There’s big news from the International Olympic Committee’s 119th meeting in Guatemala City this week! Bigger even than Princess Haya’s election to the committee (scroll down to the weekend posts to read that news).
The big news is that there will now be more Olympics than ever. In 2010, the world will have the first Youth Olympic Summer Games. And, in 2012, the Youth Olympic Winter Games.
“This is an historic moment for the Olympic Movement. We owe this to the youth of the world”, declared IOC President Rogge after the decision by his 111 fellow members.
According to Rogge, the Youth Olympic Games will add education programs on Olympic values, on the benefits of sport for a healthy lifestyle, the social values sport can deliver and on the dangers of doping and of training to excess and/or of inactivity.
The Youth Olympic Games–for athletes in the age group of 14 to 18–will bring together approximately 3,200 athletes and 800 officials for the Summer Games and 1,000 athletes and 580 officials for the Winter Games. The sports programme will encompass all sports on the program of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and the 2012 Summer Games with a limited number of disciplines and events. Proposals from Sports Federations to integrate youth-driven disciplines that are not part of the Olympic Games may be accepted.
No announcement was made about what cities and countries would host the Youth Olympics.
Let’s hope Princess Haya started work right away to guarantee that the equestrian sports are front and center!
