RIYADH — With the participation of Dr. Craig Duncan, human performance strategist, and Shayamal Vallabhjee, high-performance coach, the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee (SAOC) hosted Thursday its third online conference as part of its unwavering commitment to develop Saudi Arabian sports.

Organized and managed by SAOC under the patronage of Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al Faisal, president of SAOC, the conference theme was ‘Creating a Sporting Ecosystem’.

The conference attracted more than 60 participants including SAOC employees and Saudi Arabian National Federation officials.

Prince Fahad ibn Jalawi, vice-president of SAOC, attended the session and welcomed the attendees on behalf of SAOC President Prince Abdulaziz.

SAOC Vice President Prince Fahad said: “The SAOC monthly conferences are a series of sessions we host to ensure full coordination among sport representatives in the Kingdom.”

The conference is an example of SAOC’s innovative and progressive approach to developing Saudi Arabia’s sports performance and science expertise — ensuring key learnings and best practices are taught throughout the nation’s sports movement.

Ultimately, through knowledge-sharing and data-driven insights, SAOC is hosting these conferences to provide elite local and regional athletes with the strongest opportunities to succeed, and enhance the sporting culture across the country.

The conference participants benefited from the knowledge and pioneering insight of local and international experts.

The discussion included using technology to help give better insight on the level of fatigue among athletes who over-train, based on testing their different variables — such as sleep and their heartbeat.

The discussion also focused on the right approach for athletes to use technology to monitor their performance. Both panellists agreed that to achieve this we need to strengthen athlete trust and to show them the possible benefits.

These include being able to optimise their performance to its maximum levels through the effective use of data.

SAOC has staged two previous conferences in June and July with the themes ‘The Role of Governance in Sports Organisations’ and ‘Managing National Federations’.

Globally respected speakers included: Jérôme Poivey, head of institutional relations and governance, International Olympic Committee (IOC), Kelly Fairweather, ITF chief operating officer, Florian Pasquet, FIBA national federations & sport senior associate, and Dr. Donald Rukare, advocate for the High Court of Uganda and secretary-general of Uganda Olympic Committee. — SG