02 Dec 2022 - The Athlete365 Community keeps growing, the number of the initiatives of the IOC Athletes’ Commission (AC) too, and the growth is expected to continue in 2023. This was highlighted by the IOC AC at its joint meeting with the IOC Executive Board (EB) today, 2 December where the AC and EB discussed a variety of important current topics for athletes.
In 2022, a number of initiatives have been developed for athletes in various areas. Some of the highlights include:
Athlete engagement
- The Athlete365 Community has now grown to more than 130,000 members.
- Olympians from Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 joined the first-ever Athlete Town Hall in July.
Athletes’ Commissions
- The IOC AC has supported the global network of athlete representatives through regular conference calls, continental athletes’ forums, and one-on-one calls with National Olympic Committee (NOC) and International Federation (IF) ACs.
- The Olympic Solidarity NOC Athletes’ Commission Activity Grants helped fund more than 80 projects across the globe in 2022.
Supporting athletes at the Olympic Games and beyond
- The Mentally Fit Helpline, a free and confidential counselling service, was available to all athletes competing at the Olympic and Paralympic Games Beijing 2022, and for up to four months afterwards. In October, a new Sleep to Compete online course was launched on Athlete365 Learning.
- 879 Olympians competing at Beijing 2022 took advantage of the Athlete365 Connect Powered by Greenfly, to access high-resolution images of themselves competing.
- 600 athletes were involved in Athlete365 Career+ workshops on the topics of self-discovery and writing CVs.
- The Athlete365 Business Accelerator offered business support and mentoring to 28 Olympians, with the next round launching in 2023.
Rewarding collaboration with TOP Partners
- Athlete365 Mentoring was launched in November 2022, matching Olympians and Paralympians with a mentor from one of the Worldwide Olympic Partners (TOPs) or the wider Olympic Movement to increase their employability, expand revenue-generation opportunities, grow their network, and gain personal and expert insights.
- The P&G Athletes for Good programme awarded over USD 400,000 in grants to 16 Beijing 2022 athletes, to support the work of their chosen charities.
- 1,512 Olympians and 292 Paralympians benefited from Airbnb500, which provided Beijing 2022 athletes with a celebratory USD 500 travel grant that could be used on the Airbnb platform to book accommodation and Experiences.
The AC also presented the EB with its priorities for 2023: represent athletes in the Olympic Movement; strengthen and empower the global network of athlete representatives; and develop specific support programmes for athletes.
Inspiring athletes and their representatives in 2023
The Commission relayed to the EB how it wants to improve the connection with active athletes in 2023 by promoting opportunities for direct and regular feedback, including at Olympic Qualifier Series events, continental championships and the International Athletes’ Forum (IAF), which has been confirmed to take place from 30 September to 2 October 2023.
The IOC AC also remains committed to ensuring that all 206 NOCs have an effective athletes’ commission by 2025. In 2023, the IOC AC will continue to increase capacity-building opportunities for the global network of ACs, so that they have the skills and knowledge to provide the best possible support for their athletes.
Further strategic priorities for 2023 include to engage even more with TOP Partners to create new athlete-centred programmes and initiatives; to encourage athletes to become ambassadors and facilitate their position as role models through the IOC’s new Olympism365 strategy; and to continue to offer support for mental and physical health and safeguarding through Athlete365.
First in-person meeting for newest AC members
In addition to the meeting with the EB, the IOC AC had also the opportunity to meet in person with its newest members for the first time.
To find out more about the work of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, click here.
