Beijing Olympics 2008

Taekwondo’s global appeal should save it from being axed from the Olympic roster at future Games, said World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) President Dr. Chungwon Choue during last week’s Good Luck Beijing pre-Olympic tune up.
“I am sure that taekwondo will remain in the Olympic program, as it is very much a sport that is loved worldwide,” he said.
The Korea-claimed martial art joined the Olympic program at the 2000 Sydney Games after serving as a demonstration sport at Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992.
Yet with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge looking to downsize the Olympic program - London 2012 will only feature 26 sports instead of the current 28 - concern is mounting that less-popular sports like taekwondo may also be on their way out.
Baseball and softball have already been voted out for the London Games, whereas new sports like BMX, which will debut this August in Beijing, are increasingly targeted at younger people.
Added to this, wushu, or Chinese kung fu, will be exhibited at the Olympics this summer, which could pose another threat to taekwondo’s Olympic future.
“Chinese martial arts comprise more techniques than taekwondo, in which kicking and striking are the major techniques,” said Han Jianming, an official with China’s national martial arts administration center. “But in taekwondo, the judges of the competition have an easier job of telling who is better.”
Choue said the growing popularity of taekwondo in China would help secure its place at the Games.
“When I visited Henan Province, I was really impressed that there were so many martial arts schools near Shaolin Temple, in which about 10,000 students are practicing taekwondo,” he said. “I also heard that in Sichuan and Henan provinces, taekwondo is going to become a compulsory subject at elementary-school level.”
China is expected to bolster its tally in Beijing after seizing three gold medals in the sport, including two from Chen Zhong in the women’s over-67kg class. Republic of Korea has eight medals, five of them gold.
A total of 63 countries and regions will compete for taekwondo honors this summer, an increase from both the Athens and Sydney Games. Wild cards will be reserved for countries that are new to the sport in an attempt to further broaden participation.
The IOC has also agreed to honor those who win their repechage matches by adding eight more bronze medals this year, said Choue.
Some Chinese students at the pre-Olympic tune up event last week said they had been introduced to the sport at their university.
“I learned taekwondo in a selective course in my second year,” said Sun Seng, who studies at the University of Science and Technology in Beijing. “But I can only remember a few of the techniques now.”

from: chinadaily.com.cn 

Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom Fu Ying and double Olympic champion Kelly Holmes will be amongst the 80 torchbearers passing the Olympic Flame across London on April 6.
Broadcaster Sir Trevor McDonald and actress Amara Karan will also run the one-day leg, as part of the worldwide Beijing Olympic Torch Relay, as revealed by Greater London Authority, who organizes the London relay.
Fu Ying said that she was glad to be involved in the event, starting at Wembley Stadium, site of the 1948 Olympic Games, and finishing at the O2 Arena at North Greenwich, which is to be one of the venues for the 2012 Games.
Large crowds are expected, as stars of sports, stage, screen and music and young people recruited from London’s schools, will carry the Olympic torch through ten London boroughs.
“Following the outstanding success of the Athens Olympic Torch Relay in London in 2004,” said Mayor of London Ken Livingstone. “It is a great honour for our city to participate in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay and once again carry the Olympic spirit of friendship and cooperation between nations across the world.”
“In the year that will see the handover from Beijing to London, it is a unique opportunity to generate interest and excitement across the capital as London itself prepares for the Games in 2012.”
The London relay also marks the final day of the China in London season and a program of free events is planned at key points along the London route, which will take in Notting Hill, Marble Arch and Oxford Street, Trafalgar Square and the South Bank, the City and East London.
The day will culminate in a free, ticketed event at the O2 Arena.
The Olympic Flame will go to 19 cities on five continents before returning to China and arriving in Beijing for the start of the 2008 Olympic Games on August 8.

from: xinhuanet.com 

The Vision
The vision of the Youth Olympic Games is to inspire young people around the world to participate in sport and adopt and live by the Olympic values. It was during its session in Guatemala in July 2007 that the IOC decided to create a nw sporting event to educate, engage and influence young athletes inspiring them to play an active role in their communities.

What are the YOG?
The Youth Olympic Games are a sporting event for young people, balancing sport, education and culture. These Games work as a catalyst in these fields throughout the Olympic Movement.

The YOG’s objectives are:
1. to bring together the world’s best young athletes and celebrate them
2. to offer a unique and powerful introduction to Olympism
3. to innovate in educating and debating Olympic values and challenges of society
4. to share and celebrate the cultures of the world in a festive atmosphere
5. to reach youth communities throughout the world to promote Olympic values
6. to raise sports awareness and participation among young people
7. to act as a platform for initiatives within the Olympic Movement
8. to be an event of the highest international sporting standard.

Who? What? When?
The Youth Olympic Games aim to bring together talented athletes – aged from 14 to 18 - from around the world to participate in high-level competitions, but also, alongside the sports element of the event, to run educational programmes on the Olympic values, the benefits of sport for a healthy lifestyle, the social values sport can deliver and the dangers of doping and of training to excess and/or of inactivity.

The first ever Summer Youth Olympic Games will bring together approximately 3,200 athletes and 800 officials in 2010. The sports programme will encompass all 26 sports on the programme of the 2012 Summer Games, with a limited number of disciplines and events. The first Winter Olympic Youth Games will bring together around 1,000 athletes and 500 officials. The athletes will compete – for the first time in 2012 - in all seven Olympic Winter Sports. The YOG follow the traditional cycle of four years, with Summer Games in 2010, 2014, 2018, etc and Winter Games in 2012, 2016, 2020, etc.
Moscow and Singapore finalists for 1st ever Summer Youth Olympic Games
Out of a list of nine candidates, Moscow and Singapore have been chosen as the finalists for the election of the Host City of the 1st ever Summer Youth Olympic Games to be held in 2010. Their names, together with the evaluation report, have been be submitted to the IOC members for a postal vote. The winning city will be announced by IOC President Jacques Rogge in a live web cast on www.olympic.org on Friday 21 February 2008 from the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

After the 1st Summer YOG in 2010 come the 1st Winter YOG in 2012
The IOC has already launched the bidding process for the 1st Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012. A letter was sent out to all National Olympic Committees (NOCs) informing them of the procedure and documentation available for cities interested in bidding for the Games.

Source and for further informations: olympic.org 

The IOC opened the bidding process Wednesday for the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012.
Letters were sent to all national Olympic committees inviting them to consider entering a candidate for the event, which will feature about 1,000 athletes aged 14-18. The deadline is March 6, with bid files to be submitted by June 19.
A panel of experts will propose a short list of candidates in August, and the International Olympic Committee will vote on the host city by postal ballot in November. The winner will be announced in December.
The games will feature the seven sports on the Winter Olympic program, as well as a limited number of events and disciplines “of particular interest to the younger generation,” the IOC said.
On Monday, the IOC chose Moscow and Singapore as the finalists for the inaugural Summer Youth Olympics in 2010. The winner will be announced Feb. 21.
The summer and winter Youth Olympics are designed to encourage youngsters to get involved in sports and spend less time in front of computer and television screens.

from: usatoday.com