Bhutan Olympic Committee

{{Infobox National Olympic Committee

| title = Bhutan Olympic Committee

| logo = Bhutan Olympic Committee logo.svg

| size = 100px

| country = Bhutan

| code = BHU

| created = 23 November 1983

| recognized = 1983

| association = OCA

| headquarters = Thimphu, Bhutan

| president = Prince Dasho Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck

| secretary general = Sonam Karma Tshering

| website = {{Official URL}}

}}

The Bhutan Olympic Committee (BOC) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) representing Bhutan. It was founded in February 1983, and became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 23 November 1983. Bhutan satisfied the IOC's criterion of five national sports federations recognised by their international sports federations to get recognised. The current president has been Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck since 2009.

History

The National Sports Association of Bhutan (NSAB) was established in 1972 and was the precursor of the Bhutan Olympic Committee (BOC).{{Cite web |title=October '12 |url=https://www.grips.ac.jp/jp/alumni/almo/pastalmo/almos2012/12-10/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) |language=ja}} The BOC was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 23 November 1983,{{Efn|Olympedia states it was given recognition by the IOC in April 1984.}} after being founded in February of that year by the former Foreign Minister of Bhutan, Lyonpo Dawa Tsering.{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://bhutanolympiccommittee.org/about-2/ |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=Bhutan Olympic Committee |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Bhutan (BHU) |url=https://www.olympedia.org/countries/BHU |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006104314/https://www.olympedia.org/countries/BHU |archive-date=6 October 2023 |access-date=1 April 2025 |website=Olympedia.org}} In addition to the IOC, the BOC is also part of the five other international sports bodies: the Association of National Olympic Committees, Olympic Council of Asia, South Asia Olympic Council, Asia-Pacific Oceana Sports Assembly, and Far East and South Pacific Games Federation for the Disabled.{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://bhutanolympiccommittee.org/about-2/ |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=Bhutan Olympic Committee |language=en-US}} To be recgonized by the IOC they needed a minimum of five National Sports Federation, which they achieved.{{Cite web |date=2024-12-21 |title=About Us |url=https://www.yourwebsite.com/,%20https://bhutanolympiccommittee.org/about-2/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Bhutan Olympic Committee |language=en-US}}

Afterwards, they made their debut in the archery event of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games held in Los Angeles. Six archers from Bhutan, three men and three women, participated in the event.{{Cite web |title=The Athens Olympiad: Bhutan to compete in archery |url=http://www.raonline.ch/pages/bt/sport/bt_sportolymp03b.html |access-date=2010-04-20}} In July 2003, the Department for Youth, Culture & Sports of Bhutan was established under the aegis of the Ministry of Education, with the objective to develop “a holistic approach and policy for sports and social development. Bhutan”.{{Cite web |title=Partnership Bhutan-Netherlands |url=http://www.toolkitsportdevelopment.org/html/topic_82D8DC91-ED55-4A8F-9A38-BBE4CB1113DA_C8699394-A93F-4F86-B024-A23316CD4CC3_2.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100504185425/http://www.toolkitsportdevelopment.org/html/topic_82D8DC91-ED55-4A8F-9A38-BBE4CB1113DA_C8699394-A93F-4F86-B024-A23316CD4CC3_2.htm |archive-date=4 May 2010 |access-date=2010-04-20 |publisher=Toolkit sport for development}} {{As of|2024}}, the BOC has affiliations with a total of 16 National Sports Federations.{{Cite web |date=2023-01-12 |title=Bhutan Olympic Committee {{!}} Leading Sports Authority in Bhutan & Asia |url=https://www.yourwebsite.com/,%20https://bhutanolympiccommittee.org/national-sports-federations/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Affiliations {{!}} Bhutan Archery Federation |url=http://www.baf.org.bt/affiliations/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240727225015/https://www.baf.org.bt/affiliations/ |archive-date=27 July 2024 |access-date=2025-06-27 |language=en-US}}

Bhutan and the Netherlands were involved in a cooperation programme starting 2001. This programme's function is to improve archery, a national sport in Bhutan. The intention was for Bhutan to become one of the leading countries in Olympic archery at the 2012 Games. The bilateral cooperation resulted in publication of a book, in 2004, on traditional and modern archery in Bhutan and the Netherlands, and a documentary film on Bhutan Olympic Archery that was screened in Germany and other international channels. Similar cooperation was extended to football by the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB). In 2004 the Bhutan Archery Federation was honored with a Prince Claus Award from the Netherlands.Prince Claus Fund, [http://www.princeclausfund.org/en/network/user/id/269 Bhutan Archery Federation profile]{{dead link|date=July 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}

Sports

File:Changlimithang Archery Ground, Thimphu 06.jpg

For each Olympic Summer Games since 1984, Bhutan has fielded male and female archers. Archery is the national sport of Bhutan. They have never competed in the Winter Games or the other events of the Summer Games; they also have not yet won an Olympic medal.{{Cite web|url=http://www.atarn.org/tibet_bhutan/bhutan/bhutan01.htm

|title=Archery: the Real Game is Played Elsewhere|access-date=2010-04-20|publisher=KUENSEL, Bhutan's national newspaper}}{{Cite web|url= http://itotd.com/articles/409/bhutanese-archery/|title=Bhutanese Archery|access-date=2010-04-20|publisher=Interesting Things of the day| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100402062110/http://itotd.com/articles/409/bhutanese-archery/| archive-date= 2 April 2010 | url-status= live}}

While archery is the national sport of Bhutan and the only sport in which it participates in the Olympics, other popular sports in the country are tug of war, basketball, football and cricket. Adventure sports such as trekking, rafting, mountain biking and rock climbing are also popular.{{Cite web|url=http://www.gz2010.cn/09/1028/20/5MO6HBPV007801T3.html|title=Bhutan Olympic Committee|access-date=2010-04-20|publisher=Official Website of the 16th Asian Games|archive-date=2011-07-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723102448/http://www.gz2010.cn/09/1028/20/5MO6HBPV007801T3.html|url-status=dead}}

Archery is very popular throughout Bhutan — each village has an archery range. However, until recently its equipment base was traditional (hand-carved bamboo bows); these have now been replaced by modern and high-tech equipment for international games.

Leadership

The current President of the BOC is Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck, serving since 2009 as their seventh President.{{Cite web |date=2025-01-02 |title=BOC Governance - Bhutan Olympic Committee |url=https://bhutanolympiccommittee.org/boc-governance/ |access-date=2025-07-05 |language=en-US}}

class="wikitable"

|+Presidents

! colspan="" |Name

! colspan="" |Term Start

!Term End

|Lyonpo Dawa Tsering

|1983

|1996

|Lyonpo Dago Tshering

|1996

|1998

|Lyonpo Sangay Ngedup

|1998

|2003

|Lyonpo Thinley Gyamtsho

|2003

|2005

|Lyonpo Ugyen Tshering

|2006

|Lyonpo Kinzang Dorji

|2006

|2009

| colspan="" rowspan="" |Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck

| colspan="" rowspan="" |2009

|Incumbent

Documentary

A documentary film known as “The Other Final” was filmed based on a special football match arranged by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) that was played between the 202nd placed (out of 203 worldwide) Bhutan and 203rd-ranked Montserrat.