YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES

YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES

48.

Mr Arthur Fong asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports whether the decision by some of the American athletes not to compete in the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games has been communicated to the Singapore organisers and, if so, what is the impact of this on the event.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (S2010 YOG) in August 2010 will bring together the best young athletes from around the world. These athletes will qualify on merit, based on their performance in qualifying events designated by the International Federations (IFs) of the respective sports. Being a youth games, the YOG will also have an culture and education programme, but on the sporting field, the best youth athletes from around the world will be competing at the highest level in their age group.

To ensure universality and to keep the YOG to a manageable size, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has imposed a minimum of four athletes and a maximum of 70 athletes for individual sports per National Olympic Committee (NOC). This maximum cap will affect a small number of the larger NOCs such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, etc. It is up to these larger NOCs to select which sports to enter for the Games. Individual athletes would still need to meet the qualification standards set by the IFs. For the four team sports – football, handball, hockey and volleyball – representation is at the continental NOC level. Within each continent, teams can be from a specific NOC or consist of mixed teams from the NOCs.

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC), which sent about 600 participants for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, has confirmed that it will not be participating in three out of the 26 sports. These three are namely swimming, cycling and shooting. This is unlikely to have a major impact on YOG. For example, some 400 swimmers are still expected to compete at the Games. Nonetheless, the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (SYOGOC) and the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) are currently assisting in talks with the USOC to encourage its participation in all sports.

SYOGOC is working with the IOC as well as the stakeholders of the Olympic family, including the NOCs and the IFs, to ensure that the inaugural YOG would be an event of the highest international sporting standards. All parties are committed to a successful YOG in 2010.