Belarusian Olympic Academy

Factsheet

Country Belarus
Name of AcademyBelarusian Olympic Academy (BOA)
Белорусская олимпийская академия
Emailbyolympicacademy@gmail.com
Websitewww.olympic-academy.by
Name of PresidentIrina GUSLISTOVA
Contact PersonEkaterina GARUSOVA (Leading Specialist)
Foundation date15 December 1992
Year of accession to EOA2020
Social media links

Meet our members – An interview series by the EOA

See all interviews here

Speaking from the striking Belarus NOC headquarters in Minsk (pictured), Belarusian Olympic Academy (BOA) staff members Natalia Aponchuk and Ekaterina Garusova joined us via video call in November 2021 to take the EOA behind the scenes of their organisation. The NOA of Belarus was founded in 1992 as a result of the development of sport organisations following the founding of the Republic of Belarus in 1991. The BOA is registered as an independent, public, non-profit organisation and became an EOA member in 2021.

Belarus NOC headquarters in Minsk. © Belarusian Olympic Academy

Led by the current Chair, Irina Guslistova, the Belarusian NOA has two employees who work alongside an executive board comprising eleven voluntary members from the sport and education sectors. The Chair is elected every four years by NOA members at an annual conference. The current Chair also serves as Dean of the Belarusian University for Physical Culture, highlighting a close cooperation between the university and NOA on academic events such as conferences and student forums.

The BOA, which neighbours the Belarusian State University of Physical Culture, is largely funded by the NOC of Belarus, which also offers advice, technical support and facilities to the organisation. Olympic education projects in Belarus can be grouped into three categories including educational projects aimed at all educational levels, regional resource centres and academic and scientific research activities. The NOA of Belarus also sends representatives to the IOA youth program sessions annually and has recently entered a candidate for the Master’s program.

Our discussion informs us that Russian is the working language of the BOA which is an enabling factor for successful cooperation with other East European countries. Partnership agreements with other NOAs are in progress, with collaboration most active with NOAs in neighbouring countries, specifically Baltic and CIS-states, such as an online camp for children which was hosted with participation from the South Russian Olympic Academy and the NOA of Ukraine. The Belarusian NOA demonstrates how membership of the EOA serves as a chance to create and foster new partnerships in Europe.

Irina Guslistova, Chair of the Belarusian Olympic Academy. © Belarusian Olympic Academy

Projects of the Academy

Scientific and educational activities

  • Annual scientific and practical conferences
  • Student Olympic Forum

Annual celebration of Olympic Day and various sports celebrations

Projects for educational institutions

  • International Art-project “Olympic Art-gallery” (for children of all ages)
  • Republican Olympic lesson (for pupils of 1st-4th, 5th-8th and 9th-11th classes)
  • Olympic Education Marathon (for pre-school institutions)
  • Methodical online center – educational Olympic hub, containing Olympic library; methodological guidance papers for educational institutions of all levels from pre-school to higher education; an opportunity for teachers to share their original guidance papers; online and offline seminars.

History of the Academy

Activities for the development of Olympic education in the Republic of Belarus have been carried out under the auspices of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus since 1991. The Belarusian Olympic Academy received the official status of a Public Organization on December 15, 1992. In 2001 at the Forum of National Olympic Academies held in Olympia (Greece) Belarusian Olympic Academy was officially recognized by the Olympic community.

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