What do some of the half million youths in Singapore think about the Olympic Youth Games to be held in Singapore?
Is this a chance for youths to compete in the Olympic Youth Games so that we can become number 1 in the youth sporting world?
Is this a chance for Singapore to learn from the Youth Olympic Games how to become a great sporting nation?
Is it going to be about forging new friendships with youths from all over the world at the Youth Games village?
Is it a chance to attract hot bods and cute chicks from all over the world to attend the world's first Youth Games Olympics in Singapore?
Discover the answer for yourself in this stylish video on what youths think about Singapore bringing the young Olympic Youth Games to our little island ...
At the YOG CAN! Carnival that I visited recently, several interesting YOG sports were on show. These YOG sports events included wrestling, equestrian, handball, 3-on-3 basketball and fencing.
These YOG sports on show were hands-on try-out platforms for youngsters and the young-at-heart to jump into. They were not passive demonstrations of various sports that YOG competitors would compete in 2010 in Singapore. Neither were these YOG sports just simple exhibition booths to showcase the various competition events.
Visitors to the YOG CAN! Carnival were able to try out these YOG show sports as they were more of a get-your-hands-dirty games session.
In YOG wrestling, participants could compete with others to see if they have what it takes to be the future Youth Olympic Games champions.
In the sport of YOG fencing, by-standers could walk up, grab a weapon and start showing off their fencing skills like Zorro! Best of all, you get to score points by ‘piercing’ your opponent with the pointed tip of your weapon.
YOG equestrian sports wannabes got to ride a real horse around a fenced-in area led by a horse trainer. No show jumping was allowed but judging from the look of delighted faces of riders, they must have been sitting on cloud nine!
For the YOG 3-on-3 basketball sports games, many students stepped up to display amazing skills in a fun-filled arena, under watchful eyes of talent spotters, spectators, supporters and friends.
YOG handball sports gamers could try their hands at scoring at goal. Targets with score numbers were hung on different levels of the goal post to be if they could aim their throw at the four corners that garnered maximum points.
The public opportunities to try out these YOG Sports and Games left a positive impression on me. I think those who had the opportunities to participate in these YOG sports and games would surely agree.
It was announced 10 December 2008 on the Singapore2010.sg website that the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved the sports competitions programme and the qualification system for the first Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG).
Some features about the first Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) sports competitions and qualification system can be observed from the media release which has been summarized in Singapore Youth Olympic Games blog.
Features of the First Summer YOG Sports Competitions Programme and Qualification System:
3597 atheletes are expected to gather in Singapore to compete in 26 sports comprising 201 events.
The number of sports in the YOG is exactly the same as the London Olympic Games 2012 programme.
Each event will have its own age group for competitions: 15-16 years old (27 events), 16-17 (111 events) or 17-18 (63 events). The cut-off age is the age of the athlete on 31 December in the year of the YOG (i.e. 2010).
Events differ significantly in order to match age groups and interests of the young atheletes.
Mixed-gender or National Olympic Committees (NOCs) will be a particularity of the YOG. What this means is that many team events will require the boys and girls from each country's National Olympic Committee to compete as a team.
Such mixed-gender team events include archery, athletics (medley relay). Cycling (combined BMX-mountain bike-road event), equestrian, fencing, judo, modern pentathlon (relay), swimming (relay), table tennis, tennis and triathlon (relay).
Another key feature of the YOG is ensuring the universality of the YOG. In individual sports, a specific number of places for NOCs will be reserved to ensure at least four athletes per NOC can participate (Universality Places).
Qualification system for each sport and discipline was prepared in close collaboration with the respective International Federations (IF).
Four team sport tournaments (football, handball, hockey and volleyball) will consist of one national team per continent as well as a sixth team (chosen from the NOC of host country or proposed by IFs with IOC approval). Each NOC can only have one boys' and one girls' team.
NOC delegation may include a maximum of 70 athletes in individual sports, irrespective of number of athletes qualified.
There will be a Cultural and Educational Programme (CEP) for YOG participants that aims to raise awareness on important issues like a healthy lifestyle, the fight against doping and their role as sports ambassadors in their communities.
Officials from the Singapore Hockey Federation (SHF) were confident that Singapore could win a medal at the First Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore in 2010.
National coach Mohamed Ali, 50, was quoted that he felt the skills of Singapore's hockey players at the youth level matched those from the top hockey nations such as India, Australia and those in Europe.
This was revealed during the one day event which was part of the World Hockey Youth Challenge recently. The single day tournament held locally attracted about 100 teams comprising 600 boys and girls from primary schools, secondary schools and junior colleges in Singapore.
Hockey is one of 26 sports which will be contested at the first Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) to be held in Singapore from 14 to 26 August, 2010.
The 2010 YOG will host 3,200 of the world's best young athletes aged between 14 and 18.
What I Hope And Expect In The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games Soccer Finals
This is the kind of pulsating game that I would wish to witness during the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games Soccer Finals. I hope to see plenty of goals scored in a thrilling match between the best Olympic teams under age 18. The soccer tournament would be for youths between 14 and 18 years old to come together in the spirit of Olympism, to excel in their respective sporting games.
Watch this exciting Under 17 Fifa World Cup Soccer Finals held in 2005. The match between Mexico and Brazil was played out in Peru. These kids are under 17 years old and may be what you can expect in a Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games Soccer competition to be held in August in Singapore.
Sixteen Year Old Vicky Parnov Won The 5th IAAF World Youth Championship Pole Vault
How good are youths when it comes to sports competitions? What are the standards that you would expect at the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games? For pole vault event, look no further that Australia's Vicky Parnov who won the 5th IAAF World Youth Championship Pole Vault event in 1997 to get an idea of how good these athletes can be.
Australia's Vicky Parnov (not in picture) was only 16 years old when she won the gold medal for pole vault at the 5th IAAF World Youth Championship in Ostrava, Czech Republic. She cleared 4.30 metres to beat off the challenge from defending champion Ekaterini Stefanidi.
Before this competition, Vicky Parnov experienced competition in the World Youth Championships in Marrakech in 2005 when she came in fourth, and the World Junior Championships in Beijing in 2006 when she came in third in the girls pole vault event. She also competed in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne but could only manage to get into sixth position.
Parnov was born in Moscow and raised in Australia. Her family genes are heavily weighted towards sports. Her aunt Tatyana Grigorieva was the silver medallist in the 200o Olympic pole vault. Her gandmother Natalya Pechonkina was the 1968 Olympic Games 400-metre race bronze medallist. According to Australian team leaders, her twelve-year-old sister Liz apparently can clear 3.65 metres.
Let's hope more athletes like Vicky Parnov can make their way to Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games and create plenty of sports-related buzz.
Would there be an exciting 100 metre dash at the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games like the sprint performance of Jamaica's 18 year old Yohan Blake? Sprint sensation Yohan Blake from St Jago's High School, at only 18 years old, burnt the racing track to complete the 100 metre sprint in 10.11 second at the CARIFTA XXXVI Championship Games on 7 April 2007 at Turks & Caicos. [CARIFTA : Caribbean nations, formerly Caribbean Free Trade Agreement nations]
Would we see runners between 14 to 18 year olds from the Olympic world come to Singapore to produce amazing performances? Would the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games see more 18 year olds produce results of Yohan Blake proportions?
I certainly hope so and really look forward to the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games competitions.
What A 2010 YOG Singapore Swimming Finals Might Look Like
For a taste of what a Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games 800m swimming final competition might look like, there was video of a championship final. 18-year-old American Kate Ziegler swam her lungs out in the Fina World Swimming Championships in Melbourne in 2006 to beat Laure Manaudou of France to clock a championship record on her way to the 800-metre freestyle final.
This presentation does not imply that the Singapore's Youth Olympic and Games in 2010 will have an 800-metre Swimming Finals. Neither does it promise that such a Youth Olympics swimming Final will be as exciting. The thrilling video of a swimming final to showcase what may be installed for the future Games may not materialise. Hopefully, come August 2010, the Singapore Youth Olympics and games will produce many such exciting events.
A laudable effort by the Singapore Sports Council, this initiative should hopefully see greater participation in sports by Singaporeans. It is a convenient one-stop resource for busy Singaporeans to play their favourite games and to entice novices to start sports play.
What Are The Sporting Events For The 2010 Youth Olympic Youth Games?
The 2010 Youth Olympic Youth Games in Singapore will see youths in the age range from 14 to 18 years old competing in 26 sports. The following 26 sports and disciplines will be included in the 2010 Youth Olympic Youth Games in Singapore.
These 26 sports are: Aquatics – Diving, Swimming Archery Athletics Badminton Basketball – Olympic format or Street Basketball Boxing Canoeing - Flatwater Cycling – BMX, Mountain Bike Equestrian - Jumping Fencing Football Gymnastics Handball Hockey Judo Modern Pentathlon Rowing Sailing Shooting Table Tennis Taekwondo Tennis Triathlon Volley – Indoor or Beach Volleyball Weightlifting Wrestling – Freestyle (for women), Greco-Roman (for men)
The sports to be included in the 2010 Olympic Youth Games in Singapore will also be included in the 2012 Summer Olympics, although the 2012 Games will have more sports and disciplines.
The organising committee of the 2010 Olympic competition and games will meet in Singapore to discuss the details. A decision will be announced later on all the individual and team events for the 2010 YOG.
The date of the 2010 Youth Olympics and Games has been confirmed to be 14 to 26 August 2010 in Singapore. Read this post for details.
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