation. Those interested in attending should contact : Professor A. J. Harding Rains, Chairman, The Medical Commission on Accident Prevention, 50 Old Brompton Road, London SW7 3EA (GBR). Mr. Michael Sparkes, former Secretary General of the BOA until 1976, has resigned from his current position as Appeals Secretary. He will however continue in this position until the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton (CAN), for which he is raising funds to send the British delegation. Ireland The Olympic Council of Ireland has just been allocated 40,OOO (SF 40,000) by the government to help prepare for the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. The same amount has also been made available to the National Sports Council for its operational costs this year, and a further 200,OOO (SF 700,000) has been set aside as a contribution towards various major sports installations. Kenya Mr. Samuel Mbogo Kamau, new President of the Kenya NOC, serves in the police force. Born on 12th December 1940, he plays hockey (Executive member of the Kenya federation), squash and badminton. He is also an Executive member of the Kenya Sports Council. 408
Liechtenstein New address of the NOC: Aeulestrasse 46, 9490 Vaduz. Telephone : (075) 6 11 44 and 2 68 99. Telex : 77 815. Cable : Olympialic, Vaduz. We reproduce here the medal issued for the 50th anniversary of the Malta Olympic Committee which the Secretary General, Mr. Paul Lino Bugeja, has kindly presented to the IOC. Malta On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, the Malta Olympic Committee, in collaboration with Olympic Solidarity, organised a conference for sports administrators from 16th to 23rd March, with the participation of 48 officials from Malta, Libya, Italy, Greece and Iran. Three IOC members were among the lecturers. In view of the conference s success, it was decided to hold two further sessions for local participants. Mr. Charles Camenzuli, the Maltese sports journalist and coach to an under-18 s football team, informs us of two annual events that arouse the interest of both sportsmen and the general public alike: elections for the Sportsman of the Year, a title attributed by the Sports Writers Association, and for the National Sportsman, awarded by the National Sportsman Committee. These two awards recompense those athletes who have most improved their skills and attained personal success, and spurs possible nominees to greater efforts. Looking at the list of title holders, it seems that some sportsmen have on occasion obtained both distinctions in the same year. The National Sportsman Committee also selects the Sportswoman of the Year, as well as the Official of the Year, the latter of which went for the first time in 1977 to a woman, Miss Marie Therese Chalmers, President of the table tennis association (our photograph). Pakistan Norway Change of address of the NOC: Hauger skolevei 1, 1351 Rud. Telephone : 13 42 90. Cable : Olympia. Mr. Syed Wajid Ali, IOC member in Pakistan, has been elected President of the Pakistan Olympic Association in succession to Mr. Miraj Khalid who had resigned. The extensive experience he has acquired in the IOC, of which he has been a member for almost 20 years, will be invaluable in his new functions, and will certainly increase the NOC s range of activities and international prestige. 409
Philippines Sudan For its celebration of the 1978 Olympic day, the Philippines Olympic Committee requested a special message from Lord Killanin, President of the IOC, the text of which we print below : For the second time, sportsmen in the Philippines are joining all followers of the Olympic movement to celebrate Olympic day. Those responsible are to be thanked, for their efforts will enable the good influence of the Olympic ideal to be heightened. On this 23rd June, anniversary of the Sorbonne Congress in 1894 when Pierre de Coubertin assured the revival of the Olympic Games, it is useful to remind a large number of people of the fundamental principles of Olympism in order to guide sport still further, in the path of the Olympic ideal. For over 80 years, the Olympic movement has endeavoured not only to assemble the athletes of the world in a great quadrennial sports festival, but also to promote the development of those physical and moral qualities which are at the basis of sport and to educate the youth through sport in a spirit of better mutual understanding and friendship, thus helping to build a better and more peaceful world. The celebration of this day by the Philippines Olympic Committee will stimulate the support of an ever increasing number of young and enthusiastic advocates of these ideals for the greater benefit of sport and international friendship. Major Zain El Abdin Mohamed Ahmed Abdel Gadir, new President of the NOC, was born on 7th May 1940. A soldier by career, he is a keen swimmer and water polo player, and also practises football. He was called to take charge of the Ministry of Transport in 1971, becoming Minister for Youth, Sport and Social Affairs in 1975. Due to his interest in developing sport, he was made President of the General Association for Popular Sports in 1977. The new Secretary General of the NOC, General Siddig Hamad, used to play football in a first division team and presided the football association from 1976-1977. Born on 10th June 1931, he qualified as an accountant, becoming Financial Director of the Sudanese Army and of the Ministry of Defence from 1967 to 1978. Tunisia At the first international sports film festival, held in Tunisia, the Swiss film Toronto, risk or adventure received the first prize of the Tunisian Olympic Committee. This film presents the International Games for the Handicapped, staged at Toronto (CAN) in 1976. German Democratic Republic Uruguay An international course for coaches opened in April at Leipzig with the participation of five technicians from Ghana, India and Trinidad and Tobago. Organised in conjunction with Olympic Solidarity, expert training will be given in football and boxing over a period of eight months. The 15th course of its kind, over 900 coaches from 50 countries have attended the 14 previous editions. New Executive Committe of the NOC for the period 1978-1981 : PT : Prof. José D. Vallarino Veracierto (re-elected) ; 1st VPT : Col. Alberto N. Lerena ; 2nd VPT : Mr. Gustavo Nicolich ; SG : Mr. Alejandro Hughes (elected) ; Asst. S : Dr. Walter Paternostro ; T: Col. Ruben G. Orozco ; Asst. T: Lt.-Col. Juan José Herrero ; Acountant : Mr. Walter Perez ; PT of the National Physical Education Commission : Col. Yamandu Trinidad. 410