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On 21 June, in the middle of the southern hemisphere winter, the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) organised an Olympic day devoted to winter sports. In Auckland, volunteers and Olympians taught more than 100 schoolchildren the basics of curling, as NZOC aimed to drum up interest in the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.New Zealand is aiming to inspire greater participation in winter sports, with Finn Bilous – a freestyle skiing medallist at the Winter Youth Olympic Games Lillehammer 2016 – one of a new generation of Kiwi athletes looking to make their mark in PyeongChang.NEW ZEALAND STAGES WINTER OLYMPIC DAYThe Turkish Olympic Committee (TOC) has appointed Olympic and two-time world champion wrestler Taha Akgül as the new chair of its athletes’ commission.The 26-year-old, who won gold in the 125kg event at the Olympic Games Rio 2016, will also serve as a TOC executive board member during his four-year term from 2017 to 2021.Reflecting on his appointment, Akgül said: “I am extremely honoured. In my new position, I will be able to take an active role in addressing all the needs and expectations of both young and established athletes, and help them fulfil their amazing potential.”The TOC Athletes’ Commission is made up of 70 current athletes – 35 men and 35 women – who have been nominated by their respective National Federations. Its purpose is to give Turkish athletes a platform for dialogue with the TOC, as well as providing role models to promote the Olympic values among Turkey’s youth and the wider population. TURKISH NOC APPOINTS NEW ATHLETES’ COMMISSION CHAIRLeft Freestyle skier Finn Bilous (NZL) has high hopes for PyeongChang 2018PicturedTaha Akgül wins wrestllng gold at Rio 2016As part of its ongoing commitment to facilitating sporting programmes for refugees around the world, the IOC provided crucial funding in 2016 to assist the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) and the local municipality of Lesbos in rebuilding a stadium in the Greek island’s village of Moria.More than 12 months on, as well as being used by the local community, the stadium is providing valuable opportunities for the island’s large refugee population, and on 1 October a delegation from the IOC and the HOC were in Lesbos to inspect the stadium and visit the local Kare Tepe refugee camp, where they donated sports equipment.The delegation was headed by IOC Member Mario Pescante, HOC President Spyros Capralos and Olympic bronze medallists Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis. The latter two took part in a sailing demonstration at the port of Mytilene along with members of the island’s local sailing clubs.IOC AND HOC BOOST REFUGEE PROGRAMMEAbove Panagiotis Mantis (right) and Pavlos Kagialis delivered a sailing masterclass in Lesbos22 OLYMPIC REVIEW