The Indian city of Pune is ready to host a record 71 nations in what will be the biggest, and it hopes the best, Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) from 12-18 October.
Additional Director General of the Pune CYG committee, Lt General (Rtd) Ashok Kapur, said a special welcoming ceremony is planned for the 1,300 competing athletes on 11 October, focusing on Maharashtra’s rich cultural heritage, and that Pune’s school children would play an active part in ‘adopting’ and supporting one of the competing nations during the Games.
‘Bond Forever’ is the school programme initiated by CYG Pune 2008 that involves 71 schools in the city. Each school is learning about the culture, customs, cuisine and climate of one of the Commonwealth countries.
“The children are all excited about the Games and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the contingent from the country they are studying,” Kapur said. “These schools will also be cheering for their respective Common-wealth Nations during the Games.’’
Around 1,300 elite young sportsmen and women from all 71 Commonwealth countries and territories will gather in Pune, making it the biggest assembly of under-18 sporting talent at an international multi-sport event.
The carnival will also be a forerunner to the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.
At the inaugural 2000 Commonwealth Youth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland, 15 countries were represented by 733 athletes. Four years later, when the Australian city of Bendigo hosted the second edition of the Games, 980 athletes competed under the banner of 22 countries.
Among the bigger Commonwealth nations in Pune, Australia has entered a team of 102 athletes across the nine programme sports: athletics, badminton, boxing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling.
England will have just over 80 competitors in its team and will also field athletes in all nine disciplines, while Canada, sending an official CYG team for the first time, will be represented by 63 athletes and they will compete in seven sports: athletics, badminton, boxing, shooting, table tennis, weightlifting and wrestling.
Kapur said while the competition venues were ready and overlay work was in progress, the accommodation was in the last phases of completion.
“We can assure the athletes of world class infrastructure in the sports complex,” he said.
Kapur said the Youth Games are the first part of an exciting time for India with Dehli set to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
“There is a lot of excitement in the air and many young athletes are working hard to find a place in the Indian teams for Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010. The citizens of Delhi are looking forward to this great opportunity to showcase Delhi to the world as a sports destination. It is indeed an exciting time for India as sportsmanship, energy and pride are in the air ahead of the Youth Games.’’
Many countries will also use the Games as valuable preparation in an international multi-sports event for the Delhi Games in two years’ time.
“The experience of living in an athletes’ village with many other athletes from nations around the world, and from a number of different sports, is invaluable for our young athletes,’’ said Australian Commonwealth Games Association’s Perry Crosswhite.
“This experience will help them understand and deal with the various challenges and pressures they may encounter at future multi-sports games – University, Commonwealth, Olympic, and so on.’’
Canada Games Committee spokesman John Bower said: “We expect that many of our athletes will return to India in two years’ time for the Games. Our plan is for these athletes to experience the culture, the competition conditions – such as heat, humidity and so on – in Pune, so that they will be better prepared for future games.’’
IOC announces composition of 2016 Games Evaluation Commission
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced the composition of the Evaluation Commission which will visit the four candidate cities bidding to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The team will be headed by Nawal El Moutawakel, who chaired the Evaluation Commission for the 2012 Olympic Games bid process.
Her team, composed of representatives from the Olympic Movement as well as a number of advisors, will analyse the candidature files of the four bidding cities – Chicago (USA), Tokyo (Japan), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Madrid (Spain) – due for submission to the IOC by 12 February 2009.
The Commission will, in addition, make on-site inspections around the second quarter of 2009 before then issuing a comprehensive technical appraisal for IOC members one month before they elect the host city on 2 October 2009 during the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen.
This appraisal, known as the IOC Evaluation Commission report, is also made available for the general public and other interested parties on www.olympic.org
The composition of the Commission is as follows:
Nawal El Mouta Wakel, chair of the 2016 Evaluation Commission, IOC executive board member; Gilbert Felli, Olympic Games executive director; Ching-Kuo Wu, IOC member; Craig Reedie, IOC member; Guy Drut, IOC member; Mounir Sabet, IOC member; Alexander Popov, IOC member; Els van Breda Vriesman, IOC member; and Gregory Hartung, IPC representative
The Commission will also comprise an ANOC representative, still to be appointed, and advisors.
Commenting on the announcement, IOC President Jacques Rogge said: “The Evaluation Commission plays an important role in assessing the candidate cities’ ability to host the Olympic Games.
“We have here a professional team with a wide range of knowledge and experience. I would like to thank Nawal El Moutawakel for accepting to lead it. Nawal did an excellent job as chairwoman of the Evaluation Commission of the 2012 Candidate Cities.
“As an Olympic champion, a newly elected member of the IOC executive board and Sports Minister in Morocco, she will bring an invaluable contribution to the Commission.”
Commenting on her appointment, Nawal El Moutawakel said: “I feel privileged to chair for the second time an Evaluation Commission and am grateful to the IOC President for his trust and support.”
Lausanne to host summit for Olympic host cities
Lausanne, the Olympic Capital and host city of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and more than 20 International Sports Federations, is organising, from 9 to 11 October, the first Summit for Olympic Host Cities. “For each successful edition of the Olympic Games, there has been a strong host city at its core.
“The Lausanne Summit is the first ever gathering of these Olympic cities, where experiences will be shared to build the platform for the future,” explained Lausanne’s mayor, Daniel Brélaz.
More than 30 cities participating
The Summit will bring together the cities who have organised, will organise, or are considering organising, the Olympic or Youth Olympic Games, both summer and winter. More than 30 cities have already confirmed their participation – a great success and clear sign of the interest in this initiative, which is primarily based on knowledge transfer.
IOC President: “Perfect platform”
The International Olympic Committee backs this initiative as part of its knowledge transfer strategy.
“The IOC is committed to ensuring that a city understands, as early as possible, the importance of integrating the Olympic Games into its long-term urban development strategy, in order to leave the best possible urban and sporting legacy to the country, the city and its entire community.
“This is why the IOC supports the first Lausanne Summit and the General Assembly of the World Union of Olympic Cities, which will be the perfect platform to share and exchange information and knowledge,” said IOC President Jacques Rogge.