Youth Olympic Games

Youth Olympic Games
The logo of Youth Olympic Games
Summer Games
2010 2014 2018 2023
Winter Games
2012 2016 2020
Sports
Summer: Archery Athletics Badminton Basketball Beach volleyball Boxing Canoeing Cycling Diving Equestrian Fencing Field hockey Football Golf Gymnastics Handball Judo Modern pentathlon Rowing Rugby sevens Sailing Shooting Swimming Table tennis Taekwondo Tennis Triathlon Volleyball Weightlifting Wrestling
Winter: Alpine skiing Biathlon Bobsleigh Cross-country skiing Curling Figure skating Freestyle skiing Ice hockey Luge Nordic combined Short track speed skating Skeleton Ski jumping Snowboarding Speed skating

Summer:

Winter:

The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international multi-sport event organized by the International Olympic Committee. The games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with the current Olympic Games format. The first summer version was held in Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010 while the first winter version was held in Innsbruck, Austria from 13 to 22 January 2012. The age limitation of the athletes is 14 to 18. The idea of such an event was introduced by Johann Rosenzopf from Austria in 1998. On 6 July 2007, International Olympic Committee (IOC) members at the 119th IOC session in Guatemala City approved the creation of a youth version of the Olympic Games, with the intention of sharing the costs of hosting the event between the IOC and the host city, whereas the traveling costs of athletes and coaches were to be paid by the IOC. These Games will also feature cultural exchange programs and opportunities for participants to meet Olympic athletes.

Several other Olympic events for youth, like the European Youth Olympic Festival held every other year with summer and winter versions, and the Australian Youth Olympic Festival, have proven successful. The Youth Games are modelled after these sporting events. The YOG are also a successor to the discontinued World Youth Games.

The Summer Youth Olympic Games of Singapore in 2010 and Nanjing in 2014 each played host to 3600 athletes and lasted 13 days, whereas the Winter YOG of Innsbruck in 2012 had 1059 athletes and lasted 10 days. Even though this exceeded initial estimates, the YOG are still both smaller in size as well as shorter than their senior equivalents. The next Summer YOG to take place will be the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games of Buenos Aires. The next Winter YOG to take place will be the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games of Lausanne.