Community of Believe in Sport ambassadors keeps growing
With peer-to-peer communication having proven most effective, in April the Olympic Movement Unit on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions (OM Unit PMC) asked National Olympic Committees (NOCs) across the globe to appoint more ambassadors for the Believe in Sport campaign. The aim is to recruit active and retired athletes across all countries and sports to help raise awareness about the threat of competition manipulation among peers, entourages and officials.
30 new ambassadors
As a result, more than 30 new ambassadors were selected and have already participated in onboarding training, with a session organised by the OM Unit PMC in early June. The freshly trained ambassadors will run awareness-raising activities in cooperation with their NOCs and International Federations (IFs). As part of the revamped programme, the most active ambassadors will be selected to lead educational initiatives in the run-up to the next Olympic Games editions.
Believe in Sport ambassadors’ voices
Reshika Udugampola, a newly appointed Believe in Sport ambassador from Sri Lanka and a former swimmer, said: “As a former athlete, I’m passionate about being a role model for the younger generation to look up to and reach out to when in need. I’d like to spend my time giving back to the sporting community and to society by sharing my knowledge and educating athletes and entourage members on pressing issues such as the threat of competition manipulation. While some of us have been victims of such situations, I’d like to take this opportunity to educate myself and be a key player to build a safe, fair sports environment for all athletes.”
Her new ambassador colleague Saulius Ritter, a former professional rower from Lithuania, added: “During my career as an athlete, I was always focused on the fundamentals of sport, to respect my opponents and achieve results only in a fair way, without any manipulation or cheating. Becoming a Believe in Sport ambassador will give me a great opportunity to share the true values and spirit of playing sport honestly and respectfully, no matter if you win or lose.”
Learn more about the Believe in Sport ambassadors.
NOCs and IFs are always encouraged to nominate new ambassadors who can be trained by the OM Unit PMC. Please contact OMUnitPMC@olympic.org for more information.