21 May 2013

Lausanne, 21st May - The International Olympic Committee announced yesterday that two-time Olympic champion Yelena Isinbaeva will be an official Ambassador of the Nanjing (China) 2014 Youth Olympic Games (YOG).
The Russian pole vaulter - who is a member of the EOC Athletes commission since 2009 - will reprise her role as a YOG Ambassador, following her support and attendance of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games.
The WOG inaugural edition saw over 3,600 elite young athletes from 205 National Olympic Committees compete while also taking part in a unique Culture and Education Programme off the field of play. The Youth Olympic Games also encourage young people around the world to get involved in sport and embrace and live by the Olympic values.
The second edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games will be held from 16 to 28 August in Nanjing, China. The sports programme will feature 28 sports, including golf and rugby sevens, which will make their debut on an Olympic programme before their inclusion in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The YOG also feature unique disciplines such as 3-on-3 basketball and 5-a-side hockey, as well as mixed gender and mixed NOC events.
Speaking at an event held in Nanjing, where Yelena Isinbaeva enjoyed a tour of the Athletics Stadium and gave a masterclass to young athletes, the YOG Ambassador said: "I am very happy and honoured to continue in my role as a YOG Ambassador for the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games. The Youth Olympic Games are a great platform for young athletes, which I experienced first-hand at the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games."
"As well as these Games preparing them for their future sports careers by exposing them to all that comes with a high-level international multi-sports event, such as living in a village and the media interest, I saw for myself how the athletes made the most of the opportunities to make friends with different athletes from different countries, to experience different cultures and to really live the YOG spirit."

18 May 2013

San Marino , 18th May - the 34th EOC Seminar, organised in conjunction with the Olympic Committee of the small Republic perched in the centre of the Italian peninsula, has allowed the delegations from the 49 NOCs of Europe to stock up on lots of useful information for their activities.
The seminar lasted three days and included two plenary sessions and two workshops, and was run in parallel with the IOC OS Olympic Solidarity Forum, during which the delegates were given comprehensive information on the world and continental programmes for the new quadrennial.
The reports from the organising committees of the upcoming Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016Olympics were much appreciated by the delegates. A large part of the seminar was also dedicated to the European Youth Olympic Festival, in view of the call for candidatures for the 2019 EYOF.
Reports on the next summer and winter YOGs, Nanjing 2014 and Lillehammer 2016, on the Luxembourg 2013 Games of the Small States of Europe, on the new WADA Anti Doping Code, the activities of the EOC Athletes' Commission and preparations for the European Athletes Forum and Assembly in Croatia next autumn, completed the works of the seminar.
But it was the presentation of the EOC's new sports event, the European Games, the inaugural edition of which will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from the 12th to the 28th of June 2015, that was the highlight of the 34th EOC Seminar and will remain its memorable event.
With the warm welcome and highly professional approach of the NOC of San Marino, its president Gian Primo Giardi, its secretary general Eros Bologna and their team, the 34th EOC Seminar also gave the members of the Olympic Family of Europe the opportunity to discover some of the traditions of this ancient oasis of freedom set upon Titan's rock.
The 2014 EOC Seminar will be hosted in Nicosia by the NOC of Cyprus.