The largest ever Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) General Assembly was staged last week with 205 NOCs present, for a productive week of meetings in Washington, D.C..

The two-day ANOC General Assembly heard from many distinguished speakers including IOC President Thomas Bach, Vice President of the United States Joe Biden and Washington, D.C. Mayor Bowser and ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah.

The FIS family was also well represented with FIS Vice President Janez Kocijancic a member of the ANOC Executive Board, together with several representatives from the National Ski Associations serving in various roles including Council Members: Alfons Hörmann (GER), Roman Kumpost and Aki Murasato (JPN) presenting on behalf of Toyko 2020, as well as Jeevan Ram Shrestha, President of the Nepal Ski Association. Secretary General Sarah Lewis was invited in her capacity with the Association of International Olympic Winter Sport Federations (AIOWF) and took the opportunity to meet a number of the NOCs and the Olympic Winter Games Organising Committees.

Reform and innovation were key themes of the General Assembly as the ANOC President stressed ANOC’s full support for Olympic Agenda 2020 and emphasised the changes that the organisation itself is undergoing. Sheikh Ahmad outlined his support for the proposal which emerged from this month’s Olympic Summit meeting in Lausanne to introduce an independent anti-doping testing system. He also called on all NOCs to operate under the principles of good governance in line with the Olympic Charter. In order to assist in this regard, ANOC approved the proposal from the ANOC Modernisation Follow Up Commission to include rules for good governance and ethics in the ANOC Constitution.

The IOC provided an update on the implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020, with a specific focus on the Olympic Channel and the commercial benefits it will bring NOCs, and the Olympic Marketing Seminars, which have been organised for NOCs in collaboration between the IOC, ANOC and Olympic Solidarity.

The chairs of the ANOC Commissions and Working Groups gave their latest progress reports and recommendations on initiatives which should be implemented to improve the support ANOC provides its NOCs. There were also reports, among others, from the upcoming Olympic Games Organising Committees, WADA and CAS.

Source: fis-ski.com