As a consequence, in January 2011 the IOC Executive Board took the decision to propose to the IOC Session in Durban this week to withdraw IOC recognition from the Olympic Committee of the Netherlands Antilles. This Olympic Committee (NAOC) was founded in 1931 and received Olympic recognition in 1950. Aruba was part of this Olympic Committee until 1986, when they stepped out of the Netherlands Antilles and got their own Olympic Committee, recognized by the IOC. This was possible due to the then effective Olympic Charter. In 1996 however, the IOC changed their Charter, demanding that countries first needed to be an independent state, in order to receive Olympic recognition.

As none of the five islands comply with this, the IOC Executive Board decided in January 2011 that none of them could get Olympic recognition, similar to Aruba.

The IOC session, currently taking place in Durban (South Africa) will not only withdraw the recognition of the Olympic Committee of the Netherlands Antilles, but also approve that the athletes from the islands are eligible to participate in the Olympic Games 2012, as independent athletes under the Olympic flag.

After 2012 the athletes will fall under the jurisdiction of the Olympic Committee of either Aruba or the Netherlands, as they all have the same Dutch passport.

With these expected decisions the international Olympic movement, consisting out 204 Olympic Committees will lose one of its oldest members in the Caribbean. It is therefore that the Central American and Caribbean Sport Organization (CACSO) consisting out 32 Olympic Committees sent a letter to IOC President Jacques Rogge, asking him to reconsider the decisions. They refer to other similar situations like Hong Kong, who underwent a similar political change, but remained with Olympic recognition.

NAOC president Mr. William Millerson did everything he could to get a similar status as Hong Kong. “It is very disappointing that the long-term interest of our athletes was not considered. Our Olympic history goes back 60 years, having won one Silver Olympic medal (1988) and one Bronze medal in the Youth Olympics (2010). Our sports development is in danger, as it is practically impossible for our athletes to represent Holland in Europe, 9000 km across the Atlantic Ocean. We don’t have the structure or the funds to realize this.”

The changes approved by the Executive Board include the following:

Women’s Boxing

The EB agreed to the introduction of three women’s events. The current 11 men’s boxing events will be replaced by 10 men’s and three women’s events, representing an additional two boxing events on the programme. The total number of boxers remains unchanged. The decision was a recognition that women’s boxing has made substantial progress in universality and technical quality of the athletes since the EB last considered the discipline in 2005.

Canoe Sprint

The EB agreed to the request made by the International Canoe Federation (ICF) for the replacement of men’s C2 500m with women’s K1 200m. The EB also agreed to replace the remaining three men’s 500m sprint events with 200m sprint events.

Modern Pentathlon

The EB agreed to the implementation of a new combined run-shoot format.

Handball

The removal of placement matches in the handball tournament was agreed.

Wrestling, Swimming, Cycling

The three Federations (FILA, FINA, and UCI respectively) submitted requests for new events. The EB informed them that this could happen, especially if the new events increase the participation of women at the Games and on condition that they replace events already on the programme. Additionally, current events can be replaced with new ones only if the total number of athletes is maintained.

Tennis – Mixed Doubles

Furthermore, the EB agreed to consider the inclusion of a mixed doubles event pending guarantees from the International Tennis Federation that the top players in the singles rankings would be able to participate.

The EB will make a decision on the issue at its December meeting in Lausanne.

In this sense, the Olympic motto does not just apply to Antillean athletes. It applies equally to ordinary men and women in their everyday lives in the Netherlands Antilles.

Greece was the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games. The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896. In 2004, the Olympic Games returned to their origins when Athens hosted the Olympiad.

Lost in the mists of time, the origins of the Olympic Games are generally attributed to the gods and heroes of Ancient Greece, who relished contests of speed and strength. Legends abound as to the origins of the Games. It is said that, after diverting the course of the River Alpheus, Heracles organized a race with his four brothers, and presented the winner with an olive wreath.

NAOC participated with three athletes in the Olympic Games of Beijing 2009. These were:

Rodion Davelaar (Swimming)
Churandy Martina (Track & Field)
Philip Elhage (Airpistol)