Approximately 100 National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs) in the U.S. were in Chicago for a conference January 15th – 17th to learn about the city’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The purpose of the visit was to introduce many of the country’s most influential leaders in amateur sports to Chicago 2016’s concept for the Games to gather their feedback and engage them in the bid process. During this time, representatives from Chicago 2016 and the United States Olympic Committee delivered a series of presentations to discuss the Games plan in depth. They also hosted a reception at Adler Planetarium and led a tour of the planned Olympic venues for the group.
“This great opportunity to meet our nation’s top amateur sports leaders was a huge success,” said Patrick Ryan, Olympic bid Chairman and CEO. “We highly value their knowledge of sport, governance and legacy and are thrilled with their endorsement of our plan. The positive comments we received made it clear that they share our vision and are in full support of Chicago’s 2016 Olympic Games bid.”
The visit also coincided with Chicago 2016’s Applicant City Questionnaire submission to the International Olympic Committee, an important milestone for the bid as they progress in Phase 1 of the Candidature Acceptance Procedure.
“The feedback provided by our amateur sports leaders was extremely empowering to the bid,” said Jim Scherr, USOC CEO. “We look forward to growing the relationships formed during this conference, as our NGB leaders are vital partners with the USOC and Chicago 2016 for guiding and developing sport in the U.S. Their shared participation in this bid is crucial to ensuring our sports plans are meaningful and relevant, especially for our Games’ core initiative – the athlete experience.”
National Governing Bodies serve as the coordinating body for amateur athletic activity in the U.S. They represent the U.S. for their corresponding international sports federation (IF), exercise jurisdiction over national amateur athletic activities and sanction international amateur athletic competition held in the U.S. NGBs also conduct amateur athletic competitions, including national championships, and international amateur athletic competitions in the U.S.
“We are extremely pleased with the outcome of this week’s presentations and interaction with the NBG representatives,” said Bob Ctvrtlik, Vice President, International, USOC and member of the International Olympic Committee. “We are making great progress as this is the first time NGBs have been involved in a city’s bid so early in the process. Their involvement has the potential to make a great positive impact for Chicago.”
Chicago is honored to be competing for the privilege of hosting the 2016 Games along side such world-class cities including: Baku, Azerbaijan; Doha, Qatar; Madrid, Spain; Prague, Czech Republic; Rio de Janerio, Brazil and Tokyo, Japan.
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About Chicago 2016
Chicago 2016 is a 501(c)3 corporation whose mission is to seek the privilege of hosting the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Chicago. The Committee’s Board comprises business, civic, athletic, cultural and academic leaders representing Chicago and the surrounding Midwest region. Patrick Ryan serves as chairman and CEO.
Contact:
Mica Matsoff
+1.312.861.4826 (Chicago 2016 media line)
media@chicago2016.org