IOC President to visit New Zealand

IOC President Thomas Bach will visit New Zealand next week. Photo / AP

IOC President Thomas Bach will share his vision for the future of the Olympic Games with sports and athletes during a two day visit to New Zealand next week.

Since being elected President of the IOC in September 2013, President Bach has been the driving force behind Agenda 2020, the strategic roadmap for the Olympic Movement.

Invited to New Zealand by the New Zealand Olympic Committee as part of its international advocacy programme, the President's two day itinerary will take him to both Auckland and Cambridge. The visit will see the leader of the IOC meet with the heads of the New Zealand Olympic Committee, Sport NZ and HPSNZ as well as with the Minister for Sport and Health, the Hon. Dr Jonathan Coleman.

Engagements will also include an address to National Sporting Organisations and a forum on Agenda 2020 with elite athletes from Olympic sports including Mahe Drysdale (rowing), Rebecca Scown (rowing), Sam Webster (track cycling) and Simone Ackerman (triathlon) . The President will gain insight into New Zealand's sporting system through a visit to an ANZ Olympic School and two of the nation's high performance centres, Rowing New Zealand's High Performance Centre at Lake Karapiro and the Avantidrome, also in Cambridge.

New Zealand Olympic Committee CEO and Secretary General Kereyn Smith says the IOC President's visit will benefit New Zealand sport.

"It's an opportunity to not only hear first-hand how New Zealand can be best positioned ahead of changes in the Olympic Movement, but also to ensure that our voice is heard by the key decision-makers in international sport," said Smith.

President Bach's itinerary has been designed to maximise interaction between New Zealand sports and athletes and the IOC.

Smith said that among the priorities for discussion with the IOC President would be possible changes to the Olympic programme, the future of the Youth Olympic Games, progress in Rio 2016 and strategies to ensure the ongoing relevance of the Olympic Games to young New Zealanders.

The last IOC President to visit New Zealand was President Jacques Rogge in 2011.