IOC and PASO Presidents Visit

In less than 72 hours the Government of St. Lucia and the St. Lucia Olympic Committee are currently on the home stretch preparing for the upcoming visit of the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Dr Jacque Rogge and the President of the Pan American Sports Association (PASO) Mr. Mario Vazquez Raña who are scheduled to visit on Sunday 16th March to Monday 17th March 2008.
The two Presidents are heads of the international and continental Olympic bodies, both of which have made significant contributions to the development of sport and the promotion of Olympic ideals in St. Lucia.
The visit is part of a trip by the Presidents to a number of IOC recognized National Olympic Committees (NOC’s) in the Eastern Caribbean, which will culminate in Barbados where they will be the guests of honour for the inauguration of the new headquarters of the Barbados Olympic Association. The Presidents will be visiting Puerto Rico, St. Kitts & Nevis, Antigua & Barbuda, Grenada, and Trinidad & Tobago, and have selected St. Lucia as the overnight stay.

Both presidents, accompanied by their wives, are travelling with their personal assistants and crew who will be welcomed by dignitaries at George FL Charles Airport on Sunday 16th and then onto the official function at the Prime Minister’s residence later in the evening.
On Monday 17th March the dignitaries will take a morning boat trip to Soufriere as a brief respite from their hectic schedule to enjoy the majestic scenic Pitons and Soufriere environs. From there they make an official visit to the George Odlum National Stadium in Vieux Fort prior to their departure to Trinidad and Tobago, the next leg of their seven nation tour trip.
Both the International Olympic Committee and Pan American Sports Organisation, through their various programs, and their representatives - the St. Lucia Olympic Committee have supported sporting development in St. Lucia to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars in areas of athletes training, coaching, travel, technical expertise and preparation for Olympics and other major sporting events, sporting developmental programs, support and development for coaches, administrators and National Federations
The visit is the second for an IOC president to St. Lucia as the country hosted the then president Mr. Juan Antonio Samaranch in 2001.