Washington; 30 October 2015: European Olympic Committees (EOC) President Patrick Hickey today updated the General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) on the successes of the EOC’s 2013-2017 strategic plan.
In his address, President Hickey underlined how the EOC is executing its objective of serving the specific needs of Europe’s 50 NOCs across the following delivery areas: athletes; good governance; autonomy; the Games of the Small States of Europe; the European Youth Olympic Festivals; gender equality; Olympic Agenda 2020; anti-doping and the fight against the manipulation of sports competitions; and the European Games.
President Hickey, who is also a Senior Vice President of ANOC and an IOC Executive Board Member, said:
“The EOC’s strategic plan focuses upon serving the specific needs of our NOCs first and foremost. We are also committed to promoting the Olympic values in Europe and beyond, and supporting the implementation of Thomas Bach’s Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms.
“These are our guiding principles and over the past two years of the EOC’s current quadrennial we have successfully translated these into real and meaningful achievements, such as the successful staging of the inaugural European Games, in Baku, Azerbaijan, this summer.
“None of what we have achieved would have been possible without the strong and excellent relationships we have with all our different partners and stakeholders, particularly ANOC and the IOC.”
As a Senior Vice President of ANOC, Hickey’s duties in Washington also included high-profile roles at the ANOC Executive Committee meeting and at the ANOC Awards 2015, which honoured the outstanding performances of athletes during the five Continental Games in 2014 and 2015. Wrestler Togrul Asgarov, from Azerbaijan, and boxer Katie Taylor, from Ireland, won ANOC Awards for their gold-medal winning performances at the inaugural European Games.
EOC President Hickey added: “It has been a very productive week in Washington. The ANOC Executive Committee meeting was insightful and decisive and last night’s ANOC Awards were a fitting finale to this year’s General Assembly. NOCs and athletes are the heart of the Olympic Movement and the ANOC Awards are a wonderful celebration of their achievements – and of the unity and shared values which exist between all 206 NOCs around the world.”
