Fair Play exists in the Olympic Oath
I congratulate Dr Stathis Avramidis and Dr Ioanna Mastora, who have contributed to this issue of Fair Play in Lifesaving Sport. It brings the concept of Fair Play to a wide international audience, who will benefit from learning about the different aspects of Fair Play in different social contexts. Fair Play integrates a variety of insights that will bring readers from different cultures closer to the Olympic idea of Pierre de Coubertin. For Coubertin, Olympism is a school of nobility and moral purity as well as of endurance and physical energy. Honesty and sportsmanlike selflessness are as highly developed as muscular strength. Fair Play is a horizon that encompasses all other values in sport and in life. It is particularly present in the Coubertinian Olympic Oath, which is sworn by athletes and judges at the Olympic Games. It is one of the most symbolic and important parts of the Opening Ceremony and has been adapted to highlight the importance of solidarity, inclusion, non-discrimination and equality. It brings together the competitors as a viable form of social morality: “We promise to take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules and in the spirit of fair play, inclusion and equality. Together we stand in solidarity and commit ourselves to sport without doping, without cheating, without any form of discrimination. We do this for the honour of our teams, in respect for the Fundamental Principles of Olympism, and to make the world a better place through sport.”
