NOC launches Road to London 2012

On Monday 30 May 2011, with 404 days to go to the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the St Vincent and the Grenadines National Olympic Committee officially launched its Road to London 2012 campaign.

President of the NOC, Trevor Bailey, announced the official laiunch of the campaign and reminded the media that since beign affiliated to the International Olympic Committee in January 1987, the NOC has attended all Olympic Games and looks forward with much anticipation to London 2012.

General Secretary of the NOC, Keith Joseph, unveiled to the local media the London 2012 mascots, stating, ‘We have with us today the mascots of the London 2012 Games – Wenlock and Mandeville. He then outlined the background to the naming of the mascots.

The campaign involved Olympic values education programmes aimed at children, youths, adults as well as active athletes and coaches. The idea is to rekindle interest in the promotion of the positive outcomes of sport involvement by all segments of Vincentian society.

Two schools in St Vincent and the Grenadines would soon be twinned with schools in the United Kingdom and the students would engage in exchanges about life in both parts of the world. This opens up new vistas for the students involved from the two countries.

Athletes who have attended the Olympics, including the Youth Olympics, and who are here at home, would be invited to serve as sports ambassadors encouraging participation in sport at all levels and conduct visits to schools and communities to speak about their Olympic experiences.

The NOC wishes to establish branches of the Junior Olympians in the nation’s schools and produce Work Books on The Road to London 2012 – Know the Olympic World

Across the nation there would be group discussions, quizzes and sport art programmes.

The NOC would also host radio and television programmes.

Another major feature this year would be the official launch of the Olympic Sports Hall of Fame in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Work would continue on expanding the Women in Sport and Sport and the Environment Commissions to reach more of St Vincent and the Grenadines building awareness as well as capacity in these important areas of Olympism.

S012 will see the NOC achieving 30 years of existence while its educational arm, the National Olympic Academy would be 20 years old.