United States Sports Academy - "America's Sports University"

The goal of Olympism is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practised without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.

Olympic Charter, Fundamental Principles

"The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part, just as the important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle; the essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well."
Baron Pierre de Coubertin - founder of the modern Olympic Games.

Olympism is a word foreign to most of us but familiar in its concept. You do not have to be an Olympic athlete to have Olympism. Olympism is about the pride in yourself gained through the glory of participation and the quest for achievement. The five ideals that should guide your life are embodied in the concept of Olympism: Vision, Focus, Commitment, Persistence and Discipline. Olympism is being the best you can be and gaining life=s tools to build self-confidence, self-esteem, personal effectiveness and the spirit of adventure.

The Olympic flag was conceived by Pierre de Coubertin. The flag consists of five colored interlocking rings on a white background. The rings are blue, yellow, black, green, and red. After more than a century the flag still maintains its symbolism.

At least one of the colors is found in all of the flags of the world. The Olympic symbol of the interlocking rings represents the union of the five continents and the meeting of the athletes of the world at the Olympic games.

Beginning in 776 B.C., the Olympic Games were held in the valley of Olympia in Greece every four years for almost 1200 years. Inspired by the ancient Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin created the modern Olympic Games.

First staged in 1896, they attracted about 245 athletes (all men) in 43 events. At the Sydney 2000 games, more than 10,000 athletes took part in 300 events. The Olympic Movement has survived wars, boycotts, and terrorism to become a symbol of the ability of the people of all nations to come together in peace and friendship.

1. Where did the Olympic games come from?
2. Why were they held at Olympia?
3. Were there other contests like the Olympics?
4. Who could compete in the Olympics?
5. Were women allowed at the Olympics?
6. How were the athletes trained?
7. What prizes did Olympic victors get?
8. Who were the Olympic judges?
9. What was the penalty for cheating?
10. Where did the marathon come from?

For further resources or information see www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/faq1.html

The World Olympians Asociation is an independent global organization representing Olympians. It was created following the Centennial Olympic congress, Congress of Unity held in Paris in 1994. The WOA is formally recognized by the International Olympic Committee under Rule 4 of the Olympic Charter.

Upon his election as President of theWOA Mr. Pal Schmitt expressed his goal to increase the number of members in order to achieve a universal representation of national associations of Olympic athletes in the WOA. It is his expressed desire to involve Olympians in Olympic activities in their own countries to educate young people, promote Ollympic ideals and strengthen the Olympic Movement. He believes that the WOA is becoming the fourth pillar of the Olympic Movement together with the other three, the International Olympic Committee ( IOC), the International Federations and the National Olympic Committee (NOC).

Introduction

Today's Modern (Summer) Olympic Games have 32 different categories of competitive events. When you consider that of these many, like track and field, have several events within the category and then break down further to men=s and women=s and team and individual competition, it is nearly impossible to keep track of the Games as they progress. Things were simpler in the Aold days@. The Ancient Olympics had 13 events divided into 6 main categories. Of course they were for men only.

The main categories were Boxing, Equestrian events, Pankration, Pentathlon, Running and Jumping. The Equestrian events were broken down into two sub-categories: chariot racing and riding. The Pentathlon was a combination of five events: discus, javelin, jump, running, and wrestling.

The scarcity of professional literature about sports archives confirms what I have noticed since I entered the world of sports through the International Olympic Committee and its Olympic Museum, both located in Lausanne, Switzerland. The awareness of the richness that sports and Olympic archives can bring to an institution, a sports club or an amateur organizing committee is only emerging nowadays, with all the gaps and losses it implies. The concept of archival obscurity that Richard Fagan uses for Australia can be applied to many countries in that respect Atrying to compile information on sports archives is somewhat akin to hitting the metaphorical wall of the marathon runner 1.

Baimbridge, M. (1998) 'Outcome uncertainty in sporting competition: the

Olympic games 1896-1998', Applied Economics Letters, Vol. 5, No. 3,

pp. 161-164.[Competition]

Barney, R. K. (1992) 'Born from dilemma: America awakens to the

modern Olympic Games, 1901-1903', Olympika, Vol.1, pp. 92-135.

[USA] [Modern Games History]

Barney, R. K. (1998) 'The great transformation: Olympic victory

ceremonies and the medal podium', Olympika, Vol. 7, pp. 89-112.

[Ceremony]

Bloch, R. 91968) 'The origins of the Olympic Games', Scientific

American, Vol. 219, pp. 79-86. [Ancient Olympics] [Revival]

Borish, L. J. (1996) 'Women at the modern Olympic Games: an

interdisciplinary look at American culture', Quest, Vol.48, No.1, pp.

43-56. [Women] [USA]

Brown, G. (2000) 'Emerging issues in Olympic sponsorship: implications