A Message from Tapio Korjus , the President of the ASPC
The ASPC plays a pivotal role in the world of elite sports . The major changes and global challenges of the last two years have left a mark on us all , and thus emphasize the importance of ASPC member centers around the world . ASPC ’ s coaching centers form a global network whose infrastructure and state-of-the-art expertise can assist and support athletes , coaches and sports organisations in a reliable way , even in these difficult times .
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everything in sport over the last two years . Due to the pandemic , many sport centers were forced to go defunct , many competitions were canceled , and the sport economics got weakened a great deal . All these occurrences have significantly hampered the everyday lives of top athletes . At the same time , some young people have stopped playing sports and moved to other hobbies and things to do . As we can see , a lot has changed . Nonetheless , training centers have done their best and managed to adapt their operations to fit these changing times and serve athletes and coaches in the best possible way .
Simultaneously with the Paralympics in Beijing , the war in Ukraine began when Russia invaded the country . The attack was also a major blow to the world of sports . Russia and Belarus were quickly cut off from the international competition scene . At the same time , Europe started to receive a large wave of refugees from Ukraine who had to leave their homes behind . Among them , there were also many athletes and coaches who were forced to flee the turmoil of the unfortunate war . Many athletes also decided to stay and joined the fight for their country . This war is indeed a great catastrophe and touches us all .
By means of their centers in different countries , the ASPC , together with the IOC and the EOC , is in the process of finding ways and methods to help Ukrainian athletes . The IOC ’ s Solidarity Program aims to support this process by giving Ukrainian athletes the best possible training conditions and coaching assistance primarily in the European high performance training centers , and if needed , any assistance from other places will be utilized . What we need the most right now is humanitarian aid for all .
The Olympics in Tokyo for 2020 moved to 2021 , and the Games were successful despite the threat and uncertainty bestowed upon us by the pandemic . Similarly , Beijing 2022 was successfully organized pleasing both the athletes and viewers around the globe . Both Olympics were very important to thousands of athletes , coaches and national teams . The ASPC members and centers did excellent , health conscious and innovative work on all continents to expedite the progress and development of athletes and teams . I am happy to say that it was a top performance !