SA celebrates Olympic Day

With just under two years to go until the 2012 Olympic Games in London, South Africa will celebrate national Olympic Day in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni on Sunday, August 8.

Olympic Day is celebrated annually around the world, and the day was created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as a universal way of commemorating the establishment of the Olympics and to educate sports-lovers and society in general about the Olympics.

The venue for this year’s activities is the Makhulong Stadium, corner of Andrew Mapheto Drive and Star Street and events get underway at 7.30am.

Olympic Day is a festive event that brings together people of all ages and from diverse backgrounds. The day’s official theme is: Move, Learn and Discover. Participants from surrounding areas will take part in basketball, chess, cycling, fencing, hockey, netball and there’ll also be demonstrations of how to play the various sporting activities.

Last year’s Olympic Day was held in Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg. Said SASCOC president Gideon Sam: “Why we move the Olympic Day festivities around is to raise awareness in as many areas as possible. We especially need to encourage the youth in this regard because they are the future.

“What we want the youth to do is become more aware of our Olympic culture, visit the IOC website, the SASCOC website, and look at all the different sports available.

“We constantly need to remind the youth of the importance of the Olympics, that there is sporting life beyond the big three of soccer, rugby and cricket. Also vitally important are the various communities around the country. These communities are aware that they have budding sports stars in their midst. We need them to identify these youngsters and bring them forward so that we can take them further.”

The first Olympic Day was held back in 1948 with a total of nine national Olympic Committees hosting ceremonies in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Great Britain, Greece, Portugal, Switzerland, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The day has gone from strength to strength around the world and in 2008 Cuba registered a record number of 1,772,925 participants in the national Olympic Day Run countrywide. And in Africa, the Nigeria Olympic Committee brought together more than 20,000 participants in celebrations around the country.

The South African event is run in partnership with McDonald’s, worldwide official partner of the IOC since 2003 and other local stakeholders as identified by SASCOC.

IOC president Jacques Rogge summed up Olympic Day as follows: “It is unlike any other national celebration or public holiday. It is a special day to come together, move together and learn about the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect. Olympic Day is also THE only annual worldwide event of the Olympic Movement. The majority of the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) on the five continents take advantage of this occasion to share the Olympic spirit with people of all ages.

“Olympic Day really is for everyone – whatever their sporting ability. And, beyond offering the possibility to practise a sport, to run or to do exercise, it is an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of the Olympic Games, that is that we must always try to give the best of ourselves, the important thing is not winning or losing, but knowing how to play the game well. A philosophy that can serve in other areas of life.”

The South African team for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore later in August will be in attendance at Olympic Day and Rogge also had a message for them. “This is the raison d’être of another important event of 2010 – the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) – which will be held for the first time in August in Singapore. Olympic Day is a good occasion to channel attention and promote the YOG, whose objectives are similar to those of Olympic Day – but targeting a very specific age group at a more competitive level.”