Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee held the 2020 Year-End Reception on December 10. The event highlighted the results of the Committee’s yearlong efforts in improvising and implementing various projects throughout 2020, the most difficult year for sport and the Olympic Movement.
“Due to the pandemic, the year 2020 became very tough, but we have tried all means to adapt and overcome these unprecedented situations. I think we have done a great job! On behalf of Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, I would like to deeply appreciate all the supports and assistances from IOC, OCA, ANOC and public and private sectors nationwide.” said Hong-Dow LIN, President of CTOC, in this opening remarks.
Despite the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the delegation preparation doesn’t cease. The official delegation uniforms revealed on 23rd July not only celebrated 1-year countdown to the Games opening but also motivated our athletes to stay strong and stay active for their heroic appearances on the field-of-play in 2021. Earlier this year, an exhilarating achievement had been recorded in the winter sport history of Chinese Taipei, the very first 3 silver medals claimed at the 3rd Youth Winter Olympic Games in Lausanne.
With travel restricts not lifted yet, CTOC still stays connective between its domestic sport community and the Olympic Family. A total number of 373 representatives and participants were present at 24 virtual seminars, meetings, and workshops conducted respectively by IOC, IOA, OCA, Tokyo 2020, and fellow NOCs. In the meantime, the Committee stays ambitious in exploring opportunities to further strengthen relations with other sport organizations during the global lockdown. A warm response came from the hemisphere on the opposite side and it turned out to be an online bilateral cooperation agreement entered between CTOC and Chile NOC.
More than an one-day celebration, 2020 Olympic Day in Chinese Taipei is an ongoing campaign initiated and inspired by the IOC to motivate people to stay proactive and stay optimistic when facing these uncertainties. Dynamic activities, such as Dragon Boat Festival and Flash Workout in June, Kinmen Sea Swimming Event in August, and Dapeng Bay Marine Festival in October, were all incorporated with this campaign to convey the #StayStrong message. In addition, the Olympic Education was introduced to the public as planned in August through the 43rd Session of Chinese Taipei Olympic Academy, supplemented by an outreach program in which 30 sessions were completed on high school campuses around and off the Island, and the 28 signatures on the “Brighton plus Helsinki 2014 Declaration on Women and Sport” that CTOC collected in November signified stronger commitment to gender equality in sport in Taiwan.
The year of 2020 not only comes with numerous challenges but also marks the 10th anniversary of CTOC’s International Sports Affairs Training Course, which has been conducted for a decade since 2011 with more than 1,400 trainees enrolled. To overcome these challenges, a new form of training modules (physical/virtual, Chinese/English) was adopted to continue this course in August. With accessibility enhanced by transformation, a total number of 125 participants from 19 NOCs were able to complete the English/virtual module of the Course. Moreover, with an aim to encourage sport officials and administrators to stay progressive and stay professional to deal with unknown tasks and challenges ahead, a series of seminars and workshops for NF leaders, senior administrators, task forces, and college students were conducted from June to November for their better skill acquisition and experiences exchanges.
Although staying apart from each other, Ms. Gunilla Lindberg, Secretary General of ANOC sent her video message to congratulate CTOC’s achievements in 2020 and a letter of encouragement from Mr. James Macleod, the IOC Director of Olympic Solidarity and NOC Relations, was narrated on the Reception to deliver his encouraging message and best wishes to the Chinese Taipei sport community.
