His Royal Highness Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah, the President of the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council, delivering his sabda during the opening of the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council Seminar for Young Athletes yesterday. BT/Yee Chun Leong
His Royal Highness Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah, the President of the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council, yesterday launched the BDNOC Seminar For Young Athletes at the Lecture Theatre of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.
Organised by BDNOC in cooperation with the Department of Youth and Sports, it is held in conjunction with BDNOC's 30th anniversary and carries the theme "Bridging the Gap: Synergy Towards Success".
HRH briefed those in attendance on the roles of BDNOC and also touched on the Olympic Values in his sabda.
"The Olympic Values - respect, fairplay and discipline - are compulsory and should be instilled in an athlete," he said.
"They need to be implanted by all athletes with a sense of responsibility, not just during competition but also in training as they are the real strength and self-esteem of the athlete," added HRH.
The BDNOC President also emphasised the importance of staying away from doping and believes that the seminar will be beneficial to everyone.
"The athletes need to be responsible and committed towards their tasks, abide by the rules and regulations and to stay away from drugs and other prohibited substances," stressed HRH, who is also the president of the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD).
"We take the doping issue seriously and we are trying to remove it through random tests and creating awareness on the dangers and consequences of doping.
"I urge all athletes to instill the Olympic Values in themselves with full responsibility and be an athlete with dignity. Be a clean athlete and be a national pride," added HRH. "I'm confident and believe that with the five-day seminar, it will help us all and other athletes to understand and become a knowledgeable and responsible athlete," continued the Prince.
Thirty athletes expected to represent the Sultanate at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and Asian Games in the future are participating in the five-day event.
Also present for the opening was Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Seri Setia Hj Hazair Hj Abdullah.
