Guadalajara, Mexico, October 14, 2011-As athletes gather from across the Americas to compete in the Pan American Games, the country of Brazil is fielding one of its strongest contingencies, a direct reflection of the country's Ministry of Sports development plan leading into the 2016 Olympic and Paralympics Games.
The Ministry of Sports has introduced a development plan for Brazil's sports program, setting goals and regulations that will be implemented across the board, reaching federal, state and municipal governments, Olympic and Paralympic committees, and local sports clubs. For the Brazilian government, the Olympic Games provide the chance to position the country amongst the world's top sports powers.
In March, the Ministry of Sports introduced a new law (Law 12.395) setting up the Sporting City, Athlete Podium and National Training Network programs. The new legislation also added categories and readjusted the amounts for the Athlete Scholarship program, modified the Pele Law, which regulates the national sporting system, and created the performance contract of the sporting bodies as the condition for receiving federal government funds.
More than 522 Brazilian athletes are participating in the 2011 Pan American Games, the most of any country. Of those athletes, 38% receive financial support from the Brazil Ministry of Sports Athlete Scholarship program. Through this program, the Brazilian government has invested more than $4 million dollars in athletes participating in the Pan American Games.
Established in 2005, the Brazil Ministry of Sports Athlete Scholarship is the largest financial support program for individual sports in the world. Since its inception, the federal government has already assisted nearly 14,000 Brazilian athletes in six short years, directly investing about $224 million into the program.
As a testament to the success of the program, Fabiana Beltrame, a rower competing in the Pan American Games and an Athlete Scholarship recipient, took home the first gold medal for Brazil in September at the 2011 World Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia, in the single scull event. In June of this year, Beltrame also won a stage of the rowing World Cup, becoming the first Brazilian athlete in history to do so.
The Minister of Sports, Orlando Silva, stresses that this is "not a government plan, but rather a state policy, along the lines of those built in the areas of health and education, which were formulated after taking into consideration the demands of the society and soliciting the direct input of the involved parties."
"Although the work we're doing to improve our athletic program will come to fruition and be seen around the world at the 2016 Games, our plan will have an impact far beyond 2016," said Silva. "By putting in these initiatives and working on improving our program like we never have before, we see Brazil developing into one of the world's premier sports programs for the long term."
Governmental Athletics Initiatives Background
Athlete Scholarship Program
This program helps provide financial stability for athletes so they can dedicate themselves exclusively to their training without worrying about expenses. This program provides athletes with monthly aid for one year with a chance for renewal providing they have continued to be competitive and maintained a high level of performance.
Athlete Podium Program
The Athlete Podium program, set into law in 2011, applies to elite athletes with a real chance to compete for finals, titles and medals in their respective sports. It applies to athletes in the top 20 positions of the world ranking in individual events played in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This grant provides athletes with up to $15,000 per month to allow them to continue their training and competing without worrying about lack of sponsorship or resources. This program provides support for four years or as long as the athlete has maintained a strong position in the world rankings.
National Training Network
The National Training Network project connects all arms of the national sports program and allows Brazilian athletes access to premier facilities and the top trainers in the country.
Sporting City
The Sporting City program provides space for the training of athletes in Brazilian municipalities, with the focus on Olympic and Paralympic sports to broaden the base of these sports. The objective is to develop the city's vocation for projects directed according to the needs the country has in strengthening certain events in the international ranking. The Sporting Cities will belong to the National Training Network.
The system will interconnect the structures of federal, state and municipal governments, sporting bodies, social clubs and associations, S System (Sesi, Sesc etc.), military units, enterprise and other interested parties. The idea is to organize, integrate and above all to qualify the thousands of initiatives in municipalities that currently work in a disconnected manner into a national high performance sports development project, from the base up to the Olympic level.
Sports Initiation
The Sports Initiation program will look to train and develop top level athletes from the base up, connecting with public schools and youth sports clubs to identify, develop, and improve talent.
Rio 2016 Progress
In their most recent visit to Rio de Janeiro this past June, the Coordinating Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympics Games praised the progress on the work undertaken thus far and the preparation shown by the city. The president of the commission, Morocco's Nawal El Moutawakel, said he was impressed with the "passionate support" from all levels of government, including the federal, state and municipal governments.
In August, the building of the Olympic Village, where all participating athletes will stay for the duration of the Games, was completed in Rio's Jacarepagua neighborhood. The facilities, which include living and leisure areas, are the first project to be completed by the city of Rio de Janeiro after winning the Olympic bid in 2009.
The infrastructures put in place when Brazil hosted the 2007 Pan-American Games will be put to use again for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the country has put in a significant investment in transportation infrastructure such as airports and train transportation that will be in place for both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.
The planning work is coordinated by the Public Olympics Authority, which was approved by the national Congress and signed in March by the President, Dilma Rousseff. The Ministry of Sports provides support and works together with the Public Olympics Authority as well as the municipal and state governments of Rio de Janeiro.
For more information, email Lindsey Early at Lindsey.Early@Edelmen.com
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