http://maigoc2007.sports.sina.com.cn 2006-03-02 MAIGOC
Headed by Manuel Silvério, the 1st Vice-president of the Macau Olympic Committee and Chef-de-Mission of the Macau sport delegation for the 15th Asian Games, a group of 7 attended the Chef-de-Mission Meeting scheduled from February 28 to March 2.
In the address to the representatives of the 45 participating NOCs present on the first day of the meeting (February 28), the Doha Asian Games Organising Committee (DAGOC) expressed its determination to make the coming Asian Games the best ever in history. Participants were briefed with the arrangements and implementation timetable in the areas of competition and venues, accreditation, accommodation, athlete village, transportation services, security measures, volunteer program, hospitality, anti-doping, ticketing, catering services, media, youth camp and torch relay. Exchanges of ideas and inquiries helped the NOC representatives know more about the arrangement as a whole.
In the meeting, DAGOC released the torch relay program, which will be the largest one in the history of the Asian Games. According to the schedules, the torch relay will start in Doha on October 8 before heading its way through 13 countries and regions, including Macau on October 26.
It is the first time that the Chef-de-Mission Meeting was held in the form of intensive seminars of differentiated topics through a few consecutive days. As the games draw closer in the end of this year, Manuel Silvério believes exchange of ideas and discussions in this count-down moment are contributable to the communication between DAGOC and the NOCs. He is also considering a similar form for the Chef-de-Mission meeting for the 2nd Asian Indoor Games which will be staged in Macau next year, with the same participating countries and regions as the Asian Games.
In the meeting, Manuel Silvério exchanged his experience in organising the East Asian Games with Abdulla Khalid Al Qahtani. In the conversation, the Director General of DAGOC said they would be grateful if experienced volunteers from Macau would lend a hand in the Doha Asian Games. Among the topics of discussion between the two leaders include the preparations for the Asian Games and the Asian Indoor Games.
Manuel Silvério and his team were among the others invited by the organising committee to the welcome dinner in the evening of February 28. Participants of the meeting were arranged to visit the competition venues and accommodation facilities.
The 15th Asian Games will take place in Doha Qatar from December 1 to 15 this year, during which more than 10,000 athletes and officials from 45 countries and regions will compete in the 423 events of the 39 sports.
