German NOC Celebrates 10th Anniversary

(ATR) IOC president Thomas Bach and German chancellor Angela Merkel were among those on hand to celebrate the German NOC’s 10th anniversary on May 20.

European Olympic Committees president Patrick Hickey and seven other European NOC presidents also joined the 700 attendees at the historic Paulskirche (St. Paul's Church) in Frankfurt.

The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) is the non-governmental umbrella organization of German sport. It was founded on May 20, 2006, the result of a merger of the German Sports Confederation (DSB) and the National Olympic Committee for Germany.

It is the largest citizens' movement in Germany with more than 27 million members in about 90.000 sports clubs.

Bach was the first president of the DOSB, serving from 2006 until 2013 when he was elected as the IOC president.

During his speech at the gala, he said that he was glad to see that German sport had truly grown together after the merger and today is working on the value of sport including all its virtues. "It is unity in diversity that has developed, of which German sport can be proud of".

In her speech, Merkel said "The last decade was full of sporting highlights and successes in all fields of play, because elite sport and sport for all belong together as both sides of one medal."

She also touched on the darker side of sport, saying "Actually manipulation and doping are a threat as they destroy credibility. There is no place for them."

Current DOSB president Alfons Hörmann also spoke and there was a group discussion featuring athletes including Britta Heidemann, Olympic gold and silver medalist in fencing in Athens, Beijing and London.

Heidemann will run as a candidate for the IOC Athletes Commission in Rio de Janeiro.

Written by Gerard Farek

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