DC GAMES '16: The Movement...Olympic Movement (that is)

A DCBLOG Sports Special

BY DC CUEVA                     

> @DC408Dxtr / @DC408DxNow

With The Challenge: Rivals III now in our rear view mirror after an eventful finale, and Are You The One? Season 4 into its homestretch, our focus here now shifts a bit to our second annual series of blog posts covering the sports world. Last year during a momentous sporting summer, we took a look at soccer, golf, tennis, poker, UFC, Tour de France and Aussie Rules football, and you can check out those posts there. During this Summer of Sports and stretching into the fall, we'll offer a look at the big sports events taking (or have taken) place this summer as well as various topics on the sports we love.

   But for so many years now, I've placed one event at the top of the pecking order when it comes to events I look forward most to in the sports world. Yes, we had a successful Super Bowl here in the Bay Area back in February, the Warriors won the NBA title last year and are poised to come back after a devastating Finals loss to the Cavaliers, as are the Giants who've won 3 World Series titles. But that one event I look forward to is one that is the epitome of a true world championship, competed for by athletes from nations all over the world, with the whole planet watching it all unfold.

For 17 days every two years, it's become a ritual for me to alter the schedule I have a bit and tune in each day and night of the fortnight to the biggest sports spectacle in the world. Being someone who follows a wider variety of sports than the average American sports fan whose preference of sports are different than that of fans outside the continent, this is the one event where my passion for the entire sports scene is on full display. And this will be reflective in how I will be turning that passion into these posts as, once again as it was with the Sochi Winter Games two years ago, I will be doing regular posts on the Olympics during these Rio Games.

   Welcome to DC GAMES '16: DCBLOG's look at the aspects of the Olympics and the name I'll be utilizing to brand my live tweets of the Rio Games on my DCNOW live hub. And as the world comes together tonight for the Opening Ceremony inside the iconic Maracana Stadium, we begin with a primer of what the Olympic Movement is all about. Just as a slew of numerous events are taking place around it, the latest chapter of this now 120-year odyssey is about to hit into overdrive.

As for what the world will be seeing, it's the one time every even year that sports such as athletics (track & field in America), swimming, gymnastics, alpine skiing, ice hockey and curling suddenly take over the world's attention and become the biggest sports that are out there. They see the world's greatest athletes compete for the honor of being the best in the world, and see the inspiring stories, compelling drama, incredible images of emotion and sportsmanship that enthrall people everywhere.

   But the Olympics are more than just those 17 days every two years. It's a process that takes seven years for a city to prepare to welcome the world. It's a year round effort to help build a movement and following of these relatively unknown sports year round, to promote the Olympic ideals and values, and to engage the next generation of the world's greatest athletes. And it's an event that has no parallel in the sports world in its history, its breadth and its complexity.

THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT

The history of the Olympics date all the way back to 776 B.C. in Olympia, Greece when it hosted the Ancient Olympics, until it was ended in 393 A.D. following the takeover of Greece. It took 1,500+ years until a visit to Olympia inspired Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin to come up with an idea to revive the Olympics for the modern age. His vision was to strengthen and honor sport, affirm its independence, and to "enable them better to fulfil the educational role incumbent upon them in the modern world." And it was Coubertin who coined the phrase that characterizes the Games known simply as the Olympic Creed: "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have won, but to have fought well."

   At that summit in June 1894 in Paris where Coubertin announced the Modern Olympics' revival, the International Olympic Committee was established. It is classified as an international non-profit, non-governmental, organization which is based in Lausanne, Switzerland, where both soccer's governing body of FIFA and the headquarters of other major international federations of the various Olympic sports are located. The membership of the IOC numbers at 110, headed by President Thomas Bach and the Executive Board, plus over 30 honorary members and those representing key sport and national governing bodies. And below the executive office are 25 commissions within the IOC which goes into specific aspects of the Games - from Athletes to Olympic Solidarity, from Women's representation in the Games to media and marketing aspects.

   The events of what happened in the bidding scandal for the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Games, elements of it being found in the events that led to the ouster of former FIFA head Sepp Blatter last year, led the IOC to dramatically reform the way it does its business and keep its place in the sports world. The bid scandal saw a number of IOC officials being charged for bribery, placing term limits on IOC members, restrictions on visits to host cities, and led future presidential nominee Mitt Romney to rescue the Salt Lake committee. Efforts by Samaranch's successors, Jacques Rogge and Bach, have successfully reaffirmed the IOC's commitment to integrity in the forming of an Ethics Committee and keeping the focus during the Games, as it should be, on the athletes, even as the recent doping scandal in Russia have once again put the athletic integrity into question.

Below the IOC, there are three major sub ecosystems and constituent groups that form a key part of the family that keeps this Olympic movement going, both during the Games and year round in between them.

● The International Sports Federations (IF's) are organizations recognized by the IOC as the governing body of one, or several, sports at the international level. At present, there are 35 IF's - 28 for the summer sports and seven for the winter, along with over 30 Recognized Sports Federations which are affiliated with the Movement. These federations are in charge of overseeing the technical aspects and management of their sports at the Games, establish the eligibility criteria for competitors there, and hold world championships in between Olympics and world tours all year round.

● The National Olympic Committees (NOC's) are the organizations which serve as the proprietor and ambassador of the Olympic Movement in their respective countries. Their duties are to hold the responsibility of sending the best athletes they can find to participate in the Games, plus endorsing potential future Olympic host cities in their countries. In addition, they help to promote the Olympic Movement, its work and fundamentals during and in between Games. At present, there are 206 NOC's in the IOC membership, which is larger in its size and scope than the United Nations.

● Organizing Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOG's) are the organizations entrusted by the IOC to the host city and the NOC of its home country for the organization of an Olympic Games. The national committee forms a Games Organizing Committee which communicates directly with the IOC, and an executive body with IOC, NOC and host city representatives. The OCOG must undertake their work in line with the Host City contract signed immediately after the host city announcement seven years before a Games take place at an IOC Congress as well as the Olympic Charter, all with the entire Movement's support.

   Some of what the local Organizing Committee's work include making sure each sport on the program is given equal treatment and ensure their competitions are held by the auspice of their respective IF's; choose and create, if needed, the competition venues, Olympic Village and related facilities for the Games; accommodate the thousands of athletes, officials and entourage that will converge on the host city; and organize the Cultural Olympiad of community cultural events as well.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The roles and responsibilities that take place during the Olympics themselves are many, fitting the size and scope of an event that the world watches every other year. It's a cooperative effort of a variety of sources: the International Olympic Committee, the National Olympic Committees, the International Federations, the host city Organizing Committee and local and national authorities to put on an event unlike any other.

The IOC serves as the guardian of the Olympic Games and the overarching authority pertaining to anything and everything relating to the Games. It assigns the honor and responsibility of hosting the Games to a city at an IOC Session following a rigorous process that sees cities around the world bid for a chance to bring the world to their backyard every other year.

   Through various phases, the bid procedure sees how cities can handle the task of hosting an event of an epic magnitude. And a host city's road to an Olympics can last up to nine years - fr the start of the national bid phase, to the presentation of a Candidate City profile from the bid committee to the IOC (bid city visits by IOC members were banned after the SLC bribe scandal). Then comes the campaign to win the right to host an Olympics in odd numbered years, to the Games themselves seven years later.

   And an IOC Session, held annually, also determines every aspect of the Movement from electing members and modifying & adopting the Olympic Charter, as well as add or modify the sports, disciplines and events that are contested at a Olympics. It was at that same 2009 meeting that not only saw Rio awarded these 2016 Games and Chicago crash out early over IOC-USOC tensions, but also saw golf and rugby being voted into the Olympic Program, and both are back in the Summer Games after decades-long absences.
   For any sport to be in the Olympics, it must be governed by an International Federation recognized by the IOC, while some sports like aquatics and skating are split into disciplines like diving, figure skating and alpine skiing, and events are the ones that award gold, silver and bronze. A certain sport must be practiced in a certain number of countries and satisfy certain criteria to be included at an Olympics, while efforts are made to limit the amounts of sports, events and athletes at both Games. There are 28 sports on the Rio schedule, while there were 7 sports and 15 total disciplines in Sochi.
   A body that has been thrust into the news recently is the IOC Medical Commission, whose duty is to implement the World Anti-Doping Code and, together with the World Anti-Doping Agency and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency as well as the Organizing Committee, oversee everything that ensures that the competitors are competing clean and honestly. The IOC also oversees Olympic Broadcast Services, the Games' Host Broadcaster and responsible for providing the broadcasting signals to Rights Holding Broadcasters, like NBC in the U.S., to witness the Olympics around the world.

In addition to performing their tasks above, Organizing Committees receive much needed help from a group much larger than the number of athletes who compete. The heart of the OCOG's effort is the assistance of thousands of volunteers who contribute to the Games' success and recruited from the host nation and abroad. Their tasks range from transporting athletes to handling hospitality and administration and everything to handle the logistics of such a large worldwide event. In London, there were 70,000 accredited volunteers, which nearly doubles the combined number of three groups -- the 10,500 athletes, the 20,000 credentialed media and the 6,000 accredited staff.

   For this five-ring circus and for a non-profit organization, how will it all be funded? The Games' broad reach through television has seen rights fees skyrocket since the Games were first widely televised in the 1960's, and the majority of the Games' revenue come from broadcast rights. Networks pay millions to air the Games in their countries, which in London reached more than half of the world's population. Sponsorship also provide key funding as the world's top companies serve as Olympic Partners with the IOC and the NOC's, and offer expertise and products to make sure the Games run as smoothly as possible. And local and national government help out to help improve infrastructure for transport, housing and airports and provide a legacy to the cities long after the world has left the host cities.
   Approximately 90% of surplus funds from revenues generated from any Olympics go back into sport and support Olympic sports programs around the world. From training and facilities to everything to help develop and nurture the next generation of Olympians in every way, they help to support those who could become gold medalists more than a decade from now. Starting six years ago, the Youth Olympic Games were introduced as a way for those next ones to begin their rise to the top and for them to learn more about the Olympic values early in their development.

   There's Olympic Solidarity: an IOC idea that originated in the '60s to help newly-independent countries and would later evolve into a commission to help satisfy the nations' needs and interests for their Olympic programs in their countries. The Olympic Truce was in place during the Ancient Games to put aside all wars and conflict while the action was taking place in Olympia, and revived in the '90s to build a peaceful world through sport and the Olympic ideals. The IOC partners with organizations like the United Nations to help bring sport and all related equipment to local schools as well as observe the Truce.

   As the role of women in the Olympics has increased to where nearly half of all Summer Games competitors are female, Women's commissions strive for gender equality in sports...a far cry from when women weren't allowed to go inside the ancient Olympic Stadium. And outside of the Games, the Olympic Movement, as do the NOC's, aid athletes in helping develop their futures once the fame of being Olympians subsides such as finding jobs. Other components of the Movement's non-Games focus include maintaining sustainable and environmental development, protection of the athletes' health, and maintaining competitive integrity to combat sports betting.

OLYMPISM

The Olympic Games are the pinnacle of athletic competition and where the world sees the best athletes - both known and not-so well-known, compete with gold and glory at stake. But at its heart, it goes beyond just an event that happens for two & a half weeks every two years.

   The word "Olympism" is defined by the IOC as, "a philosophy of life, which places sport at the service of mankind." The Vision of this word is, "to contribute to building a better world through sport." Their Mission is not only to ensure the celebrate the Games every two years, but also educate the world's youth through sport, and promote Olympism in society outside the playing field. And the working principles to this philosophy include Universality of the whole world, Solidarity and Collaboration of working together, Autonomy of self-government, and Social Responsibility

   Even with all that's happened to the Olympic world recently, the Values of Olympism remain the same and even more truer: Encourage the very best Effort by all those compete, who all Strive for Excellence, whether it's for a gold medal or a personal best with the world watching. There's the message of Friendship and to develop Harmony where they help encourage a world at peace through the virtues of solidarity, team spirit, optimism and joy of competing in sports, and overcome differences to compete and form lifelong bonds. And there's also the values of sportsmanship in preserving human dignity and demonstrate respect in all aspects of competition and with fellow athletes, in competing with fair play and not resort to doping.

Longtime Candian Olympic host Brian Williams (not the former NBC Nightly News anchor) summed up the Olympics this way at the end of the London Games four years ago: "We do live in a real world: politics, money, and cruel personal agendas are very much part of the Modern Olympics. But in their best and purest form, the Olympics should be about the enthusiasm and dreams of youth. They are about hard work and setting goals. They are about representing your country in the best possible way you can. But most of all, ladies and gentlemen, they are about the athletes."

   As the world has been marred by recent events, and as the host city and nation encounter issues with solid impact even after the world turns away in a months time, there's nothing like the power of a symbol of five multi-colored interlocked rings, the sight of the flame on its trek from its Greek birthplace to the Opening Ceremony in just a few hours, and all the symbols that are associated with the Olympic Games. And there's nothing as powerful an image than seeing an Olympic champion standing on the top step of the medal podium hearing their national anthem being played after winning a gold medal for their country. The world's best have arrived in Rio de Janiero, and now, the spotlight turns to them to bring the world the world's greatest sports spectacle. Let the Games begin.

▪   ▪   ▪   ▪   ▪

Be sure to follow DCBLOG for insightful posts on the various aspects of the Olympics, the sports and all else throughout the next two weeks. We'll be looking at the origins of the Torch Relay that climaxes at Maracana tonight in our next post, along with a look at the history of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team as they look to make more history in Rio. And be sure to follow DCNOW on Twitter at @DC408Dxtr for live tweets of the Games' biggest events each & every day of competition, plus curated real-time presentations of NBC's prime time show and tonight's Opening Ceremony starting at 7:30PM Pacific.

   Also, DCBLOG will continue our coverage of the MTV Trifecta during these Games with our signature SocialPulse diaries and Wrap-Up of a most eventful week in MTV land with the controversial end of the finale of The Challenge Rivals III and a fight on Are You The One? also coming this weekend. And be sure to follow me at @DC408Dxtr on Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms.

   Thank you for reading and see you later on DCNOW when the Games of the XXXI Olympiad officially commences tonight, and enjoy the Games.

- DC