YOG less than 100 days out

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) will send a team of nearly 80 athletes to the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, which begins in 99 days with the Opening Ceremony on August 14. In conjunction with the 99 day countdown, the USOC today announced its current roster for the 2010 U.S. Youth Olympic Team, which will consist of the maximum number of qualified U.S. athletes between the ages of 14-18. 

The Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event held in conjunction with the International Olympic Committee that will take place every four years consistent with the current format of the Olympic Games. The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games will run from Aug. 14-26, 2010, with an expected 3,600 athletes from 205 countries participating. The sport program will encompass all 26 sports that will be featured at the 2012 Olympic Games.

"I'm honored to be representing the United States in the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, and I'm excited for the challenge of competing against some of the world's best divers," said diver Annika Lenz, a member of the 2010 U.S. Youth Olympic Team who is competing in the AT&T USA Diving Grand Prix this weekend. “I'd love to go the Olympic Games one day, and I'm hoping this will be a stepping stone to help me meet my goals for the future.”

Each National Olympic Committee may send up to 70 athletes in individual sports, should they qualify, as well as one girls team and one boys team. Basketball will be competed as 3-on-3 at the Youth Olympic Games, and for team quotas, is considered an individual sport.

In all, the U.S. Team will consist of athletes in 17 sports: aquatics (swimming and diving), archery, badminton, basketball, equestrian, fencing, gymnastics, judo, modern pentathlon, sailing, table tennis, taekwondo, track & field, triathlon, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling.

“I’m really excited for the upcoming Youth Olympics,” said judo athlete Katelyn Bouyssou, a member of the 2010 U.S. Youth Olympic Team who placed fifth at both the U17 Cadet World Championships and U20 Junior World Championships in 2009. “It’s an honor to be able to represent my country at something as big as this. I know I will be training my hardest for it every day so that I can represent my country as best as I can.”

2010 U.S. Youth Olympic Team Roster (as of May 7, 2010)

Badminton

Cee Ketpura (Orange, Calif.)


Diving

Annika Lenz, (Altadena, Calif.)

Michael Hixon, (Amherst, Mass.)


Judo

Katelyn Bouyssou (Hope, R.I.)

Max Schneider (Chicago, Ill.)

 
Sailing

Margot Samson (Belleair, Fla.)


Swimming

Austin Ringquist (Hillsboro, Ore.)

Erich Peske (Monte Sereno, Calif.)

Steve Schmuhl (Broomfield, Colo.)

Thomas Stephens (Richmond, Va.)

Allie Roberts (Emmaus, Pa.)

Jordan Mattern (Centennial, Colo.)

Kiera Janzen (White Bear Lake, Minn.)

Kaitlyn Jones (Newark, Del.)


Table Tennis

Ariel Hsing (San Jose, Calif.)


Taekwondo

Jessie Bates (Albuquerrque, N.M.)

Michelle Silva (Chicago, Ill.)

Greagory English (Chicago, Ill.)


Triathlon

Kevin McDowell (Geneva, Ill.)

Kelly Whitley (Geneva, Ill.)

In the host country of Singapore, thousands turned out to take part in celebratory events commemorating the 99 day countdown, ranging from athletic competitions and sports carnivals to fireworks displays. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, SYOGOC Chairman Ng Ser Miang and IOC Coordination Commission Chairman Sergey Bubka all attended celebrations, which included the unveiling of the workforce uniforms for the Games. The IOC marked the milestone date by releasing 99 second video interviews with Youth Olympic Games Ambassadors Michael Phelps and Yelena Isinbayeva.

The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games aims to inspire youth around the world to embrace, embody and express the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect. It will create a lasting sport, culture and education legacy for youth from around the world, as well as enhance and elevate the sporting culture locally and regionally.

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The 99-day Celebrations poster is cramped with useful information. You can read about the 20 Things about the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games + 10 More (2010...get it?) when you get your hands on the poster. What you can also do, is transform the poster into a paper ball.

Download and print the 99-day Celebrations poster



20 Things about the Youth Olympic Games plus 10 more

1 - IOC initiative
The Youth Olympic Games is the first new initiative by the International Olympic Committee in more than 80 years, the last being the Winter Games.

2 - Host City
Singapore is the host city for the first Youth Olympic Games.

3 - Culture and Education Programme (CEP)
CEP aims to educate, engage and encourage athletes to be true to the spirit of the Olympic Movement, by adopting the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect.

4 - First YOG Ambassador
The honor goes to US swimmer Michael Phelps who has won a total of 14 Olympic gold medals up until Beijing 2008. In a post on his Facebook fan page, Phelps said:

"I am honored to share w/ you that I have been named the first ambassador of the Youth Olympic Games. It’s important to me to encourage more children to get involved in the Olympic Movement and what better way than to be involved in this new IOC initiative. Being in Vancouver, I can’t tell you how many of my own Olympic memories came rushing back watching all the athletes compete. I enjoyed the chance to be a spectator at the Olympics and experience what it’s like from a non-competitive standpoint. The more kids we can encourage to get involved in sports, to be more active and to pursue their dreams, the better. Not to mention, it was another reminder to me just how much the Olympics means to me and has me focused on getting ready for London 2012."

5 - 5 CEP Themes
CEP themes - Olympism, Skills Development, Well-Being and Healthy Lifestyle, Social Responsibility and Expression - are packaged into every aspect of the Games!

6 - 201 Events
For only 26 Olympic Sports, there sure are a lot of events. The 201 events mean there are a similar number of gold medals for the winning.

7 - 7 CEP Formats
CEP offers 7 formats to enhance Young Olympians’ learning: Chat with Champions, Island Adventure, Discovery Activity, World Culture Village, Community Project, Arts and Culture, and Exploration Journey.

8 - National Olympic Committees
205 National Olympic Committees will be participating in the Games.

9 - Merchandise
Shop, shop, shop…for official Singapore 2010 merchandise which range from collar pins, key chains, magnets, bags, plush toys, umbrellas, polo shirts to water bottles.

10 - Tickets
Get your competition tickets at www.singapore2010.sg/tickets. You’ll even get free rides on public transportation on the day of the competition.

11 - Million Deeds Challenge
When you do a good deed, share it with the world! Log on to the Million Deeds Challenge microsite and post your deed of Excellence, Friendship and Respect.

12 - Length of Games
The Games are over (12) days from 14 to 26 August. That’s a dozen, 6+6 or 4x3.

13 - Youth Olympic Village (YOV)
A home away from home. Athletes and officials will enjoy comfortable accommodation at the Youth Olympic Village, located on the campus of the Nanyang Technological University.

14 - 38 Equestrian Horses
For the Equestrian competition, riders will compete on 38 mounts provided by the Organising Committee to ensure a level playing field.

15 - Olympic Values
Give me an E, give me a F, give me a R. What do you get? Excellence, Friendship and Respect! Let's strive to live by these Olympic values in our daily life.

16 - Digital Concierge for Singapore 2010
Given to every Young Olympian, the Digital Concierge on the Samsung OmniaLITE is a one stop portal for the latest Games news, results and schedules.

17 - Spirit of Youth Olympic Games
There are three distinct elements to the Spirit of the Youth Olympic Games logo: Flame of Passion, Star of Champions and Crescent of Tomorrow.

18 - 18 competition venues
Always wanted to travel around Singapore? You’ll get the chance when you visit all 18 competition venues across the island during the Games.

19 - Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame
We want to share our fiery passion with the world. That’s why the Youth Olympic Flame will travel to 5 cities in the 5 continents. The cities are Berlin, Dakar, Mexico City, Auckland, and Seoul.

20 - Lyo and Merly
A lion and merlion cub are the best animals to represent the island of Singapore. You won’t miss Lyo’s fiery red hair and Merly’s sweet purple starfish hair band. Lyo loves to eat chili crab and Merly can’t live without her favorite dessert, ice kachang.

21 - Countdown Clocks
We wanted the whole nation to count down together to the first Youth Olympic Games. There are 7 countdown clocks – 2 in the city and 5 in the community districts. All together now - three, two, one …!

22 - Opening and Closing Ceremonies
Let’s just say we wanted to keep the high spirits afloat. The Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be held on the largest floating platform in the world - The Float@Marina Bay.

23 - Singapore 2010 Theme Song singers
Singapore 2010 has not one, not two but FIVE theme song singers. They are Jody Williams representing Africa, Sean Kingston for the Americas, Tabitha Nauser – Asia, Steve Appleton for Europe, and Jessica Mauboy representing Oceania.

24 - Athletes
Number of athletes taking part in the first-ever YOG? 3,600 Young Olympians will be in Singapore in August 2010 for the inaugural event.

25 - Sports Program
Same as London 2012 Olympic Games, the YOG will have 26 Olympic sports.

26 - Singapore 2010 Odyssey
Create an avatar and explore the Singapore 2010 Odyssey Virtual World. You will also get to visit competition venues and the Youth Olympic Games Village in this 3D world. Beat this: you’ll even be able to FLY in the Odyssey!

27 - Youth Microsite www.WhyOhGee.sg
Why say YOG when you can say WhyOhGee? Putting a youthful spin on the Games, this vibrant microsite provides the latest thrills and spills of the Games. Join the WhyOhGee community today!

28 - Singapore 2010 tagline
If you want to leave a mark in history, you need a tagline like “Blazing the trail”.

29 - Volunteers
It would be impossible to run the Games like clockwork without our 20,000 dedicated volunteers.

30 - Over 50 CEP Activities
Over 50 hands-on CEP activities have been planned to keep athletes’ senses fully stimulated. There’s not a dull moment for the Young Olympians.