Kirsty Coventry makes first visit to Oceania as IOC President
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry emphasised the importance of good governance and teamwork in her speech to the Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) General Assembly in Auckland this week.
In a keynote speech, President Coventry congratulated ONOC President and IOC Member Baklai Temengil on leading the ONOC Reset, which is a major governance reform initiative. “Under your leadership, Baklai, you have taken a brave step,” said Coventry. “In a time of rapid change, you have chosen to pause, to reflect, to reset, to realign your work so that ONOC is truly fit for the future you want to build. That takes courage. It takes honesty. And it takes a clear sense of purpose. Good governance is about trust and credibility.”
The IOC President also highlighted the impact that Brisbane 2032 will have on the entire continent:
These will not just be Games for one city or one country. They will be a moment for this entire region. A moment where Oceania is at the centre of the sporting world. A moment where your athletes can truly feel what it means to have a ‘home Games advantage’.
Coventry also attended the ONOC Athletes’ Forum, in which she engaged directly with fellow Olympians and Athletes’ Commission members from the region.
The IOC President took part in a number of speaking engagements during her time in Auckland. The New Zealand Sport Forum, at Eden Park, gave some of the country’s senior sports leaders the opportunity to ask her questions.
Unsurprisingly, the IOC’s Fit for the Future strategic review was one of the hot topics, in particular the IOC’s Olympic Programme Working Group. President Coventry explained the rationale behind the review of the Olympic sports programme: “The goal of this is not to remove a sport or event or discipline and just leave them high and dry, but I think that, as a Movement, we have to recognise where we are. The constraints that we have put on ourselves in the past, for good reason, do not allow us to look at new sports that young people are taking part in. If we want to remain relevant, we have to be able to do that and make changes.”
Coventry also visited the home of High Performance Sport New Zealand – the organisation responsible for leading and investing in elite sport in the country – in Aukland. She spoke with athletes during a tour of the facilities, and heard from the leadership team about the work that has helped New Zealand rank consistently amongst the most successful nations at the Olympic Games in terms of medals per capita.
At the start of the week, the IOC President was officially welcomed to Auckland in a traditional ceremony at Ngāti Whātua Orakei Marae. During the ceremony, she spoke of the importance of learning about different cultures and praised New Zealand for the nation’s exceptional sporting prowess.