Posted On:
24 OCT 2026 4:24PM by PIB Ahmedabad
The Bharat Centre of Olympic Research and Education (BCORE), under the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Olympic Studies Centre at Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU), inaugurated the Foundation Programme on Safe Sport and Athlete Safeguarding at RRU's Gandhinagar campus. RRU is an institution of national importance and the country's pioneering national security and police University of India. The opening ceremony, held on 21 October 2026, was attended by athletes, coaches and sports administrators nominated by National Sports Federations, Central Armed Police Forces, SAI Centre, and High-performance academies along with researchers, safeguarding professionals and sports medicine experts, who have come together for the three-day residential programme (21 to 23 October 2026) to strengthen Safe Sport practices in the Indian sporting ecosystem.
The opening ceremony also marked two significant milestones for BCORE: the signing of an MoU with the Olympic Studies and Research Center (CEROUEN) of the University of Rouen Normandy, France, with Dr Philippe Vice-president of the University, along with the release of the book Olympic Intersections: The Games at the Crossroads of Global Research, published by Routledge with leading economist and Olympic researcher Professor Wolfgang Meaning as lead editor. Safe Sport and athlete safeguarding have been declared one of the key strategic priority areas of the IOC, and the programme is designed to bring this global priority into India's sporting culture through awareness, international knowledge exchange and hands-on learning.
OPENING CEREMONY
The ceremony featured introduction of BCORE, presenting the vision and work of the institutions in Anti-doping education and research, Olympic Organizing and mega-sporting event hosting, governance matrix, social legacy followed by a motivational video message for the programme from the Dr Charilaos Tsolakis President of the International Olympic Academy (IOA), Greece, the global home of Olympic education. Dr Utsav Chaware, Director, BCORE, introduced the programme, its objectives and the learning journey ahead for participants. The keynote address on Olympism, athlete-centred sport and the Safe Sport movement was delivered by Ms Rose Mae, Safe Sport Advocate and Co-founder of Safe Sport Philippines. Also present at the ceremony were Ms Sanjana Kiran, High-Performance Sport Psychologist, Singapore, and CEO of AITF, India, and Dr Khyati, Medical Doctor and Sports Medicine Specialist, who are among the experts leading the sessions over the three days. They will be joined over the next two days by Ms Pragnya Mohan, Indian Triathlete; Prof Mary Woessner, Acting Associate Director, Research Engagement and Impact, IHES, Victoria University, Australia; Ms Jhanvi Sonakia, Program Assistant, Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO; Shri Kunal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India; Prof Michael L. Valan, Assistant Professor, Criminology, Jindal Global Law School; and Mr Ranjith Bajaj, Founder and Director, Minerva Academy Football & Cricket Club.
PARTICIPATION FROM ACROSS THE SPORTING ECOSYSTEM
The ceremony saw participation from a diverse group representing every part of India's sporting ecosystem. Athletes, coaches, administrators and support staff attended from the Central Armed Police Forces, including the ITBP, CRPF, CISF and SSB, and from the Army Sports Institute. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) was represented by participants from its centres, including NCOE Imphal and NCOE Gandhinagar, while national sports federations and associations such as the Indian Kayaking and Canoeing Association, the Ice Hockey Association of India and the Fencing Association of India sent their delegates. Representatives of GoSports Foundation and Reliance Foundation Sports, and of sports academies across disciplines including badminton, gymnastics, table tennis and kho kho, also took part. The Vijayi Bharat Foundation (VBF) team, including Mr Eric Hollingsworth, High Performance Director, VBF.
Researchers, academicians and sport psychology and sports science professionals from institutions such as IIT Bombay, BRAC University (Bangladesh), MFP Psychology Consulting and Ahmedabad Education Society also attended, lending the programme a regional and international perspective.
MoU WITH CEROUEN, UNIVERSITY OF ROUEN NORMANDY, FRANCE
The MoU was signed virtually between BCORE, RRU and CEROUEN, the Olympic Studies and Research Center of the University of Rouen Normandy, France. Founded in 2023 and officially recognised by the IOC, a dedicated centre for Olympic research and education. Representatives of CEROUEN joined the ceremony online for the signing, with Dr Utsav Chaware briefing the gathering on the partnership.
RELEASE OF OLYMPIC INTERSECTIONS
BCORE also released Olympic Intersections: The Games at the Crossroads of Global Research, edited by Wolfgang Maennig, Bimal N. Patel, Gaurav Singh Kushwah and Utsav Chaware, and published by Routledge. The book presents the proceedings of the First International Olympic Research Conference held in India, organised by BCORE at RRU from 27 to 30 January 2025, which brought together international and national scholars, researchers, Olympians and practitioners.
PROGRAMME STRUCTURE
The programme follows a workshop, deliberation and working-group format. Day 1 (21 October) brought athletes, coaches and administrators together in joint sessions on Olympism and the Safe Sport movement, understanding safeguarding, safety, protection, welfare and duty of care, and forms of harassment and abuse through global perspectives and Indian realities, followed by mixed working groups and a power walk. Day 2 (22 October) is athlete-led, with coaches and administrators observing, and focuses on athlete rights and responsibilities, athlete representation and collective voice, power, consent and healthy boundaries, mental health and well-being, culturally informed safeguarding, and reporting pathways and responding to disclosures. Day 3 (23 October) is led by coaches and administrators, with athletes observing, and covers duty of care and safe coaching practices, the legal framework for safeguarding in India (POCSO, POSH, the Juvenile Justice Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita), institutional safeguarding policies, risk assessment and safe sporting environments, and comparative case studies from India and abroad.
The sessions are complemented by expert panel discussions, case study analysis, scenario-based learning and role plays, and interactive group discussions, with participants working together in mixed groups of athletes, coaches and administrators. Policy drafting and action planning turn the working groups' outputs into institutional safeguarding policy points that participants can take back to their own federations and organisations. Discussions and outcomes are also intended to feed into structured data collection and policy recommendations for Indian sport, including the Safe Sports Policy being framed under the National Sports Governance Act, 2025, and into BCORE's 3rd International Olympic Research Conference (IORC) in January 2027.
ABOUT BHARAT CENTRE OF OLYMPIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION (BCORE)
The Bharat Centre of Olympic Research and Education (BCORE), established in June 2024 at Rashtriya Raksha University, stands as India's and South Asia's first Olympic Studies Centre recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Since its inception, BCORE has been actively delivering and disseminating IOC initiatives, advancing interdisciplinary research, sport governance studies and global academic cooperation within the Olympic framework. Through national and international collaborations, BCORE has positioned itself as a thought leader in promoting Olympism, strengthening sporting excellence and building India's knowledge ecosystem in Olympic studies and sports governance.
ABOUT RASHTRIYA RAKSHA UNIVERSITY
Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) is an institution of national importance established by the Rashtriya Raksha University Act, 2020, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Under the leadership of Vice-Chancellor Professor Bimal N. Patel, RRU has expanded its academic portfolio beyond traditional security studies to encompass sports research, Olympic education and advanced forensic sciences.