JACQUES Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is to attend the 11th Sport For All Congress, scheduled to take place in Havana next October.

Pedro Cabrera, press director at the Cuban Sports Institute (INDER), said that Rogge has confirmed he will attend the IOC-sponsored event from October 31 to November 3.

"It is expected that more than 2,000 people representing 100 countries will take part in the IOC-sponsored congress which, for the first time, will be held in Cuba," commented the Cuban official.

During the press conference for the congress, Rogge recalled that the event acknowledges that "sport forms part of social development and that physical activity constitutes an essential element to guarantee a healthy body and mind."

For his part, José Ramón Fernández, president of the Cuban Olympic Committee, stated that the central theme of the Congress is "Physical activity: benefits and challenges."

Fernández indicated that the event will provide a space to reflect on sports programs and activities, new research and advances in the concept of Sport for All.

Healthcare and sports specialists from Brazil, Canada, the United States, Finland and South Africa, as well as Cuba, will give seminars on the subject.

The Sport for All Congress is also sponsored by the World Health Organization and the General Association of International Sports Federations. It has taken place every two years since its inception in 1986 (in Frankfurt, Germany) and was last held in Rome, Italy in 2004.

Many Olympic and world champions are members of IOC’s Sport For All organization including former Polish sprinter Irena Szewinska and current world champion javelin thrower Jan Zelezni from the Czech Republic.