Kuwait City, Kuwait, June 4, 2022: The 24 athletic coaches from the 12 National Olympic Committees in West Asia who walked into the lecture hall at the Olympic Council of Asia Headquarters in Salmiya were greeted by a smiling lady standing in front of a screen which carried a quote by the late Stephen Hawking.
Hawking, an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist, said: “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”
Ms. Soha Marzouk, a World Athletics lecturer, laughs when asked about this. “I have been instructing athletic coaches for more than 20 years, and I always start any lecture by quoting Stephen Hawking. I want people to come with no fixed ideas and to be receptive to new ideas.”
The OCA Phase Three Development Programme for coaches and referees in West Asia in three sports got off to a cracking start in athletics on Saturday, June 4. The 24 athletic coaches, two from each of the 12 NOCs, were off the blocks and up-and-running with their Lebanese instructor keen that everyone started with an open mind.
“This is the best way to learn. Don’t come in with preconceived ideas as that will put limits on you. One must be open to new information as this will help build a new generation of knowledgeable coaches and help National Olympic Committees and the Federations to develop sport,” pointed out Ms. Marzouk.
In a bold move to develop coaches and referees in West Asia, the OCA has invited more than 150 participants in athletics, basketball and table tennis for Phase Three of its Development Programme from June 4-9.
“The most important thing is to share the information you will learn here with your colleagues back home. This is the key to developing sport across West Asia,” urged Tony Tarraf, OCA Head of Athletes Development Department and Special Projects, on the opening day of the course.
And spreading the message for the athletics coaches in the first theoretical course on Saturday was Ms. Marzouk.
“I hope over the next few days, everyone will benefit from these courses. We have to invest in people for only then will development be sustainable. And what the Olympic Council of Asia is doing is fantastic, and I believe it will help develop athletics across the Arab nations,” said the lady inspired by Hawking.
Hawking believed that aliens exist. He had an open mind. No wonder Ms. Marzouk is enthused by him – for no idea is alien to her.
