*** Youth Olympic Games Opens ***
Singapore (AP) -- 08/14/2010
Young athletes from around the world are competing in the
Olympic spirit today, as the inaugural Youth Olympic Games
gets underway in Singapore.
The longtime brainchild of International Olympic Committee
President Jacques Rogge, the games are aimed at fostering
enthusiasm for sport and healthy living.
But, as you might expect, the level of competition will be high
when the athletes compete in a lineup of 26 sports familiar to
fans of the Summer Games.
There are some significant differences, however.
Events are broken into age categories, for instance, with the
events themselves varying according to the ages of the athletes.
Photo - A burst of fireworks explodes in the night sky during the
opening ceremony of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG)
And in an even more unusual turn, several sports will feature
mixed-gender teams. A medley relay in athletics, a road/mountain
bike/BMX cycling mixed event, tennis, modern pentathlon, triathlon
and swimming relays will all be contested by teams of boys and girls.
The games are also being used as a proving ground for new sports
formats like 3-on-3 basketball. Played on a half-court, organizers
hope the fast-paced, quick-scoring game might one day make it
into the Summer Olympics.
What really sets the Youth Olympics apart from the myriad other
high-level sporting events for young athletes is its complement of
cultural and educational activities. Games attendees will have the
chance to attend workshops covering a broad range of topics from
the benefit of a healthy lifestyle to the value of friendship, solidarity
and fair play.
Rogge even hopes the novel Olympic experience will encourage
young participants to reject drugs, gambling, racism and corruption.
"It's a preparation for their later Olympic life," Rogge told
The Associated Press. "In a very modern and human way
we are going to tell them things that are important that they
have to acquire. I think that is the added value of the Youth
Olympic Games."
An estimated 3,600 athletes, aged 14-18, have travelled from
more than 200 countries to compete in the Singapore games.
Canada has sent a team of 61 competitors.
It's not just athletes who stand to benefit, though. There will be
a corps of 29 "Young Reporters" on hand to cover the event from
a youth perspective.
Photo - A burst of fireworks explodes in the night sky during the
opening ceremony of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG)
It's all part of Rogge's vision to turn the Olympic experience
into a unique kind of classroom.
"I believe I can say we are experts in staging major sports events,"
Rogge told AP. "But we are entering now a new field, the education
field. We might make some errors in the beginning, but we will learn
from them."
Organizers have gone to great lengths gearing the
Olympic message for a young audience.
Sporting superstars including Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and
American swimmer Michael Phelps have been featured in pre-games
publicity that spans such youth-friendly media as YouTube, ********
and *******.
This inaugural edition of Youth Olympic Games will draw to a close
on August 26th. By that time, organizers expect upwards of 370,000
spectators will have passed through the event gates.
Sports fans around the world can watch coverage of the two-week
competition on the IOC's official rights-holding broadcasters.
( http://www.youtholympicgames.org )
The first winter edition of the Youth Olympic Games
will be held in 2012 at Innsbruck, Austria.
CC - The Associated Press (AP) Wire.
ACC - http://www.genesbmx.com/2010-youth-olympic-games.html
