President of the International Olympic Committee congress. Athens was approved to host the 1896 Olympic Games, being the original home of the Olympics, and Vikelas was duly chosen as the first President of the IOC. Pierre, Baron de Coubertin, took over the IOC presidency when Demetrius Vikelas stepped down after the Olympics in his own country. Despite its initial success, the Olympic Movement faced hard times, as the 1900 Games (in de Coubertin's own Paris) and 1904 Games were both upstaged by World's Fairs—Exposition Universelle in 1900 and Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904—and received little attention. The 1906 Intercalated Games revived the momentum, and the Olympic
Barbados Olympic Association Barbados Olympic Association Barbados Olympic Association, founded in 1962, is the National Olympic Committee for Barbados. The body is also responsible for Barbados' representation at the Commonwealth Games. Formed after the dissolution of the West Indies Federation in 1962, the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA) first competed at Olympic level at the 1968 Summer Olympics and has continued to compete at every Olympics since excluding the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The President Steve Stoute currently heads up the organization. With Erskine Simmons serving as current Secretary General. On May 29, 2009 the BOA and the Canadian Olympic Committee signed a