Tarragona, Spain, May 18, 2016 – Delegations from the 50 European NOCs are flocking to the Golden Coast, south of Barcelona, for the annual EOC Seminar, invited by the National Olympic Committee of Spain and its president Alejandro Blanco.
A novelty at the Tarragona Seminar, which opens on Friday and will last for one and half days, will be the award of the first Piotr Nurowski Prize for winter sports. The prize, named after the late Polish NOC President, was launched in 2011 for summer sports, and has now been extended to include winter sports as well. Five nominees have been chosen during the past months from among the young European athletes, and here in Tarragona one of them will become the Best Young European athlete for Winter sports.
After stopping in Madrid, where the Pre-Delegation Registration Meeting for the European teams ahead of the Rio Olympics has been organised by the Spanish Olympic Committee, the European representatives will attend the Seminar the EOC organises every year in spring for its NOC members.
Rio 2016 being round the corner, the seminar will of course focus on the very last key issues for the Rio Games, with the professional help of the Rio organisers and the IOC sports specialists. As the PyeongChang winter Games are also approaching fast, the topic is also at the forefront, together with updated information from other stakeholders such as the world NOCs association ANOC, and WADA.
Two workshops focusing on Rio preparations and the European Union will offer interactive sessions to the delegates.
On the eve of the seminar, the EOC Executive Committee will have its second meeting of the year.
The Seminar is also a perfect occasion for the NOCs belonging to the Mediterranean Games to take stock of the preparations for the 18th edition that Tarragona will be welcoming next year.
But everyone is looking forward to some free time to take advantage of the fantastic PortAventura resort and theme park the Spanish NOC has chosen for their European guests.