PARIS, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The ninth edition of the International Athletes' Forum (IAF), the biggest ever in terms of size, concluded on Monday with proposals to further increase the support to athletes at all levels.
According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) website, around 350 athlete representatives from 185 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), 50 International Federations (IFs), Athletes Commissions (ACs) of all the organizing committees of the upcoming Olympic Games and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) gathered in Lausanne over the past three days to discuss stronger support to athletes.
Some proposals recommended by the IAF following its discussions were unanimously supported in a vote during the closing session.
The first is to strengthen athletes' representation, meaning that the elections for ACs should take place in every NOC and every IF.
Strengthening the solidarity funding model, direct financial support for NOC Athletes' Commissions, the support for career transition, the protection of clean athletes and the fight against doping are among other proposals by the IAF.
The IAF has also recommended to focus on athletes' mental health, support the Athletes' Declaration, invite athletes to be ambassadors for the Olympic Movement, and foster engagement and communication among the Athletes Commissions' network.
"The IOC President has told me in our discussions during the Forum that he will fully support our recommendations. We look forward to their implementation, which will ensure that the support for athletes at all levels is improved even further and the solidarity model of the Olympic Games is reinforced for the benefit of all athletes," said IOC Athletes Commissions Vice Chair Danka Bartekova.
