The Jamaican Olympic Association (JOA) and the Guatemalan Olympic Committee (GOC) recently signed a landmark sports cooperation agreement that will see the two organizations cooperate in the fields of applied sports science, sports medicine, technology, sports Olympic values, anti-doping, community and recreational sport, as well as sports administration.

The agreement will also facilitate the exchange of athletes and coaches who will benefit from educational and technical programs.

The agreement was signed at the XXV General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in Greece.

JOA President Christopher Samuda said signing the agreement signifies a continued commitment by JOA and GOC to deepen their already strong bilateral relationship in which athletes, coaches, administrators and member federations will benefit. capacity building and institutional strengthening initiatives, in research, training and education, sport specific skills and sport science and technology.

The President of the Guatemalan Olympic Committee, Gerardo Aguirre, also endorsed the historic partnership in the history of regional sport.

“For us, the NOC of Guatemala, we identified this as an opportunity to create a link with sport and athletes between Jamaica and Guatemala,” he said.

“Jamaica has specific strengths in sport and Guatemala has developed others, making them useful for all of us to share. Therefore, this makes the signing of this agreement a wonderful opportunity and from there may emerge various avenues of activities for Jamaican and Guatemalan athletes to come together. “

Jamaican Olympic Association Secretary General and CEO Ryan Foster, who announced the agreement between the two Olympic organizations, explained that the two Olympic bodies understand that efforts and relationships in sport must first be centered on the athlete and dedicated.

“Then for stakeholder engagement and empowerment and this agreement we signed is a written testament to that fact and to the reality that friendships and unity in sport defy language barriers and breadth seas and oceans, “he said.

The Director of International Affairs of the Guatemalan Olympic Committee, Neville Steins, underlined the importance and great value of the agreement in the context of bringing together “not only our countries through sport, but even more, by bringing the Caribbean together. and Central America to eliminate the lack of communication due to linguistic differences through the use of sport and thus bring together the athletes of our countries for the common good. “

The JOA foreign policy supports strong and strategic partnerships by providing favorable opportunities for athletes, coaches and administrators.

“The JOA will continue to build strong partnerships across borders and continents. We started in December 2017 when we signed an agreement in Japan with the Tottori Prefecture government that facilitates collaboration beyond the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, because for us, sport development and diplomacy go to the forefront. -beyond events and are life-changing experiences over generations. We will continue in earnest because sport is a catalyst, an equalizer and a unifier, ”President Samuda said.