Olympic Education – critical to our development

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The National Olympic Academy
On 11th November 1992, the St Vincent and the Grenadines National Olympic
Academy, the first such in the English-speaking Caribbean, was officially established.
Minister of Education, John Horne, was on hand to do the honours at a brief ceremony held at Olympic House, headquarters of the National Olympic Committee, located at Kingstown Park.
The mission of the National Olympic Academy is "the promotion of Olympism through education in St Vincent and the Grenadines.”
The primary objectives of the NOA are to organise seminars, workshops and courses for all age groups on Olympism and the Olympic Movement; to promote Olympic education in the educational institutions of the State and work towards making the Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports Culture and Women’s Affairs, a full partner in the work of the Academy; and, to establish close working relationships with other organisations involved in education for national development.

Junior Olympians
An important offshoot of the National Olympic Academy is the Junior Olympians, a forum for children aged 8 – 18 years, established in 1993. This forum seeks to engage the participants in a range of activities, theoretical and practical, through which the values of sport, more particularly, of Olympism, are transmitted. 
The Junior Olympians experienced their first Olympic Youth Camp, 10-12 April 1997, at the Grace and Truth Camp Site, Layou. More than 50 participants were in attendance, coordinated by five teachers from the National Olympic Academy. The Camp has since been an annual experience for students and youths across St Vincent and the Grenadines.