Introduction

Here is presented the analysis of contents and realization of Olympic Education program performed by the National University for Physical Education and Sport of Ukraine and the Olympic Academy of Ukraine in accordance with the IOC policy.

Methods

This program was designed under direct supervision of the former IOC president Mr. J. A. Samaranch and the IOC leading experts in 1993 by the NUPESU with the OAU and with the IOC support. It includes:

1. Implementation of academic disciplines "Olympic Sport" and "General Theory of Athlete Training in Olympic Sport" into curricular of all higher Ukrainian schools, dealing with physical educators training, and also foundation of Olympic Sport Departments at these establishments, and creation handbooks. Presentation of the first handbook ("Olympic sport") was organized by the IOC President Mr. J. A. Samaranch in 1994 at the Centennial Olympic Congress in Paris. In 1997 there was published a handbook "General Theory of Athlete Preparation in Olympic Sports".

2. Foundation of "Olympic Literature" Publishing House gave for 10-year period more over 100 books devoted to history and contemporary state of Olympic movement, medical-biological and sportive-pedagogical foundations of Olympic athlete skill improvement.

3. A very important component of this program has become publication of 5-volume "World Encyclopaedia of Olympic Sports", which has not got analogues in the world literature as for completeness and versatility. Being printed in Russian it is available for sports experts and enthusiasts from more than 20 countries of Eastern Europe.

4. Conduct of international scientific congresses "Olympic Sport and Sport For All" on a regular basis. The first of those congresses was held in Kyiv in 1993, in 2005 it is scheduled to take place in Kyiv.

5. Wide expansion of knowledge about Olympic sport, ideals of olympism in system of secondary and higher schools by means of inclusion of proper theoretical lessons into physical education programs of schools and universities, publication of Olympic sport popular library (7 books, 5 posters), etc. There is a joint with the IOC edition of scientific-theoretical journal "Science in Olympic Sport", combined programs with participation of the OAU, IOA, and Centers of Olympic education of different countries.

Discussion/ Conclusions

The former IOC President Mr. J. A. Samaranch appraised the decade-long program as "outstanding contribution to Olympic sport science development by means of publication of fundamental books and work in the name of Olympic education considerably exceeding in scale and significance the attainments of a separate country - Ukraine, and is outstanding for whole sport movement".