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Cubans Are Urged to Be More Active

By ANNE-MARIE GARCIA, Associated Press Writer

November 1, 2006, 11:02 AM CST

HAVANA — IOC president Jacques Rogge called on health and sports specialists in Cuba to encourage young and older people to be more physically active.

"Less than a third of the world's young people are physically active," Rogge said Wednesday at the opening ceremonies of the Sport for All Congress. "So we all face the challenge of making sports more attractive to those under 16 years old, as well as adults over 60."

More than 1,000 health and sports specialists from 132 countries are at the congress, an IOC-sponsored event held every two years. The opening was attended by Cuba's acting president, Raul Castro.

Rogge, who arrived in Cuba late Tuesday, praised the island's sports programs, pointing out that physical education is mandatory in Cuban schools.

"The exchange of experiences and knowledge in this congress will be beneficial for the development of sports throughout the world," he said.

Rogge plans to meet with Cuba's top sports officials and "check out the situation of sports in the country," he said.

His visit comes as Cuba attempts to get baseball, its national sport, back on the Olympic roster after baseball and softball were dropped last year in an IOC vote. Baseball has been an Olympic sport since 1992, but will not be part of the 2012 London Games.

The earliest it can be reinstated is 2009, when the IOC considers the sports program for the 2016 Games.

Cuban officials are expected to bring up the issue with Rogge, who has requested a meeting with Fidel Castro, currently recovering from intestinal surgery as his brother Raul leads the country.

Cuba is a powerhouse in baseball, clinching the gold medal in the Olympic Games in 1992, 1996 and 2004.

Discussions and presentations at the congress will run through Friday. Rogge promised to help implement plans and ideas that come out of the event.