This year’s Arafura Games in Darwin have been officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC has awarded the Games “Sport for All” patronage and provided a grant of $10,000US towards the cost of running the event in May.

The move follows a recommendation to the IOC from the Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates and the AOC Secretary-General Craig Phillips.

“On behalf of the AOC, I wish to congratulate the Northern Territory Government on receiving this well deserved recognition for the Arafura Games,” Phillips said.

Only three events per continent receive IOC patronage each year.

“When we considered the IOC’s criteria for Sport for All patronage, we didn’t think that we could go past the Arafura Games. It offers good quality international competition in 23 sports to 3000 athletes across a wide age range from some 30 nations. It has become an important event for the Asia Pacific region in particular,” Phillips said.

The Chief Minister of the Northern Territory Government, Clare Martin, said “such an endorsement from the IOC signals the growing international profile of the sporting event.

“This is terrific news that will boost the status of the Games on the world stage. It’s a great accomplishment for the athletes involved, the community and organisers,” she said.

The Games run from May 12-19. They are billed as a meeting of “sporting neighbours”.

As well as Olympic events, Australian Football has been included on the program as a demonstration sport.

AOC