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THE Zimbabwe Olympic Committee will this week host the Association of National Olympic Committees Association (ANOCA) Athletes’ Commission Forum in Harare.

The forum will run from Wednesday to Friday.

The event, with more than 120 delegates from the African continent attending, is expected to be officially opened by the Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, Kazembe Kazembe.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) aims to place athletes at the heart of the Olympic Movement: Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendations support and protect clean and fair sport.

The IOC Athletes’ Commission, chaired by IOC member in Zimbabwe and Olympic gold medallist, Kirsty Coventry, serves as a link between the athletes and the IOC, ensuring that the athletes’ viewpoint remains at the heart of the Olympic Movement decisions.

“The responsibilities of the IOC Athletes’ Commission are to: empower athlete representation in Olympic Movement decision-making processes, support athlete development in their sporting and non-sporting careers, promote athlete involvement in decision-making across the Olympic Movement, ensure athlete representation in Olympic Movement decision-making,” said Coventry.

A key objective of the IOC Athletes’ Commission for the 2017-2020 period has been the creation of a tangible link between the IOC Athletes’ Commission and the continental associations to ensure that common topics of interest are deliberated and that all Athletes’ Commissions are striving towards the same goals, providing the same level of support to athletes across the five continents, both on and off the field of play.

To this end the IOC, through its Olympic Solidarity Commission has confirmed the organising of the African Continental Athletes’ Forum in Harare.

Two members will represent each of the 54 National Olympic Committees in Africa at the forum.

In attendance will be IOC and ANOCA dignitaries as well as a representative from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The agenda for the forum in Zimbabwe will incorporate common global topics, which will be rolled out to all continental athletes forums during this four-year period as well as other themes specific to the interests of the athletes of Africa. — ZOC