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Czech Olympians Club first to apply for 2015 Development Grant

21 | 4 | 2015

The Czech Olympians Club, the member organisation for Olympians in the Czech Republic, are the first NOA to apply for the 2015 WOA NOA Development Grant following the launch of the annual funding programme earlier this month.

Every NOA can apply for a NOA Development Grant to help with basic administration costs to run meetings and projects and communicate with its members. The Czech Olympians Club has committed to use the funds to cover costs for the running of sports and social events, board meetings and the production of electronic newsletters.

The Czech Olympians Club, which has 833 active members, put the funds to good use in 2014 by arranging more than 100 sports events across the country to celebrate Olympic Day while the grant was also used to create an electronic contact database that has helped to improve communications between the Czech Olympic Committee and Czech Olympians Club members.

An initiative for ongoing medical support for the nation’s Olympians was also launched in January 2015. The National Sports Health Centres programme, which has been set up in four different locations around the country, including in the capital Prague, is offering free medical care to retired Olympians and other national athletes.

The programme is being run by Jaroslav Vetvicka, a member of the European Olympic Committee Medical Commission and former Chief Medical Officer for the Czech Olympic Team, and services include diagnostics, preventative check-ups, surgical procedures and rehabilitation.

Speaking about the NOA Development Grants, Czech Olympians Club PresidentMartin Doktor, said: 

“The Czech Olympians Club aspires to provide support for our Olympians and bring them together to promote the values of friendship, fair play and respect in communities across the country. In 2014 the NOA Development Grant enabled us to bring these values to life through the implementation of sports events, health initiatives and administration infrastructure and we look forward to expanding our work in 2015 thanks to the latest funding from the WOA.”