The Serbian Olympic Club

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Officially, Olympism in Serbia started by founding the Serbian Olympic Club, on 23rd February, 1910.

Serbian Olympic Club was established at the initiative of young officers educated in France, the leading role among them had Svetomir S. Djukic. The inaugural meeting took place in the editorial office of the “Novo vreme” newspapers, on the forth floor of the Moskva hotel in Belgrade, as the first official Olympic organization of South Slavs.

Svetomir S. Djukic has been elected chairperson; lieutenant Milos Ilic and student Aleksandar Bodi, have been elected secretaries; pharmacist Milosav Jovanovic, and army captain Milorad Petrovic, have been elected treasurers; and Nikodije Stevanovic, the retired general has been elected Honorary President.

The Serbian Olympic Club was financially supported by the “Novo vreme” newspapers and the Tram Society; the Ministry of National Economy, Municipality of the Topcider Economy; the Army; the Military command of Belgrade; Belgrade Municipality, the Gendarmerie Command; the Prometna bank; the Shipping Company, the Military Academy; the Serbian National Theatre; the Circle of Serbian Sisters; the National Civil Defense and the Royal Palace. His Royal Majesty the King Petar has often visited sports competitions. He declared Kosutnjak as a place for practice. Prince Djordje was a member of the Serbian Olympic Club.

The Serbian Olympic Club has changed its name to the Central Federal Administration or the Central Olympic Club, and as Svetomir Djukic admitted later, one year after its establishment it was revealed that the International Olympic Committee exists and deals with national sport organizations. It could not be possible to conclude that the Serbian Olympic Club was founded only because of the Olympic Games.

It states in the programme that the mission of the Olympic Club is to:

  • help establishing the Knighthood Societies and the Sports Clubs, same as providing moral and material help for the Knighthood Societies and the Sports Clubs;
  • organize the national and world Olympic Games
  • provide traveling and sightseeing trips within the country and abroad for the various groups
  • take measures for encouraging the gallant spirit of the people

 

The Serbian Olympic Club originally wasn’t accepted by the Sokola Alliance; the Shooting Federation; the Horsemen Riders Alliance; the Society for Public Health and by the most of the newspapers. In a gallant spirit incitement and organizing hiking and cycling events (The Serbian Olympic Club organized the Edvard Rusjan’s flight that ended up with death of the Slovenian pilot under the Kalemegdan’s walls), the Serbian Olympic Club used non-Olympic means: rewarding winners; stimulating those who bring as much participants as possible to the competitions. That was the violation of the essential Olympic rule (amateurism), the rule that no one in Serbia has ever heard of.

When the Serbian Olympic Club found out that the IOC exists, and after making initial contact, as Svetomir Djukic wrote, the action for the Serbia athletes’ participation at the Olympic Games in Stockholm in 1912 and its reception in the International Olympic Committee begins. The qualification for the Olympic Games took place in Kosutnjak in May, 1912 and 100 meters dash winner Dusan Milosevic and marathon (Kosutnjak-Umka-Kosutnjak speedway) winner Dragutin Tomasevic were determined to represent Serbia at the Olympic Games in Stockholm.

With the financial assistance of the Government (4000 dinars payment account was signed by Nikola Pasic) and with the guidance of director of the Serbian Olympic Club Svetomir Djukic, the Infantry Captain, secretary Dragutin Vojinovic, the Cavalry Lieutenant, and expert team leader eng. Andra Jovic, they went by train to Stockholm on 12th June.

Svetomir Djukic, who started his friendship with Pier de Coubertin in Stockholm, wrote in the official report from this trip: “At the last session of the International Olympic Committee, after a stronger agitation between IOC members and a noticeable success of our runners, Serbian Olympic Committee was admitted into the international community.

IOC’s session in Stockholm lasted from 4th to 17th July. Serbia’s request for the admission to the IOC was declared on the first day, but Djukic’s Report says that it actually happened on the last day, but this information is not precise, even within the IOC’s documentation. In Stockholm, Svetomir Djukic became a member of the International Olympic Committee (he was the member of the IOC until London’s Congress in 1948, when he was relieved from post at his personal request).

The Serbian Olympic Committee, according to the Olympic Committee of Serbia’s stamp, with founding of the new state in 1919, became the Yugoslav Olympic Council, then Yugoslav Olympic Committee. The name was changed again on 3rd April, 2003 and became the Olympic Committee of Serbia and Montenegro.

On 8th June, 2006 the Olympic Committee of Serbia was declared. State Union of Serbia and Montenegro ceased to exist, thus after 87 years of our successful work on organizing and representing sport, national Olympic Committee again became the representative of the Olympic Movement and Sport within Serbia. Continuity of the membership that once Serbian Olympic Club has started is resumed.