Coventry outlines IOC reform agenda

THE International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry has revealed that the organisation is re-evaluating their planned entry into Esports and that an expert group is examining the issue of transgender women’s participation to protect the female category.

Talking to Xinhua during her visit to China, Coventry said her administration, which began in June, has entered what she termed a “Pause and Reflect” phase.

“On June 24, I started my presidency saying, let’s pause and let’s reflect, let’s analyse whether we’re fit for the future,” she said.

Coventry said this approach is focused on listening and collaboration.

“The way you build a successful team is that everyone has to feel they’re individually succeeding,” she said.  “A lot of this process is about listening, then getting collective input from everybody.”

Under her “Fit for the Future” initiative, launched in September, the IOC formed four working groups focused on the Youth Olympic Games, the Olympic programme, commercial partnerships and the protection of the female category.

Coventry also addressed the IOC’s decision to end their partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the Esports World Cup Foundation, which had aimed to launch the Olympic Esports Games.

“We jointly agreed that we needed to re-evaluate a number of things. There is a huge opportunity, but there were question marks on how we would implement it and what that would look like,” she added.

The Zimbabwean said a smaller internal group is now reviewing how the IOC might enter the Esports space responsibly.

“We have to be very clear because that’s new territory for us,” she said, noting ongoing debate about whether to include only sports-themed games.

On reports suggesting an imminent ban on transgender women in international competitions, Coventry said the matter remains under expert review.

“We have set a working group to look at the protection of the female category,” she said. “It’s a medically driven, scientific discussion.”

She stressed that the process is ongoing.

“Some people may be jumping the gun,” she said. “We need to allow the experts to finish their work and come back to us with their recommendations.”

Coventry also praised China’s sporting culture, infrastructure and continued contribution to the Olympic Movement during her first visit to the country since assuming office in June.

She led an IOC delegation to China from November 8 to 13 and shared her impressions of the National Games with Xinhua last Wednesday.

“There are so many things that stood out,” she said. “From the opening ceremony, it was just incredible. It was a magnificent showcase of culture, sport and technology.”

She noted the unprecedented scale of the event, co-hosted for the first time by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, with around 25 000 athletes participating.

“It really just shows the appetite that the country has for sports,” Coventry said.  The IOC boss also praised the upcoming inclusion of Wushu at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games after watching competitions in Guangzhou.

“It’s very fast. It was beautiful to watch the athletes make some of the movements look so easy,” she said.  “I’m very excited for it to be showcased in Dakar.”

The seven-time Olympic medallist, whose own career was highlighted by her performance at Beijing 2008, emphasised China’s continued importance to the Olympic Movement.— thestatesman.com/Xinhua.

“China has always been an incredibly strong partner,” Coventry noted. “There are so many extraordinary things that the Olympic Movement is learning consistently from China.”

During her visit, Coventry also met with three Chinese Olympic TOP partners — Alibaba, TCL and Mengniu — and commended their shared values with the Olympic Movement.

“I’m so grateful to have spent time with our TOP partners,” she said. “They all spoke about values that align so much with what the Olympic Movement stands for.”

As the highest level of Olympic sponsorship, The Olympic Partner (TOP) programme grants exclusive, global marketing rights to the Olympic and Paralympic Games to a select group of worldwide Olympic partners.

Coventry, the IOC’s first female and African president, reaffirmed her intention to strengthen cooperation with China.

“We will definitely look forward to continuing and even deepening that collaboration so that best practices can be shared with the rest of the world,” she said.