Teaching Values- An Olympic Education Toolkit - International ...

SECTION 3 SHARING THE VALUES THROUGH SPORT AND THE OLYMPIC GAMES
PROTECTING
THE ENVIRONMENT
THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE HAS IDENTIFIED ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND SUSTAINABILITY AS
PRIORITIES, AND INSTRUCTS OLYMPIC ORGANISING COMMITTEES TO IDENTIFY WAYS TO PROTECT AND
ENHANCE THE ENVIRONMENT WHEN THEY PLAN AND PREPARE FOR AN OLYMPIC GAMES.
“[THE IOC’S ROLE IS:]
TO ENCOURAGE AND
SUPPORT A
RESPONSIBLE
CONCERN FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL
ISSUES, TO PROMOTE
SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT IN
SPORT AND TO REQUIRE
THAT THE OLYMPIC
GAMES ARE HELD
ACCORDINGLY”
(OLYMPIC CHARTER)
BEFORE YOU READ –
QUESTIONS TO ASK
What is the meaning of the word
“environment?” Why does the environment
need to be protected?
READING
Bobsled: An Environmental
Challenge
In the bobsled races, two and four-man
teams fly down a mile-long, ice-covered
course in an aerodynamic sled at speeds
of as much as 90mph. The team with the
fastest combined time after two runs gets
the gold. The 1,500-metre track is quite
steep, is made with artificial ice and has
very sensitive timing equipment. The
building of these tracks down a
mountainside is very expensive, and
requires many difficult environmental
decisions.
OLYMPIC CITIES AS
ROLE MODELS
Olympic cities now make many different
plans to protect the environment and
promote sustainability. These are some
examples. Use them to think about what
you will need to do to protect the
environment and promote sustainability in
your community.
Lillehammer 1994 – The First “Green
Games” – Conserving Energy, Educating
the Public – Excess heat coming off ice
surfaces and from the air conditioning in
the Hamar Olympic Hall was recycled to
heat other areas in the venue.
Environmental protection information was
printed on the Games’ tickets by the
Organising Committee.
Nagano 1998 – Protecting Endangered
Species – Gifu Butterfly – The forest at
Happon’one was the location of the finish
of the men’s downhill ski race. It is also a
breeding ground for the rare Gifu butterfly.
Over 300 people, including Olympic
volunteers and local junior high school
students helped transplant the miyama’aoi
grass on which the butterfly feeds. The
local junior high school students also
transplanted miyama’aoi grass into the ski
jump area in order to encourage Gifu
butterflies to lay their eggs there.
Sydney 2000 – Enhancing the Urban
Environment – Millennium Parklands –
Sydney cleaned up an old industrial
Above Salt Lake City
2002: Switzerland’s
four-man bobsleigh
team begin their run.
Bobsleigh courses
create a number of
environmental
challenges.
area to create a huge new urban park,
and a home for the Olympic stadium and
other Olympic facilities. This park also
protects the habitat of the rare Golden
Bell frog.
Turin 2006 – Awareness of Climate
Change – The HECTOR Programme – The
Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are
events closely related to the stability of
climatic conditions and the availability of
cold weather accompanied by snow. These
are the real “raw materials” for the sports
competitions. For this reason climate
protection was considered a priority of the
environment policy of the Turin Olympic
Winter Games Organising Committee
(TOROC). The HECTOR (HEritage Climate
TORino) Programme created awareness
of the problem of climate change and
compensated for the emission of
greenhouse gases produced during the
period of the Olympic event.
60 TEACHING VALUES