150 days from today, around 1,500 of the best young athletes from all 50 European National Olympic Committees (ENOCs), together with 1,200 volunteers will gather in Sarajevo and East Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the start of the Winter European Youth Olympic Festival.
In May the countdown clock was kicked off and the mascot called Groodvy was presented to the public.
The event will take place from 9 to 16 February 2019 and will feature competitions in 8 sports: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross country, figure skating, ice hockey, short track speed skating, snowboarding and curling.
This is not the first time that the Bosnian capital hosts a big multisport event, since in 1984 the XIV Winter Olympic Games took place in Sarajevo, which was at the time part of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
This is the 14th Winter edition of the only major multisport event created directly for the best young athletes in Europe. After a first taste of major multisport competition at the EYOF, many athletes have gone on to compete in the European Games and Olympic Games.
Belgian Jacques Rogge, at the time President of the European Olympic Committees, is the father of the European Youth Olympic Festival, originally called European Youth Olympic Days, when it was first launched in 1991. Held under the patronage of the IOC, and the pride of the European Olympic Committees with 27 years of tradition, the EYOF is the top European multisport event for young athletes aged 14 to 18. There is a winter and summer edition, which take place every two years, in odd years.
An overview of the Winter EYOF 2019, providing ENOCs with useful information ahead of the event, will be given at the Chefs de Mission Seminar that is scheduled on 13-16 November in Sarajevo.
