SLOVAK OLYMPIC COMMITTEE - THE BASIC INFORMATION

The current Slovak Olympic Committee was established at the founding session on December 19, 1992. In the preceding period, the Olympic Movement in Slovakia progressed particularly under the aegis of the Czechoslovak Olympic Committee having its seat in Prague. In the period of the Second World War and shortly after it, the Slovak Olympic Committee (founded in 1939 and dissolved in 1947) was active in the territory of the Slovak State. The current Slovak Olympic Committee does not consider itself to be a successor of the former SOC. On the opposite, it regards itself as one of two successors of the Czechoslovak Olympic Committee that worked in the period of 1919-1992 with a forced break during the war.

By the way, Slovakia can pride itself in fifteen athletes with Olympic gold: Zoltán Halmaj (swimming, 1904), Alexander Prokopp (shooting, 1912) - both representing Historical Hungary, Július Torma (boxing, 1948), Ján Zachara (boxing, 1952), Pavel Schmidt (rowing, 1960), Ondrej Nepela (figure-skating, 1972), Anton Tkáč (cycling, 1976), František Kunzo (soccer, 1980), Stanislav Seman (soccer, 1980), Miloš Mečíř (tennis, 1988), Jozef Pribilinec (track and field, 1988) - all representing Czecho-Slovakia, plus Michal Martikán (wild-water racing 1996, 2008), Peter and Pavol Hochschorners (wild-water racing, 2000, 2004, 2008) and Elena Kaliská (wild-water racing, 2004, 2008) - all representing Slovakia.

The first seat of SOC was House of Sport (Dom športu) at Junácka street in Bratislava. From September 24, 2002 it has resided in its own building - Slovak Olympic House (Slovenský olympijský dom) - at Kukučínova Street 26 in Bratislava.

POSITION, TASKS AND STRUCTURE OF SOC

SOC governs the Olympic Movement in the Slovak Republic and has a position and authorisation of a national Olympic committee according to the Olympic Charter and in accordance with it. SOC was recognised as a national Olympic Committee of the Slovak Republic by a decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at its 101st Session on September 24, 1993. Valid statutes of SOC based on the rules of the Olympic Charter and in accordance with it define its position of a separate, independent, and non-political legal entity with its field of activities in the whole territory of the Slovak Republic.

The Olympic Movement in Slovakia consists of the national sports federations of sports which are included in the program of the Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games, athletes whose interests comprise a basic aim of the activities of SOC, referees, coaches and other persons working in sport. The Olympic Movement is also formed by other organisations and institutions recognised and accepted by SOC.

MISSION OF SOC

The mission of SOC is to spread and promote basic principles of the Olympism and in this way to contribute to harmonic development of people and mutual understanding and friendship among nations as well as deepening of their peaceful co-existence.

TASKS OF SOC

The role of SOC is: to govern, develop and protect the Olympic Movement in Slovakia; to support dissemination of education, culture, art, ethics, solidarity and fair play in the sphere of sport and Olympism (for this purpose, to support Slovak Olympic Academy, Slovak Association of Olympians, Fair Play Club of SOC, Kalokagathia in Slovakia, Slovak Society of Olympic and Sports Philately, regional Olympic Clubs as well as other institutions active in this area); to contribute to the inclusion of Olympism in the curriculums at schools and universities; to initiate the founding of institutions concentrating on Olympic education; to help with the education of sports organisers and couches aiming at the promotion of basic principles of Olympism; to support the development of top-performance sport, youth sport and sport for everybody; to assert the fact that doing sports is a human right and to promote principles of fair-play; in cooperation with the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) and Anti-doping Committee of SR (AC SR) to prevent the use of substances and means banned by IOC and international sports federations and to secure the observance of provisions of the Ethical and Medical Code of IOC and Anti-doping Code of the Olympic Movement; to fight against all forms of violence and discrimination in sport, to promote peace, understanding, racial tolerance, solidarity and international cooperation.

AUTHORITY OF SOC

SOC has an exclusive authority to represent the Slovak Republic in the Olympic Games, Winter Olympic Games (hereinafter Olympic Games) and in regional continental or world sports competitions under the patronage of IOC, EOC and ANOC. SOC has an exclusive right to the Olympic symbols of SOC and the obligation to protect Olympic symbols of IOC. These as well as other rights are specified in detail in the Statutes of SOC.

EXISTING ACTIVITES OF SOC

SOC BEGAN WITH THE HELP OF THE OLYMPIC SOCIETY OF SLOVAKIA

The Slovak Olympic Committee has continued in the activities of hundreds of Olympic Movement members that were active in Slovakia in the period of the existence of the following states: Austria-Hungary (until 1918), Czechoslovak Republic, Czechoslovak Socialistic Republic (CSSR) and Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (1918 - 1992). The significant preconditions for a smooth beginning of SOC activity were prepared by the Olympic Society of Slovakia (OSS) that was founded on April 6, 1990, i.e. during the period when Czechoslovak Olympic Committee (CSOC) was still active.

The Olympic Society of Slovakia (OSS) led by Mária Mračnová developed a rich set of activities before the origin of SOC, especially in the sphere of Olympic activities. Based on its initiative, the preparatory committee for the establishment of SOC was assembled on September 30, 1992.

After the origin of the national Olympic committee, OSS continued to work for two more years. After its mission was fulfilled, the Olympic Society of Slovakia agreed its dissolution on January 28, 1995 and has become an integral part of the SOC structure.

ORIGIN ON DECEMBER 19, 1992, RECOGNITION ON SEPTEMBER 24, 1993

The Slovak Olympic Committee was established even before the official division of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic into two separate states of Czechs and Slovaks - on December 19, 1992 at the House of Sport in Bratislava. SOC has become one of two successors of CSOC that officially ceased its activities on March 27, 1993. 49 members were elected into SOC at its founding session. The first president was elected professor Vladimír Černušák. Ján Mráz became the general secretary of SOC on February 19, 1993.

At the session in Atlanta on March 16, 1993, the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee accepted the Slovak Olympic Committee and Czech Olympic Committee as its temporary members. SOC has become a regular member of the Olympic Movement after its definitive acknowledgement by the International Olympic Committee approved at the 101st Session in Monte Carlo on September 24, 1993. A significant legal step that stipulated the activities of the Slovak Olympic Committee was the adoption of the Act on the Use and Protection of Olympic Symbolism and on Slovak Olympic Committee. It was passed by the National Council of the SR on August 18, 1994.

FAST ACCEPTANCE OF SOC

The Slovak Olympic Committee quickly found its place and respect in the Slovak and international circles especially thanks to the work done by the Olympic Society of Slovakia before the origin of SOC and due to domestic as well as international reputation of the SOC president and IOC member Vladimír Černušák and thanks to experience of the general secretary of SOC Ján Mráz. We can say that SOC has incorporated into Slovak and international sport authorities quickly and without any problems and has gained an important position there. This was appreciated by two presidents of the International Olympic Committee during their visits to Slovakia -Juan Antonio Samaranch in 2000 and Jacques Rogge in 2003.

During a relatively short period, the work of the Slovak Olympic Committee has become well known to general public thanks to a range of various and interesting Olympic activities in this initial period. Even from 1991, a unique network of regional Olympic Clubs has been developed in Slovakia. Extraordinarily extensive is the work of the Slovak Society of Olympic and Sports Philately that organised several national philatelist exhibitions with an international participation SLOVOLYMPFILA and the members of which are regularly among medal winners of world philatelist exhibitions OLYMPHILEX held during the Olympic Games. In 1999, the Fair Play Club of SOC was awarded a certificate of merit of the European Fair Play Movement (EFPM) as the first national fair play club in Europe. The Slovak Olympic Academy organises an extensive range of activities, such as competitions on the knowledge on Olympism for pupils and students, and its members published several materials about the Olympic Movement in Slovakia as well as about former Slovak Olympic personalities. Activities of the Slovak Association of Olympians and other commissions of SOC are also important.

The positive perception of the activities of SOC abroad was reflected in several significant awards for the leading representatives of the Slovak Olympic Movement granted by IOC as well as by the election of Slovak officials into the Olympic authorities. Among Slovak Olympic officials, an important international position was held by Vladimír Černušák who was an IOC member in CSSR from 1981. After the division of Czechoslovakia, he was elected an IOC member in Slovakia in 1993. He remained in this position until reaching the age limit of 80 years in 2001 when he became honorary member of IOC. Martin Benko was a member of the Executive Board of European Olympic Committees (EOC) in the period of 2001-2005. In the past Ján Mráz, Mária Mračnová and Jozef Prusák worked in EOC commissions, at present their members are František Chmelár (Commission for Communication with the European Union), Jozef Liba (EYOF Commission) and Jerguš Bača (Commission of Athletes).

The highest Olympic award of IOC - The Olympic Order in silver - has been awarded to five Slovaks by now: Ľudovít Komadel (1992), Ján Mráz (1996), Ján Zachara (1997), Peter Šťastný (2000) and Vladimír Černušák (2002).

HIGH APPRECIATION OF SOC BY THE IOC REPRESENTATIVES

During his August visit in 2000, a former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch had expressed words of appraisal to the SOC: Pere Miró, who is the IOC Director for Relationships with National Olympic Committees and a Director of Olympic Solidarity, notified me that the Slovak Olympic Committee could serve as a model for many others. I was very glad to take part in SOC's General Assembly. I could see for myself how Slovakia respects the importance of Olympism."

Even the present IOC President Jacques Rogge, who received the delegation of SOC's Executive Committee last December, had been positive about the Slovak Olympic Movement, "I have visited Slovakia several times and I have fond memories about EYOD in Tatras. SOC has achieved a great deal in its short history. Though, it is a young National Olympic Committee, it is very active. I wish it a lot of success.

During the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Slovak Olympic Committee in December 2007 the IOC Vice president Thomas Bach expressed that: „Fifteen years old history of the Slovak Olympic Committee is a beautiful story of success. You gained fifteen Olympic medals during that time but this is not only about medals. SOC did very much for the promotion and development of Olympism, combining sports with the education of youngsters, culture and with environmental protection as well."