The first ever Youth Olympic Games

  The first Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will be held in Singapore from 14-26 August 2010. The objective is to bring together about 3600 young and talented athletes aged between 14 and 18 years old. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) wishes the Youth Olympic Games to be a return to the origin of the Olympic Games spirit. The Cultural and Sportive dimension of the Games will be important as well as the image of Fair-Play.   With the goal to present an attractive competition format that fits within the Youth Olympic Games programme, World Archery is proposing four days of competition on 18-21 August with 32 boys and 32 girls participating (maximum of one male athlete and one female athlete per country). A ranking round at 70m will take place on the first day. The second day will feature an innovative mixed gender/mixed country team competition, while day 3 and 4 will propose the individual events for boys and girls.   The IOC also wishes young officials and young technical experts to participate the competition operations. World Archery has proposed young International Judges, acting under the responsibility of the FITA Judges Committee. These judges have been specially trained for this event and will be a good asset for the future of our sport.   Competition Format There are three events in the YOG archery competition: Boys Individual, Girls Individual and the Mixed Team. The competition consists of two phases: first a 70m Round for archers to achieve their seeding for the Olympic elimination round to follow. The Olympic Round has a single elimination format.  Individuals and teams are placed into brackets according to their ranking round seeding (1st vs. 32nd, 2nd vs. 31st, etc.) The Olympic Round consists of the Elimination Rounds (1/16, 1/8) and Final Rounds (quarterfinals, semifinals, finals for bronze medal and gold medal) for both individual and team events. Competitors will use the new Sets System to decide the winner of their matches.   The Mixed Teams involves the qualified athletes from the individual events. A mixed team consists of two athletes of a different gender. They may be from a different or same country. Athletes are teamed up according to the ranking of each gender in the ranking round. No 1 in the Junior Men’s ranking round will pair with No 32 from the Junior Women’s ranking round, No 2 from the Junior Men’s ranking round with No 31 from the Junior Women’s ranking round, etc. The teams ranking round score will be the combined scores of each team member achieved in the ranking round. The teams are ranked according to the team ranking round score and then placed in the 1/16 elimination round (then 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, bronze and gold).   Competition Venue Near to the city central, the Kallang Field is located in the Kallang Sports Complex, best-known for being the location of the Singapore Indoor Stadium and the old National Stadium, as well as the new Singapore Sports Hub.   The Kallang Field and the adjacent Tennis Centre are part of the Kallang Sports Complex. Currently, home to Singapore’s cricketers, the field is also used for Softball. Spanning an area of more than 50,000sqm, the Kallang Field was the venue for the prestigious Singer Cup Cricket Tournament in 1996, involving teams from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In 1999, a one-day international tournament involving India, West Indies and Zimbabwe was also hosted there. The Kallang Field will be upgraded and converted to host the archery competitions during the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games.   Culture & Education Programme The IOC’s vision is for the YOG to be an event integrating sport, culture and education. The Culture and Education Programme (CEP) forms an integral component of Singapore 2010 and will provide a memorable and inspiring experience for athletes. CEP will engage and inspire athletes to be true Olympians, to adopt and live by the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect, and to play active roles in their communities.   The CEP comprises modular, fun and interactive activities centred on the educational themes of Olympism, Skills Development, Well-Being and Healthy Lifestyle, Social Responsibility and Expression. Activities based on these five themes provide the context for athletes to learn, contribute, interact and celebrate, and inspire them to better appreciate and live by the Olympic values.   A motivation programme to recognise and reward each athlete’s personal CEP experience will be introduced to encourage participation. By participating in a selected number of CEP activities and expressing the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect, athletes will receive a set of specially-designed Singapore 2010 collectibles. Taken as a whole, the CEP activities will provide a memorable and enriching experience for the athletes and inspire them to embrace, embody and express the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect.   Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games official website: www.singapore2010.sg   By World Archery / Source: SYOGOC 2010
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