Here you will find publications about the 1 ^st Winter Youth Olympic Games.

A uniquesporting event with a festival feel!

From 13 to 22 January 2012 Innsbruck and Seefeld will play host to the 1stWinter Youth Olympic Games, which will see 1,058 athletes aged 14 to 18 fromover 70 nations compete in 63 sporting competitions and, together withyoungsters from the local region, take part in a one-of-a-kind Culture &Education Programme. The idea behind this mixture of sport and culture is tosupport young people in their personal and sporting development and to raisetheir interest in the Olympic Values.
Following the Winter Olympic Games in 1964 and 1976, the 1st Winter YouthOlympic Games will give Innsbruck and Seefeld the chance to welcome the OlympicFamily for a third time. INdeed, the support Innsbruck has as Host City and itsstatus as one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world isunderlined by the fact that it was selected to organise the Games by thebiggest majority in the history of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) -84 votes to 15.

Featuring alongside the 15 core sports disciplines at the inaugural WinterYouth Olympic Games will be a series of premieres . While some of these arecompletely new sports making their debut at the Olympic Games, others areOlympic sports which will break new ground by featuring new competition formatswith 'mixed teams' uniting athletes of different genders and/or from differentcountries. These 'mixed teams' will give the young athletes the chance to livethe Olympic Values of Respect and Friendship.

Running parallel to the sporting competitions will be the Youth Olympic Games Culture & Education Programme (CEP) . The projects and workshops organisedas part of the CEP will give participants the chance enter into discussion andto learn about the importance of healthy living, anti-doping andsustainability. Youngsters interested in media and reporting can also learn allabout reporting from the Games and communicating with generations of youngpeople across the world via social networks. All these cultural events will makefor a festival atmosphere at the 1st Winter Youth Olympic Games!

A top priority for the Innsbruck Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee(IYOGOC) is getting local families and, in particular, youngsters involved inthe Games. That is the reason behind the YOG 2012 School Programme, a series ofprojects created in October 2010 in co-operation with the Provincial Governmentof Tyrol, Innsbruck City Council the Tyrolean Education Authority and localwinter sports associations to support and promote communication andintercultural exchanges between schools in Austria and abroad. Youngsters fromlocal schools will also have the opportunity to compete against in each in arange of disciplines and learn new winter sports as part of the YOG SchoolSports Challenge.

The brand new Youth Olympic Village (YOV) being built for the Games will make amajor contribution to sustainability in the local region. Built in the east ofthe city by the state-owned construction group Neue Heimat Tirol, theYOV will comprise 444 flats to offer athletes and officials visiting Innsbruckduring Games-time with comfortable, energy-saving accommodation. The flats,which are built using passive house technology, will then be put on the marketfrom April 2012 to give locals the chance to rent or purchase the property.

The 1st Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck and Seefeld are set to become aunique, unforgettable festival of sport and culture for local youngsters andathletes visiting the region, and they will serve as an inspiration for youngergenerations across the planet.