For the first time in the local Olympic movement, the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) will host on November 16 “Olympic Salute,” a ceremony to acknowledge, reward and applaud the feats of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The formal affair will be a sporting classic beyond red carpet trappings as the apex governing body for Olympic sports infuses the spirit and culture of Olympism into a kaleidoscope of sporting achievements.

JOA President, Christopher Samuda, characterised the event in these words. “It will be yesterday’s quintessential traditions blending with contemporary tastes with both seated comfortably in the values of sport which we celebrate and give primacy in the Olympic movement,” he remarked.

‘Olympic Salute’ will take place after the staging of each Olympic games but, as JOA Secretary General and CEO Ryan Foster, intimated, the quadrennial ceremony may very well be more of an item on the agenda of the ruling body. “Excellence is not time-bound. It is timeless so whenever and wherever the JOA observes it, we will applaud with respect and record for posterity while saluting our Olympic ambassadors, those inspired change makers of a great sporting heritage of which the Olympic movement is the cornerstone” he said.

The ceremony will be a stellar white-gloved event but the pageantry, pomp and circumstance will be secondary to the solemnity of the occasion. President Samuda, in explaining its significance commented: “Olympic Salute’ is much more than deserving smiles and golden handshakes. It is a celebration of the mettle, resilience and gravitas of the Olympic spirit exemplified in historic and gallant performances of our sportsmen and women and these are the human attributes in respect of which the JOA places a premium over and above the electronic world and regional records and podium stances.”

The current administration of the JOA has created a suite of awards in recognising sporting valour, integrity and excellence and, in furtherance of this, it plans on inaugurating its Order of Pre-eminence, which will be the highest honour that the national sports body will have in its gilded cabinet.