EOC representatives, including Chair of the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) Commission of the European Olympic Committees (EOC), Liney Halldórsdóttir, attended the EYOF Friuli Venezia Giulia 2023 Chef de Mission Seminar meeting that took place on 20-21 September in Amaro, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy.

The Organising Committee of EYOF Friuli Venezia Giulia 2023 hosted nearly 100 representatives from 42 European nations over the course of the two-day meeting. Amongst those in attendance were NOC delegates, an observer group from the Organising Committee of EYOF Maribor 2023 and the President of the Organising Committee for the European Games Kraków-Małopolska 2023, Marcin Nowak.

Joining Liney Halldórsdóttir in the EOC delegation were the Chair of the Coordination Commission (CoCom) Borut Kolaric, Sports Director Peter Brüll, and Commission members Mamuka Khabareli and Joseph Cassar.

During the Chef de Mission Seminar meeting, the Organising Committee presented several competition venues located in Tarvisio, Carnia and Claut, as well as the accommodation that will be used for the three Athletes’ Villages.

After the visit Chair of the CoCom Kolaric commented: “It was encouraging to see the positive developments that are taking place in Friuli Venezia Giulia for the EYOF next year. The facilities that will be used for the event are already in excellent shape and the forward-thinking sustainability and technology initiatives will minimise the event’s impact on the environment and maximise athlete performance.”

Sustainability will represent the pillar of the Winter EYOF 2023  and innovative initiatives were shared with delegates, including tree replanting after the event, uniforms created from recycled materials and car sharing by the Organising Committee to help reducing CO2 emissions.

The organising committee is also developing technological initiatives including, scannable QR codes on lunchboxes, which reveal information highlighting the ingredients and nutritional value of the food. Advanced technology will be used to track athletes’ performance, whilst newly developed IT system will be utilised to monitor the transport fleet and measure the carbon footprint of the event.

“I would like to thank the Executive Chairman of the EYOF Friuli Venezia Giulia 2023 Organising Committee, Maurizio Dunnhofer, for his welcome and for presenting the preparations for the event to the guests who are here from all over the continent,” said Chair of the EYOF Commission of the EOC, Liney Halldórsdóttir.

Over 250 hours of streaming for EYOF Friuli Venezia Giulia 2023 will be available on the EOC Channel, between 21-28 January 2023. You can read more about the sports programme for the event here.