The Barbados Olympic Association Inc. (BOA) has officially been invited to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at a press conference held at the BOA Headquarters in Wildey this month.
BOA President Steve Stoute accepted the official invitation on behalf of our local athletes from His Excellency Luiz Gilberto Seixas de Andrade, Ambassador of Brazil to Barbados. In accepting the invitation Stoute said that the BOA was looking “forward to working with the Brazillian Embassy as we make preparations to take our team to next year’s Olympic Games.”
Stoute welcomed the Ambassador to the Olympic Centre and said that during an official visit he made to Rio last year, he was very impressed with the progress and facilities that will be utilised during the Games, especially the Games Village.
The Ambassador treated press conference attendees to a sneak preview of the Games’ progress in his presentation. The videos provided an update on the developments in infrastructure and construction works that will support the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games next year.
The press conference also signified the milestone of less than one year to go until the start of the Rio Olympics, to be hosted from 5th-21st, August, 2016. The selection of the Barbadian athletes is next year, after the national athletics trials, but the BOA has confirmed it will be providing the necessary funding for all local athletes who qualify for Rio.
The 2016 Games will see 19 days of competition, attracting 10,903 athletes from 205 countries, competing in 42 disciplines.