The
Gambia National Olympic Committee (GNOC) on Sunday hosted a session of the
International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) and Adecco Athlete Career Outreach
Programme Workshop at the Olympic House at Mile 7 in Bakau.
The
workshop was delivered by Association of National Olympic Committee of Africa
(ANOCA) Athlete commission member and
IOC/ACP trainer Mrs Kadidiatou
Kanoute Tounkara, former basketball player, Olympian, 5-time French
National champion.
40
Athletes aged 16-20, drawn from National Sports Associations, took part in the
maiden international Workshop for Athletes in The Gambia.
The
aim of the day workshop was to help athletes prepare for their careers after
retirement from elite sport.
Speaking
at the opening ceremony, Gambia’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) member
and first vice president of Gambia National Olympic Committee (GNOC), Beatrice
Allen, said GNOC works based on the dictates of the Olympic Charter in which
the development of athletes is key on the Agenda 2020.
She
added that balancing sports and education is a condition for any athlete to be
successful in life.
She
spoke on the need for grassroots sports development which cannot be achieved
without well trained coaches, a priority for the current GNOC Executive for the
next four years leading to Tokyo 2020.
Ms
Beatrice Allen, who is also the chairperson of ANOCA Women in Sports
Commission, believes that IOC career outreach programme in The Gambia will
surely change the landscape of athletes’ achievement, especially after their
sporting career.
Speaking
earlier the IOC/ IOC trainer Mrs Kadidiatou Kanoute Tounkara said the outreach
programme started in 2005 when IOC realised the importance of life after
sporting career.
She
added that the goals of the IOC/ACP outreach programme are to provide hands-on
workshop to athletes with focus on three pillars, namely education, life skills
and employment and assistance to athletes to achieve success both on and off
the pitch by supporting them at different stages of their sports career from
young to retiring stage.
Mrs
Tounkara hailed the Gambia National Olympic Committee (GNOC) for coming up with
such a workshop for Gambian athletes.
The
GNOC is one of a number of governing bodies worldwide which has put schemes in
place to assist its sportsmen and women to clear the void left by competitive
action.
