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OPPOSITEAustralia’s Olympic gold medal-winning women’s sevens teaminvestigate ways to work together to develop rugby in their respective territories and, in some cases, plan a pathway to Olympic success at Rio 2016 and beyond.Since the launch of the 2013-16 cycle, US$2 million of Olympic Solidarity funding has been allocated to more than 50 NOCs, supporting more than 65 rugby federations in over 75 rugby projects ranging from coaching courses for 1,000-plus male and female coaches worldwide, team support grants, scholarships and national rugby structure development.While the figures are themselves impressive, a real highlight is the fact that four of the teams which benefited directly from an Olympic Solidarity team support grant won medals at Rio 2016, with Fiji’s men winning their first-ever Olympic medal.LOOKING FORWARD TO TOKYO 2020Rugby is well regarded in the Olympic family and its core values of integrity, respect, solidarity, passion and discipline are closely aligned with Olympic values. Many NOCs have embraced the re-inclusion of rugby onto the Olympic programme and it is clear they are willing to support well thought-out projects to develop and grow the sport in their countries.The success of rugby in securing such significant Olympic Solidarity support in the 2013-16 cycle was impressive and has encouraged other federations, regions and NOCs to follow suit. Already the World Rugby family has been looking at how to build on this success in the next funding cycle which begins in 2017 and will run until the end of 2020, taking in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.If you require further information on World Rugby and Olympic Solidarity, please visit worldrugby.org/olympics/solidarity.and were eager and willing to assist their national federations to develop rugby with their support and that of Olympic Solidarity.A suite of resources was produced with stakeholder input to ensure national federations understood the opportunities available, were familiar with the processes and requirements for Olympic Solidarity support and, especially for those new to the Olympic family, were equipped to positively engage with their NOC and build collaborative relationships to grow rugby and contribute to sport development.GOING FOR GOLDWith the support of World Rugby and its regional training and education staff across the globe, regional associations, member unions and affiliate federations wasted no time in engaging with their NOCs to Gold Australia (women’s) Fiji (men’s)SilverNew Zealand (women’s)BronzeSouth Africa (men’s)Four teams that benefited directly from an Olympic Solidarity team support grant won medals at Rio 2016MAKING AN IMPACTCLOCKWISE FROM TOPTheoretical session as part of a technical course for coaches in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2016; Fiji with their Olympic gold medals; practical session as part of a technical course for coaches in Rwanda in 2015YEAR IN REVIEW 2016 WORLD RUGBY 61OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY | PARTICIPATE