The inaugural Youth Olympic Games are scheduled to be held in Singapore August 14-26, 2010. The Internatioal Olympic Committee (IOC) wants athletes - 14 to 18 years old - to compete in the same sports as athletes at the current "Professional" Olympic Games.

The 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will be made up of over 3,600 athletes and 800 officials from 205 countries along with over 800 media representatives and an expected 500,000 spectators. The 2010 Summer YOG will be followed by 2012 Winter YOG, Summer 2014, Winter 2016 and so on, in alternate years to the Professional Olympic Games.

Wait a minute, not so fast. The IOC and Olympic broadcasters seek to sell the youth demographic to sponsors and advertisers. The creation of the Youth Olympic Games simply gives the IOC and broadcasters a youth product to sell. Is anyone concerned about the young lives affected by production of this Olympic "show"?

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Monday, March 30, 2009

When will the International Olympic Committee Announce in US Media about the Opportunity for Youth to Train for Next Summer's First-ever Youth Olympic Games?

There has been no news release in US major media. The general public is clueless about the opportunity for kids to train for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games.

However, parents already involved in the Olympics (such as former athletes or Olympic Committee officials) will have learned about the opportunity to have their kids train from Olympic Sporting Federation websites as shown in other blogs on this page.

Are the Youth Olympic Games for everyone? By the way they are being selectively promoted by the International Olympic Committee, it does not look that way.

Mon, March 30, 2009 | link

Monday, March 23, 2009

Handball: Why does the IOC inform only parents of elite athletic youth about the chance to train for next summer's Youth Olympic Games?

The International Handball Federation website www.ihf.info does not contain much information about the 2010 Youth Olympic Games, but it mentions that in April 2008, the IHF Commission of Organization and Competition met to discuss qualification guidelines.

Basic qualification guidelines for handball are found on the International Olympic Committee website www.ioc.com:

Age Group: Youth born between 1/1/92 and 12/31/93 are eligible for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games.

Number of athletes: 168 total; 14 athletes per team

2 Events: 6-team tournaments (M & W)

Qualifying Events: 5 continental qualification events in 2009 and 2010; the highest ranked National Organizing Committee at each of the events qualifies.

Mon, March 23, 2009 | link

Friday, March 20, 2009

The Goal is to Reduce Carbon Emissions, Not to Increase Emissions

Fri, March 20, 2009 | link

Monday, March 16, 2009

Boxing: Why does the IOC inform only parents of elite athletic youth about the chance to train for next summer's Youth Olympic Games?

The American Boxing Confederation website www.americanbc.org announces the Youth Olympic Games opportunity to youth already involved in boxing:

Boxing is one of the sports to take part in the first Youth Olympic Games. These Games have been instituted by the International Olympic Committee and its first version will be presented in the summer of 2010 in Singapore.

The International Boxing Federation (AIBA) office recently released the requirements for classifications boxers who might participate in these games. Only athletes competing in the 2010 World Championship will be entitled to participate.

This will give an extraordinary importance to the world youth championship, and that all athletes wishing to participate in first youth Olympic Games and be part of history.

Athlete Eligibility

· Boxers born between 1 January 1992 and 31 December 1993.

· Only boxers who have competed at the AIBA Youth World Championships are eligible to compete at the Youth Olympic Games

· Boxers who satisfy the nationality and medical requirements to compete according to the AIBA Technical and Competition rules.

Qualification timeline

February 17, 2009 AIBA announcement of host city for AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships

April 2-11, 2010 YOG qualification event: AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships

June 15 2010 Deadline for NOCs to confirm their use of the qualified places to AIBA

June – July 14, 2010 Reallocation of unused NOC and universality places final reallocation period for unused quota places

July 15, 2010 Entries deadline (by name) for all sports

Mon, March 16, 2009 | link

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Rowing: Why does the IOC inform only parents of elite athletic youth about the chance to train for next summer's Youth Olympic Games?

The International Federation of Rowing Association website (www.worldrowing.com) details how elite youth can qualify for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games:

Youth Olympic Games - rowing qualification system announced

(January 26, 2009) Qualification system for the first ever Youth Olympic Games (YOG) to be held in Singapore in 2010 have been confirmed by the IOC. A quota system means that athletes will have to qualify for the Games through a qualification process that begins this year.

The four rowing events for these Games will be: the junior men’s single, junior women’s single, junior men’s pair and junior women’s pair. The rowing quota allows a total of 96 competitors falling into a two year age category: the rowers must be 17 or 18 years old at the time of the Games (birthdays from 1.1.92 – 31.12.93).

Nations will be limited to one male and one female crew and can qualify in one of two ways: by obtaining the necessary ranking at the 2009 World Rowing Junior Championships, or by allocation of a universality place. Universality places may be offered to eligible nations that do not qualify via performance and that have submitted applications for a universality place allocation. 68 rowers will qualify via the ‘performance’ route, while 26 will be allocated universality places. A further 2 places are available for the host country.

This year’s World Rowing Junior Championships will offer the sole qualification opportunity for the Youth Olympic Games. At this regatta boats with the following ranking will qualify one boat spot for their country:

12 nations will qualify for each of the men’s and women’s single: the top six places in the single, top three places in the double and top three places in the quad.
11 nations will qualify for each of the men’s and women’s pair: the top five places in the pair, top three places in the four and top three places in the eight.

If more than one boat per nation meets the performance qualification criteria, the qualification place will be attributed to the boat with the higher ranking. If two or more boats from a country meet the qualification criteria and achieve the same ranking, then the NOC of that country will decide which qualification place to accept.These rankings will qualify the nation, not the individual athlete, for a spot at the YOG.

FISA’s delegate Mike Tanner says the final allocation will be confirmed following consultation between the International Olympic Committee (IOC), FISA and the relevant National Olympic Committees. This final allocation will consider universality (adding another 26 athletes to the total), host country representation (allowing two single entries to the host nation), performance and gender equity to decide the final mix. The quota places and names will be confirmed by July 2010.

“We need to get the word out to all nations about qualification (at the junior championships),” says Tanner who is expecting some additional countries to compete at this year’s World Rowing Junior Championships.

The World Rowing Junior Championships are to be held in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France from 5 – 8 August 2009.

Sat, March 14, 2009 | link

Monday, March 9, 2009

Why Not Announce the Youth Olympic Games Publically in the US?

What is the IOC waiting for?

Mon, March 9, 2009 | link

Friday, March 6, 2009

Archery: Why does the IOC inform only parents of elite athletic youth about the chance to train for next summer's Youth Olympic Games?

If a kid happens to visit the International Archery Federation website, that's how they would learn about the great new opportunity to qualify for next summer's Youth Olympic Games.

Too bad that there's small chance that someone not already into archery would visit the site.

From a January 23, 2009 posting on the FITA website (International Archery Federation) www.archery.org:

Youth Olympic Games Singapore 2010 Qualification System

Frequently Asked Questions on “Youth Olympic Games”

1) How/Where can I qualify for the Youth Olympic Games Singapore 2010?

By obtaining a quota place for my country at:

Ø Youth World Championships 2009 in Ogden (USA) in the special qualification tournament

Ø Continental Qualifying tournament

Ø Through universality places (see further down)

2) Is there team and/or individual quota?

A country can obtain one place for a boy and one place for a girl maximum. There are no team quotas. The team competition is a mixed team—two nations in a team of two archers (see further down).

3) Is there minimal score (MQS)?

Yes, all archers participating in the Singapore Youth Games have to have shot at least once a minimum qualification score in a 70m/60m Round or a FITA Round. For details, see the qualification procedure on the FITA Website.

Boys
FITA Round; 1200 (juniors) or 1220 (cadets)
70m/60m Round: 600 (juniors) or 610 (cadets)
Girls
FITA Round: 1180 (juniors) or 1200 (cadets)
70m/60m Round: 590 (juniors) or 600 (cadets)

The MQS must be achieved in the qualified period of 11 July 2009 (starting at the 2009 Youth World Championships) to 1 July 2010. Athletes who are shooting the cadet distances in 2008 can obtain the MQS in 2009 as a cadet or obtain the MQS in 2010 in the junior distances.

4) I was born in 1994 and therefore I will be cadet in 2010. Can I participate in the Youth Olympic Games in 2010 or a subsequent edition?

No, under the IOC rules only the athletes born between 1 January 1992 and 31 December 1993 can participate in Singapore. Also, only these athletes are eligible to obtain places for the Youth Olympic Games in the qualification tournaments. For what concerns the 2014 edition no information is known yet.

5) Is there a separate tournament in Ogden and are the participants different for the Youth World Championships than for the Qualification Tournament?

Yes, there is separate tournament. Only the archers participating in the Youth World Championships can participate in the qualification tournament but only the ones who are born between 1 January 1992 and 31 December 1993 with a maximum of three per country and gender. If there are more than three per gender of the same country that are eligible, the Member Association will have to announce the three archers who will participate in the qualification tournament prior to the start of the qualification round of the Youth World Championships.

6) Will there be a separate ranking round for the qualification tournament in Ogden?

No, the qualification round of the Youth World Championships will be used as ranking round for the qualification tournament. The score at 70m will be used for boys (*)and the score at 60m for girls (*).

(*) of the eligible age range: born in 1992 and 1993, whatever the age category they will shoot at these world championships (juniors or cadets)

7) I was born in 1991. Can I obtain a place for the Youth Olympic Games at the Youth World Championships in Ogden and have another person from the same country represent me at the Youth Olympic Games?

No, as stated before, only the ones born in 1992 and 1993 can obtain places even if athletes born in 1991 are juniors in 2009.

8) I obtained a place at the Youth World Championships for the Youth Olympic Games. Does this mean that I will compete in Singapore?

No, not for sure. Places are obtained for your National Olympic Committee (NOC). Your federation has to nominate the archer they wish to represent them and then the NOC has to accept this proposal.

9) Which distances will I shoot on to obtain a quota place for the Youth Olympic Games?

Ogden Youth World Championships: the qualification round for the Youth World Championships will be shot as a FITA Round for the category they compete in:

Ø For boys born in 1992 (juniors): 90m, 70m, 50m and 30m

Ø For boys born in 1993 (cadets): 70m, 60m, 50m and 30m

Ø For girls born in 1992 (juniors): 70m, 60m, 50m and 30m

Ø For girls born in 1993 (cadets): 60m, 50m, 40 and 30m

All documents are available on www.archery.org, section OLYMPICS/Youth Olympics/Singapore 2010/Qualification.

Fri, March 6, 2009 | link

Monday, March 2, 2009

Basketball: Why does the IOC inform only parents of elite athletic youth about the chance to train for next summer's Youth Olympic Games?

FIBA 33 APPROVED FOR YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES

Posted on FIBA.com February 21, 2008

LAUSANNE, Switzerland - The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday approved the sports competitions program for the 1st Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) to be held in Singapore in 2010, as well as the qualification system for each event.

Some 3,594 athletes will compete in Singapore in 26 sports comprising 201 events. The number of sports in the program is identical to the London 2012 program. Each event has its own age group* competing, either 15-16 (27 events), 16-17 (111 events) or 17-18 (63 events).

The events differ significantly in order to match the age groups and interests of the young athletes. Basketball will, for example, be played according to the FIBA 33 formula, with teams of three playing against each other on one half-court.

The qualification system for each sport and discipline, which was prepared in close collaboration with each International Federation (IF), strives to guarantee participation of the best athletes in their age category and to respect the principle of universality by allowing National Organizing Committees to benefit from “Universality Places.”

For all disciplines, competitions such as Junior World Championships, Continental Championships or official junior ranking lists will allow athletes to attempt to qualify for the YOG.

The four team sport** tournaments (football, handball, hockey and volleyball) will consist of one national team per continent as well as a sixth team which will either represent the NOC of the host country or be proposed by the IFs for IOC approval. An NOC will be allowed to have no more than one boys and one girls team competing for all four team sports.

* The age being the athlete’s age on Dec. 31 in the year of the YOG.

** For qualification purposes, basketball is considered as an individual sport.

(from fiba.com)

Mon, March 2, 2009 | link

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