First Outcomes From Russia Implementation Group Announced

Press Release courtesy of IOC

A number of issues related to athletes from Russia eligible to participate in the upcoming Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang were tabled when the IOC’s Olympic Athlete from Russia Implementation Group (OARIG) convened in Lausanne earlier this week.

The Implementation Group is tasked with approving invitations to be extended to athletes, support staff and officials based on the list of details provided by the Invitation.

The invitation list will be determined, at its absolute discretion, by a panel chaired by Valerie Fourneyron, Chair of the ITA. The panel will include members of the Pre-Games Testing Task Force: one appointed by WADA, one by the DFSU and one by the IOC, Dr Richard Budgett.

Chaired by IOC Executive Board member Nicole Hoevertsz from Aruba and including IOC AC member Danka Bartekova, the OARIG established a list of principles relating to the redesign of the OAR uniforms (ceremonies, competition, training and casual), accessories and equipment; and opened discussions on how to ensure that each individual Olympic Athlete from Russia can be considered clean.

To protect the rights of those involved, the IOC cannot comment on any individual cases, but will communicate the list of invited Russian athletes and entourage members before the end of January 2018.

Uniform Guidelines

1. Athletes’ uniforms (ceremonies, competition, training and casual), accessories and equipment can have only two types of wordmarks: “OAR” and/or “Olympic Athlete from Russia”.
2. Officials’ uniforms (ceremonies, competition, training and casual) and accessories can have only one type of wordmark: “OAR”.
3. “Olympic Athlete from Russia” – The print size for the words “Olympic Athlete from” should be equivalent to the word “Russia” and above the word “Russia”. The size of these words should be proportional to the area in which they are placed and will require individual approval from the IOC.
4. Wordmark fonts should be in English and as generic as possible (i.e. no Cyrillic language).
5. Only single or dual colour elements are permitted on uniforms.
6. Separate items of clothing cannot create a tricolour.
7. The colours used in uniforms, accessories and equipment may not be in exactly the same pantone as those used in the Russian Federation flag. It is suggested that these be darker in colour.
8. The country coat of arms, NOC emblem and national emblem must be replaced with the distinct OAR logo.
9. This image has been proposed as an OAR logo.
10. The OAR logo must not include a third colour.
11. No national identification design elements should be featured on the uniforms.
12. These guidelines are applicable to all athletes’ and team officials’/coaches’ uniforms (ceremonies, competition, training and casual), accessories and equipment.
13. All revised uniform, accessory and equipment designs and production samples need approval from the IOC.

Clean Competition 
The OARIG will now move to establishing clear and detailed criteria, and will evaluate every athlete under consideration according to these criteria. Additionally, following the decision of the IOC Executive Board, no coaches or medical doctors of athletes sanctioned by the Oswald Commission will be accredited for the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.

IOC’s Zero-Tolerance Stance
Since the mid-2016 revelations surrounding Russian athletes, the IOC has continued to further increase measures to protect clean athletes and ensure that the fight against doping is a top priority.