Olympic Movement

The Olympic Movement is all about implementing Olympism as a philosophy of life. Olympism uses sports to encourage balanced development of individuals as a vital step in building a peaceful society that attributes high place to human dignity. The Olympic Movement highlighted the bigger picture of sports in human beings lives. In the Olympic Movement, sports became an educative tool and vehicle and not an end in itself. The Olympic Movement grew from the beliefs of ancient Greeks of a balanced development of mankind. In the Olympic Movement hence sports came to be blended with culture and education.

The Olympic Movement was initiated to implement the Olympic ideals through a conglomeration of organizations and individuals. It aimed at building a harmonious and better world by educating the youth through sports without any kind of social, economic, political or cultural discrimination. The Olympic Movement hence embraced the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the International Federations (IFs), the International Olympic Academy (IOA), the National Olympic Academy’s (NOAs), sports officials, coaches, athletes and educationists who strive to fulfill the above mentioned goals.

Yves Boulongne noted that the Olympic Movement should not be reduced to mere events of the body. The great writer philosopher asserted that the goal of the Olympic Movement is to understand that Olympism is a philosophy of life exalting and combining in a balanced whole of the qualities of body, will and mind. The Olympic Movement grew out of Modern Olympics, with French educator Pierre de Coubertin leading in the forefront for reviving the ancient summer games. Coubertin hence started to campaign for the revival of the Summer Games as an international event. The Modern Olympics were hence born in 1896, which also marked the birth of the Olympic Movement. The term Olympic Movement as it is understood today is sometimes also meant to include everybody and everything involved in the Olympic Games such as national sports governing bodies, athletes, coaches, educationists, sports medicine practitioners, media and a host of other bodies and individuals. At the heart of the Olympic Movement however remains the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It is the principal governing body for the Olympic Games and is currently headed by Jacques Rogge. The Olympic Movement as a whole is governed by the norms and ideals pronounced in the Olympic Charter. To put it in the founder of the Modern Olympic Games, Pierre de Coubertin’s words, “the goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play”.