Melanie Calderon, Guatemala NOC has been in Ireland over the past two weeks gaining an understanding of how the OCI operates. In particular she has studied how the OCI plans and delivers services in preparation for the Olympic Games and European Youth Olympics, and organizes seminars for athletes, coaches, team managers and support staff.
Melanie also had the opportunity to meet staff from key agencies involved in the development of sport and high performance sport in Ireland. This included meetings with Athletics, Badminton, Department of Arts Sport and Tourism, the Institute of Sport, the the ISC anti doping unit, and Coaching Ireland.
She said, “It’s been a privilege to be hosted by the Olympic Council of Ireland and gain a valuable insight into how it and the other agencies operate. The Guatemala NOC has 40 Olympic staff and their main responsibility is in Olympic education and Olympic high performance sport. We employ 50 high performance staff directly; this includes coaches, science and medical experts and lifestyle managers to cater for 450 athletes in our system”
Chief Executive Stephen Martin said
“It’s important for the OCI to be involved in this important programme, its been a very useful exercise to share working practice between European and Central American National Olympic Committees”
