The Youth Olympic Games will become a reality. The IOC members approved, at the 119th Session in Guatemala City, the project that foresees the first editions for the Youth Olympic Summer Games in 2010 and for the Youth Olympic Winter Games in 2012. ÔÇ£This is an historic moment for the Olympic Movement. We owe this to the youth of the worldÔÇØ, declared IOC President Rogge after the decision by his 111 fellow members.
According to Rogge, the Youth Olympic Games, which will take place every second year, are the flagship of the IOC's strategy outlined for young people, which includes other initiatives, such as an educational project on Olympic values, a dedicated web site for youngsters and a campaign highlighting the Olympic values to young people.
The Youth Olympic Games aims are:
- to bring together talented athletes from around the world to participate in high-level competitions;
- to run, alongside the sports element of the event, education programs on; Olympic values, on the benefits of sport for a healthy lifestyle, the social values sport can deliver and on the dangers of doping and of training to excess and/or of inactivity.
- to use the latest communications channels to promote Olympic values and the spirit and essence embodied in the Youth Olympic Games.
The Youth Olympic Games ÔÇô age group 14 to 18 - will bring together approximately 3,200 athletes and 800 officials for the Summer Games and 1,000 athletes and 580 officials for the Winter Games. The sports program will encompass all sports on the program of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and the 2012 Summer Games with a limited number of disciplines and events. Proposals from Sports Federations to integrate youth-driven disciplines that are not part of the Olympic Games may be accepted.
The main milestones for the first Youth Olympic Games are the following:
- July 2007: opening of bid process to NOCs for the 1st Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2010
- Between November and December 2007: an Evaluation Commission, under the guidance of the IOC and composed of IF, NOC and athlete representatives, may visit the Candidate Cities, pre-selected by an expert panel on the basis of a bid file, and forward a proposal to the Executive Board, which will make a recommendation to the IOC members.
- End of February 2008: decision by the IOC members on the host city for the 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games by postal vote.
Source: IOC
