Olympic Day celebrates sport, health and being together inviting everyone around the globe to be active and move together with purpose on June 23rd every year. Olympic Day commemorates the day the International Olympic Committee was founded at the Sorbonne in Paris, where Pierre de Coubertin rallied the revival of the Ancient Olympic Games on 23 June 1894. Olympic Day symbolizes making the world a better place through sport. Celebrations of this day date back to 1947 and every year this day is set aside to celebrate everything the Olympic Movement stands for.
The theme for Olympic Day 2022 is ‘Together, for a Peaceful world and accompanied by social media hashtags #MoveForPeace and #OlympicDay . Olympic Day celebrations of peace and sport and the Olympic movement is manifested in the Olympic Truce during each Olympic Games. This Olympic Day celebrates the power of sport to bring people together in peace. In recent times, the power of sport has supported refugee athletes through the IOC Refugee Athlete Scholarship and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team.
Muaythai is a sport over 1000 years old, built on ancient traditions including respect. The value of respect is interwoven within the art and sport of Muaythai through respecting and understanding differences on and off the field of play, by opponents bowing to the opposite corner after competing, by wearing the same shorts and drinking the same water, staying together in the same athlete village, obeying the same rules; the athletes are the perfect example.
For years, IFMA has made it their policy to showcase respect and to create opportunities for all countries understanding that not everyone has same opportunities and social differences exist.
That’s why at all events and IFMA championships, we ensure that countries that may not have the same financial support are able to compete. IFMA is proud that in The World Games, we have a Refugee Team and IFMA is honored to say that this is not our first. Over the last 5 years, every year we have had a Refugee Team at the world championships.
IFMA has helped athletes from Afghanistan, Syria, Rohinga refugees and has the Ukraine National Team training in Thailand to ensure they can travel to The World Games.
IFMA’s own social project, Sport Is Your Gang, uses Muaythai to show and help youth from under privileged backgrounds to find and bring them back to the right path in life.
IFMA works together to build bridges and is also proud that we are partnered with Untied Through Sports which provides amazing opportunities for the next generation of nak muay to shine and also interreact and create friendships with various youth of various backgrounds and ability from around the globe and sports disciplines.
IFMA will continue to promote the Olympic Values and hope that through the power of sport we can do our part to contribute towards a better tomorrow.
Happy Olympic Day from the IFMA Family.
When we move together we stand together.
