The current Athletes’ Commission was established in June 2017, with the aim of ensuring the athlete’s voice is heard across all levels of Olympic sport in Ireland. Their strategy outlines a vision for Ireland to be the best country in the world to be an Olympian or aspiring Olympic athlete.
Since 2017, and through ongoing communication with athletes on relevant discussions, the OFI Athletes’ Commission has made strides in this area, with athlete representation on key decision making groups across Irish sport.
It has also increased its visibility and voice on a global scale, and spearheaded campaigns such as the Don’t Scroll By campaign against online hate speech.
The commission actively engaged with athletes around pressing issues such as the IOC Rule 50.2 on public demonstrations, as well as clean sport, where they also worked with the National Anti-Doping Authority, Sport Ireland.
In 2019 they invited Becky Scott, former Chair of the WADA Athletes’ Commission, to speak.
The Commission also backed the rollout of the Dare to Believe schools programme, which has been very successful, specifically the Road to Tokyo Challenge.
They also arranged events to bring athletes together at their halfway mark in the cyle, with the aim of offering motivation and advice to them at that key juncture.
In 2019 the OFI Athletes’ Commission also hosted the EOC Athletes’ Forum, with Olympians from around Europe gathering to discuss ways to drive change.
For further information on the Athletes’ Commission contact Heather Boyle [email protected].
