At the precise moment that the world's supreme Olympic authority, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), places its “Olympic Host Contract” before the host city's signing dignitaries assembled for the storied occasion, a commitment is made by the city's Olympic Games organizers (OCOG) to embrace and project what are referred to as Olympic Education initiatives. What exactly does that mean?

If “education” means imparting knowledge or learning, then “Olympic Education” would rationally be just that, learning about “matters Olympic.” One gets a first clue on the nature of Olympic Education, expressed in what is referred to as “Olympism,” when reading the stock message enunciated in the IOC's Olympic Charter: “Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the...

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