14.06.2019
The Turkish Olympic Committee’s (TOC) Sports Culture and Olympic Education Programme (OLI) has concludes its activities for the 2018-19 academic year after reaching more than 100,00 school children in 400 schools across 15 Turkish cities.
The multi-activity programme allows children to take part in a series of educational and physical classes, focusing on core values such as fair-play, healthy eating and environmental awareness, as well as Turkey’s Olympic credentials and history.
The programme, first launched in 2006, visits primary schools across Turkey where children aged from 9-11 take part in interactive audio-visual presentations. National Turkish athletes will often participate in the presentations to provide additional inspiration for those in attendance. One of those athletes is young tennis star Yankı Erel, who won the Boys' Doubles title 2018 Wimbledon Championships, and was the first tennis player to represent Turkey at a Youth Olympic Games when he took part in Buenos Aires 2018 in October last year.
Speaking on his involvement in the OLI programme Yankı said:
“Today I met with many children and had some enthusiastic talks about the Olympic Games and sports in general. I think that the OLI project is very beneficial for all children and it will ensure that sport plays a key role in their personal development. I'm delighted to have been here and to have played my part in such a positive project."
Speaking on the success of this year’s OLI activities, TOC Board Member and President of the TOC’s Sports Culture and Olympic Education Commission Seyit Bilal Porsun said:
“We’re delighted with the impact OLI has had on so many school children across Turkey this year and we look forward to resuming OLI’s activities after the start of the 2019/2020 academic year. This year we have visited cities such as Karaman, Ordu, and Ardahan for the very first time as we continue to expand the reach of the project. In the new academic year, we aim to visit more villages and schools, and carry Turkey’s sports culture to every corner of our country, to meet with sports fans and Olympic athletes of the future.”