The principles of mutual respect and friendship rest at the heart of the mission of the Olympic Movement today—as they did when Baron Pierre de Coubertin launched the modern Olympic Games 124 years ago.  The Baron believed that the spirit of sport would produce camaraderie between teammates, intensifying the bonds of friendship, and lead to respect for each and every worthy opponent, without whom there would be no contest.  That was the essence of his message as he examined the benefits of sport in the article, “Sport and the Social Issue,” which appeared in the Olympic Review in August of 1913. In the Baron’s view, sport and the Olympic Movement were always designed to contribute to the development of civil society. 

“Competition by itself does not create an athletic spirit, without which the group is bound to collapse, if it ever manages to get together in the first place. Sport calls for an intense spirit of competition and solid camaraderie. Anyone who has had any experience of this will corroborate what we are saying. Thus, sport is based on teamwork and competition.”