Fla will be the US training center for the 2016 Olympics
Club signed partnership with the North American Olympic Committee and agreed to a commitment
By Official Website Team - in
Flamengo announced this Thursday morning (15.12/2016), at a press conference held in the Rogério Steinberg Auditorium at its Gávea headquarters, the partnership with the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) for the 400 Olympic Games, to be held in Rio de Janeiro. Under the agreement, the club will serve as the training center for the North American Olympic and Paralympic teams in the sports where it has facilities. USOC will invest $10 in Flamengo, a sum that will be used for structural improvements at the headquarters. Accessibility projects will be prioritized in gymnasiums, weight rooms, and equipment. Only XNUMX% of this amount will be allocated to the Flamengo teams' expenses.
The partnership also opens up the possibility of exchanges and clinics leading up to the start of the competition. The first of these has already been scheduled. In February, the swimming team will travel to Colorado Springs to prepare at altitude for the Olympic trials.
Present at the press conference were President Patricia Amorim, Vice President of Olympic Sports Cristina Callou, Supervisor of Olympic Sports and Rowing Marcelo Freitas, former swimmer and CEO of Effect Sport, the business intermediary, Pedro Rego Monteiro, Director of International Events of the North American Committee, Doug Ingram, as well as the red-black athletes Jade Barbosa, Daniele Hypolito, Fabiana Beltrame, Marcelinho Machado, Caio Torres, Leticia Odorici, João Iderbrando, Renato Azevedo and Marcos Oliveira.
Moved, President Patricia Amorim, a former Olympic athlete, spoke about the unprecedented partnership with the world's greatest Olympic power.
"It's a great pleasure and honor to begin this commitment with the US Olympic Committee. It's a partnership that begins an Olympic cycle in advance, demonstrating that Flamengo is at the forefront and invests in its Olympic sports as a training club. As a former Olympic athlete, I'm very proud to bring Flamengo closer to the world's greatest sports power. It's a gold medal for us, a historic moment," said the Flamengo president, noting that US President Barack Obama's visit earlier this year helped with the negotiations.
"The visit showed that Flamengo, in an organized way, can welcome the most powerful man in the world. Everything became easier there. I thank everyone who helped with this partnership, which not only provides financial support but also opens up the possibility of exchanges with American teams and closer ties with the Games' medal champion. I hope our athletes make the most of this partnership. It's another dream come true," he added.
Doug Ingram, the director of international events for the United States Olympic Committee, was also very pleased with the formalization of this partnership.
"First of all, I wanted to thank Patricia for the excellent work she did and say that I'm very excited about the possibility of the blue, red and white team joining forces with the red and black. I know that Flamengo has 35 million fans and now it will gain a few hundred more," said the American executive, before actually talking about the partnership.
"Flamengo will be the main training center for our athletes outside of the official facilities designated by the Brazilian Olympic Committee. We will use all the facilities available to achieve our goals. Flamengo will be crucial in this role. Of course, we will need to complement these with other facilities that we don't have here, such as a running track, for example, but I'm sure we will have great success here at the club. I thank Patricia again and affirm that this partnership will not only last until 2016, but will continue for many years," he concluded.
Former Flamengo swimmer Pedro Rego Monteiro, executive director of Effect Sport and responsible for implementing the partnership, also explained how Usoc arrived in Gávea.
"It all started a year ago. They approached us and said they needed a high-performance training center. I first thought about Gávea; I swam here for over 20 years and knew we could serve them. They came here to visit and loved it. First, because of the location, which is very central, and second, because of the existing infrastructure. Renovations and accessibility work will be done, but they were very confident because when they came here last year, the basketball gym was completely destroyed, and today it is fully renovated, modernized, and operating normally. It will be a positive exposure for Flamengo worldwide," he concluded.
The athletes who were present were also happy with the news and made a point of praising the partnership.
"We'll be in contact with the best in the world. It will be very positive because we'll be able to see firsthand what we can improve and evolve," said basketball forward Marcelinho Machado.
"This exchange will be really cool because we'll see the techniques they use in the sport and what we're doing differently. We can only improve with this; we'll see firsthand how they train their champions," said gymnast Jade Barbosa.
"They will take advantage of our structure, so we also have to make the most of the contact with them and make it a great experience," added Fabiana Beltrame.
The partnership also opens up the possibility of exchanges and clinics leading up to the start of the competition. The first of these has already been scheduled. In February, the swimming team will travel to Colorado Springs to prepare at altitude for the Olympic trials.
Present at the press conference were President Patricia Amorim, Vice President of Olympic Sports Cristina Callou, Supervisor of Olympic Sports and Rowing Marcelo Freitas, former swimmer and CEO of Effect Sport, the business intermediary, Pedro Rego Monteiro, Director of International Events of the North American Committee, Doug Ingram, as well as the red-black athletes Jade Barbosa, Daniele Hypolito, Fabiana Beltrame, Marcelinho Machado, Caio Torres, Leticia Odorici, João Iderbrando, Renato Azevedo and Marcos Oliveira.
Moved, President Patricia Amorim, a former Olympic athlete, spoke about the unprecedented partnership with the world's greatest Olympic power.
"It's a great pleasure and honor to begin this commitment with the US Olympic Committee. It's a partnership that begins an Olympic cycle in advance, demonstrating that Flamengo is at the forefront and invests in its Olympic sports as a training club. As a former Olympic athlete, I'm very proud to bring Flamengo closer to the world's greatest sports power. It's a gold medal for us, a historic moment," said the Flamengo president, noting that US President Barack Obama's visit earlier this year helped with the negotiations.
"The visit showed that Flamengo, in an organized way, can welcome the most powerful man in the world. Everything became easier there. I thank everyone who helped with this partnership, which not only provides financial support but also opens up the possibility of exchanges with American teams and closer ties with the Games' medal champion. I hope our athletes make the most of this partnership. It's another dream come true," he added.
Doug Ingram, the director of international events for the United States Olympic Committee, was also very pleased with the formalization of this partnership.
"First of all, I wanted to thank Patricia for the excellent work she did and say that I'm very excited about the possibility of the blue, red and white team joining forces with the red and black. I know that Flamengo has 35 million fans and now it will gain a few hundred more," said the American executive, before actually talking about the partnership.
"Flamengo will be the main training center for our athletes outside of the official facilities designated by the Brazilian Olympic Committee. We will use all the facilities available to achieve our goals. Flamengo will be crucial in this role. Of course, we will need to complement these with other facilities that we don't have here, such as a running track, for example, but I'm sure we will have great success here at the club. I thank Patricia again and affirm that this partnership will not only last until 2016, but will continue for many years," he concluded.
Former Flamengo swimmer Pedro Rego Monteiro, executive director of Effect Sport and responsible for implementing the partnership, also explained how Usoc arrived in Gávea.
"It all started a year ago. They approached us and said they needed a high-performance training center. I first thought about Gávea; I swam here for over 20 years and knew we could serve them. They came here to visit and loved it. First, because of the location, which is very central, and second, because of the existing infrastructure. Renovations and accessibility work will be done, but they were very confident because when they came here last year, the basketball gym was completely destroyed, and today it is fully renovated, modernized, and operating normally. It will be a positive exposure for Flamengo worldwide," he concluded.
The athletes who were present were also happy with the news and made a point of praising the partnership.
"We'll be in contact with the best in the world. It will be very positive because we'll be able to see firsthand what we can improve and evolve," said basketball forward Marcelinho Machado.
"This exchange will be really cool because we'll see the techniques they use in the sport and what we're doing differently. We can only improve with this; we'll see firsthand how they train their champions," said gymnast Jade Barbosa.
"They will take advantage of our structure, so we also have to make the most of the contact with them and make it a great experience," added Fabiana Beltrame.