Elite Sports Department – General
The Elite Sports Department in Israel was established after the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and was jointly organized by three bodies: the Olympic Committee, the Israel Sports Association and the Sports and Physical Education Authority. In 1995, the Sports Association was disbanded and since then the Department has served as the professional arm of the Olympic Committee.
Mission of the Elite Sports Department
To help Israeli athletes achieve success in international competitions such as the Olympic Games, World Championships and European Championships.
Role of the Elite Sports Department
1 – Assist and consult associations and federations in the planning and execution, support and control of short and long term programs for Elite Sports Department athletes ahead of a competition.
2 – Summary and analysis of the training processes and competitions.
3 – Support and nurture athletes and branches through the sports associations.
4 – Support coaches and professionals in Elite Sports through the sports associations.
Leading the Elite Sports Department are the directors with professional coordinators who come from the competitive sports world beneath them. Each professional coordinator is responsible for a number of Olympic disciplines according to their skills and knowledge.
Role of the Professional Coordinator
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- Monitor the implementation of the professional program (Olympic preparations).
- Coordinate and share professional knowledge in the relevant field – including organizing training programs and professional days for coaches and athletes in their respective fields.
- Coordinate with the Medical Services.
- Concentrate the various subjects which are under their responsibility.
Over the years, the Department has been expanded significantly with staff that has expertise in the field of sports performance and has also added a number of positions and projects in addition to the Professional Coordinator, such as: Medical Services, Women’s Sports (Top Team), Department of Young Athletes and more.
Department of Young Athletes: “Project 2020”
The Young Athletes Department as part of the Elite Sports Department is responsible for the professional management of the outstanding young athletes as well as for the professional and organizational management of the Israeli delegations that attend the Youth Olympic Games (YOG – Winter and Summer) and the European Olympic Youth Games (EYOF – Winter and Summer). The Young Athletes Department strives to help the sports associations create a long-term policy to nurture Israel’s next generation of athletes, a policy based on various platforms and interfaces that the associations currently have with the Elite Sports Department. There is a clearly a desire to significantly increase the project’s resources in order to enable the cultivation of the future generation of athletes.
The main objectives of the project are:
1) Assist the sports associations to determine and promote athletes with the greatest potential to reach the highest levels, with the first main objective being the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
2) Improve Israel’s performance in the international arena among youth and cadets.
3) Consistently increase the number of athletes who will graduate from the project to the adult Elite Sports Department and to the Israeli delegations going to future Olympic Games.
Main methods of action:
1) Support for professional programs: The budget for the young athletes project is intended mainly to help improve their professionalism while increasing their international experience.
2) Improve the medical-scientific services for the young athletes through ongoing support of the medical services, performing tests and working with psychologist consultants.
3) Strengthen and improve the professional knowledge of the coaches in all aspects of training youth through both focused and wide-ranging workshops.
Directors of the Elite Sports Department
The Elite Sports Department administration is a joint body of the Olympic Committee in Israel and the Sports Administration, whose purpose is to collaborate in determining the policy, goals and budgets required for the Elite Sports Department in Israel; to ensure the best conditions for the preparation of athletes for the Olympic Games; to ensure that the preparation for these games are done in the most professional manner. Members of the Administration are appointed once every four years, at the end of each Olympic year; the number of its members is determined jointly by the two bodies.
The principal functions of the directors are:
Assist in the coordination and development of Elite Sports at all levels, in full cooperation with the various sports associations.
Approve the multi-year and yearly plan and supervise the performance of the Elite Sports Department with the Elite athletes in full cooperation with the associations.
Follow the execution of the four-year professional escort of athletes with potential to reach the Olympic Games through the Elite Sports Department, associations and federations.
Recommend professional criteria for the participation of Israeli athletes in the Olympic Games in cooperation with the sports associations and federations in coordination with the Olympic Committee of Israel, the sole body responsible for the preparation and dispatch of delegates to the Olympic Games.
Coordinate sports support grants in cooperation with all of the relevant bodies (the Sports Administration and the Sports Betting Board).
Department Directors
Danny Oren – Chairman of the Elite Sports Department
Shay Abrahamy – Executive Director of the Wingate Institute
Gili Lustig – Executive Director of the Olympic Committee
Gili Amir – Representative of the Olympic Committee
Dudu Malka – Representative of the Sports Administration
Anastasia Gloszkow – Representative of the Athletes Committee
Shlomo Savia – Representative of the Sports Administration