Without Medal, Will Olympians Grumble?

In the first Summer Youth Olympic Games to be held in Singapore, organizers plan not to give out any medals. In addition, no records for the various age groups will be kept.

The idea is to focus on the non-competitive spirit of the games. Moreover, as it is the first ever Youth Olympic Games, there are no previous records to compare against. The IOC thinks it is unwise to physically push teenage bodies just to set world records.

“It’s not fair. Anyone who gets to be top three in an Olympic final should get a medal”, said Ling, my twelve-year-old daughter’s classmate who hopes to represent Singapore in the Youth Olympic Games in two year’s time.

I would consider this omission rather bizarre. When you race one another, someone will turn up first, second or third. The titles will be recognised. Why not present a medal of recognition for the athlete’s efforts like all other sporting events, especially at the Olympic level? Shouldn’t the authorities reconsider this stance? Without medals, winners will be deprived of a tangible sign of their achievement. Sure, winners can brag about their titles. But nothing beats a medal to symbolize their sporting excellence.

Without medals, will they be happy about this?

What do you think?

Get Closer To The Aims Of Olympics For Youths (YOG) Games

The euphoria of winning the tag to be host of the world’s first Summer Youth Olympics has dissipated much faster than the build up of excitement to the announcement of the IOC voting result. Currently, the buzz has been low-key, as organizers roll up their sleeves in offices to refine a plan to stage a global sports show.

I have never attended any of the previous senior Olympics Competition as a spectator, and certainly not as a competitor. Now with the first version of Youth Olympics coming to our shores, there will be plenty of opportunities to get closer to the action from now till the year 2010.

As a citizen of the winning city to host the world’s first Summer Youth Olympics, it is only natural to feel happy and proud. Putting aside clichés, the best part of it all is still the ideals embodied in the Olympic Movement.

The aims of the Youth Olympic and Games as envisioned by the International Olympic Committee are:

To prepare a generation of young elite athletes to have an ethical approach to sport, with strong values (excellence, friendship and respect) and principles (universality, sustainability, no discrimination);

To educate young people on the importance of sport for their health and their social integration;

To inform young people about the dangers linked to sport, such as doping, training to excess and inactivity; and

To propose to the youth of the world, present in the host city and brought together through modern communication tools, to share in an intense moment of solidarity and humanism, highlighting in particular the strong Olympic symbols (torch relay, flag, anthem).

I believe that these ideals are worth pursuing to make the world a better place, sporting-wise.

On 21st February 2008, Singapore was declared the inaugural host of the first Summer Youth Olympic Games by Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at a ceremony held in Lausanne, Switzerland which was televised "live" in Singapore.

This historic occasion will see Singapore play host to an estimated 5000 athletes aged 14 to 18 and their officials participating in 26 sports. As this will be the first ever Youth Olympic Games, the whole world will look to Singapore to set the tone and standard of organising a truly global world-class event.

The First Summer Youth Games of the Olympics will be held on 14 to 26 August 2010 in Singapore.

Highlights of Singapore Olympics Youth Games Candidature
(obtained from the Singapore2010.sg)

Concept and legacy
· A concept that fully embraces Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect was developed.

· Through close partnerships with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Federations and the National Olympic Committees, creative presentations of sports will be achieved through fully integrated Sport, Education and Culture programmes.

· With unity of purpose among all agencies and full commitment of the government, the Organising Committee is capable of delivering a model Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in two and a half years.


Education and Culture
· The Education and Culture Programme (ECP) is designed to provide an enriching and transformative experience for all participants. It is designed and delivered by young people, for young people, to inspire young people.

· The innovative and modular programme will be delivered through four modalities, namely, learning, contributing, interacting and celebrating.

· The new media platform will be extensively used to reach out to youths worldwide by developing youth communities and strengthening the connections between young people even before the YOG begins.

Sports and venues
· offers a unique blend of compactness and vibrancy to the sports programme and venues concept.

· All competition venues will be within 30 minutes’ travel time of the Youth Olympic Village and the Olympic Family hotels.
· Singapore 2010 proposes an exciting and youth-oriented sports competition and entertainment experience.

· All 26 sports of the Summer Olympic Games will be included in the YOG.

Youth Olympic Village
· New, integrated University Town set to be ready by February 2010 will be used as Youth Olympic Village (YOV). Designed as a high-quality residential and educational community environment for young people, it is conducive for multicultural interaction and learning.

· The tropical campus of the YOV will occupy a 19-hectare former golf course and be built using environmentally sustainable design concepts.

· The YOV offers exceptional proximity to all sports venues- some 70 per cent of sports competition venues will be within 20 minutes’ travel time, while all will be within 30 minutes.

Security
· Singapore’s reliability of police services ranked highest in the Global Competitiveness Report. Security agencies will collaborate with their international security network and the IOC Security Advisor during the YOG.

· An integrated approach will be used to build robust event-specific plans that address all aspects of security and law and order, while retaining the spirit of the YOG.

· The Singapore Police Force can tailor its resources to the scale of the event and the level of risk.

Political and economic climate and structure
· Singapore is a parliamentary democracy with a strong and stable government. It is single-tiered with no regional or local authorities.

· All government agencies are fully united in supporting Singapore’s bid and totally committed to delivering a well-executed Youth Olympic Games. Government agencies and sports fraternity are united and work closely together.

· To ensure a seamless transition from the bid phase to the organising committee phase, Singapore will continue with the multi-agency set-up used in bidding for the YOG.

Legal aspects
· The Second Minister for Finance, on behalf of the Government of Singapore, covenants that the Government of Singapore will respect the provisions of the Olympic Charter and the Youth Olympic Games Host City Contract.

· All necessary legal measures have been taken, or will be taken, to protect the Olympic-related marks and designations in the name of the IOC.

· Singapore has a highly effective legal system for protecting intellectual property rights.

Customs and immigration formalities
· Immigrations and customs clearance in Singapore is fast and efficient.

· Work permit procedures are also simple and efficient.

· 171 National Olympic Councils (NOC), or over 80 percent of NOCs do not require a visa upon entry into Singapore.

· Games-time accreditation will be integrated with the entry-visa application process.

Finance
· A prudent, conservative and thorough budgeting process was developed; the Singapore bid was budgeted at USD 75.411 million.

· The Government of Singapore will act as the ultimate financial guarantor and will provide all financial guarantees towards the hosting of the Youth Olympic Games.
· The Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (YOGOC) will be formed as a body within the Government of Singapore and will not be subjected to any income taxes.

· The YOGOC does not intend to hold a lottery for the purpose of financing the YOG in 2010.

Marketing
· The Government of Singapore will sign a binding agreement with the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) for the YOG marketing programme. Under the agreement, the SNOC will assign all rights in marketing and sponsorship to the YOGOC.

· Singapore, a financial and commercial powerhouse, is home to more than 7,000 multinational corporations and many home-grown, world-class brand names potentially interested in providing sponsorship for the YOG.

· The YOGOC will work closely with SISTIC, an experienced and committed ticketing partner, on a ticketing strategy and programme.

Medical services and doping control
· In 2000, the World Health Organisation ranked Singapore as having the best healthcare system in Asia and is renowned for having one of the world’s best healthcare systems.

· The travel time from YOV and Olympic Family hotels to the nearest hospital is no more than 10 minutes, with emergency medical services available at all venues.

Accommodation
· According to the 2006 Union of International Associations and the International Conference and Convention Association, Singapore is ranked in the top three international convention cities in the world.

· 39, 000 hotel rooms are located within 20 km of city centre, meeting all YOG needs of compactness and vibrancy.

Transport
· Singapore’s world-class transportation infrastructure provides safe, efficient and reliable Games-time transport.

· Free public transport will be provided for all accredited personnel and event ticket-holders.

· All YOG vehicles will be tracked by GPS and Olympic Lanes will be designated along key routes for even speedier access to all YOG venues.

· Also a major air hub, Singapore is connected to more than 130 airports worldwide and 80 international airlines operate scheduled services via Singapore to 191 cities in 59 countries.

Technology
· A world leader for effective global communications, Singapore is consistently among the top nations in several global Information Communication Technology rankings.

· Athletes and the Olympic Family will enjoy content and services tailored specially for them through the Digital Concierge service, a joint project by the IDA and the Singapore Tourism Board. Every participant will have access to YOG-related services on the move.

Media Operations
· Singapore is a global hub for communications.

· The YOG’s Main Media Centre will be located centrally at the Marina Bay Sands resort. There are 2, 500 rooms and is in an extremely convenient location. It also has excellent supporting facilities, accommodation, transport and attractions for the media.

· Young journalists both locally and internationally will be involved in covering the YOG, in line with the YOG’s vision to be a Games delivered by young people for young people.

Welcome To Olympic Games For Youths Singapore (YOG) personal blog.

In my quest to discover more of the Olympic Games for Youths that will be the first of its kind in the world, I have started this blog to keep track of developments on it. Singapore will be the first nation in the world to host the Olympic Games for Youths. I hope it will be a tremendous success like all the other Oympic Games.

Some background detail is in store at the start:

(source: Singapore YOG website)

"On 21st February 2008, Singapore was declared the inaugural host of the first Summer Youth Olympic Games by Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at a ceremony held in Lausanne, Switzerland which was televised "live" in Singapore.

This historic occasion will see Singapore play host to an estimated 5000 athletes aged 14 to 18 and their officials participating in 26 sports. As this will be the first ever Youth Olympic Games, the whole world will look to Singapore to set the tone and standard of organising a truly global world-class event.

The First Summer Youth Olympic Games will be held on 14 to 26 August 2010 in Singapore. "

The Singapore Olympic Games for Youths (YOG) will be coming to Singapore. Let's hope the Singapore Olympic Games for Youths (YOG) will turn out well in 2010. I really hope so.

Wish List:

As the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will be coming to Singapore let's pray the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will turn out well.

Let the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) come to Singapore and wish that the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will turn out well.

The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is confirmed to be coming to Singapore. Let's put our hands together for the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will inaugurate in 2010. Best wishes to the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will be coming to Singapore. Let's thank our lucky stars that the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will turn out well.

The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will soon be in Singapore. Let's hope the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) really turns out well.