Youth Olympic Games

The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) were created on the initiative of the former President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacques Rogge. The IOC Executive Board unanimously welcomed the President’s idea on 25 April 2007. The 119th IOC Session later approved the project in Guatemala City, and the YOG were finally able to take shape.

The YOG vision is to encourage young people around the world to practice sport; raise awareness of and encourage them to adopt the values of Olympism; and disseminate the message of the Olympic Movement around them.

The mission of the YOG is to shape and influence the athletes and other young participants, to prepare them to become ambassadors of Olympism, of sport and of a healthy lifestyle so they can take on an active role in their community.
In essence, the YOG’s main focus is to deliver an experience on and off the field of play which provides skills to the athletes both for their sporting career and beyond sport. The YOG are meant to inspire and empower young Olympians and other young participants.

Main objectives of the YOG:

1. To bring together and celebrate the world’s best young athletes
2. To propose a unique and powerful introduction to Olympism
3. Innovate in educating & discussing the Olympic values & societal challenges
4. To share and celebrate the cultures of the world in a festive atmosphere
5. Reach youth communities within the world to promote the Olympic values
6. To raise sports awareness and participation among young people
7.To act as a platform for new initiatives & ideas within the Olympic Movement
8. To organize an event of the highest international sporting standards.

The YOG are unique. They are not a mini-Olympic Games. They are the ultimate multi-sporting event, inviting athletes from around the world to compete, learn and share. In addition to the sports competitions, the athletes take part in a number of Learn & Share activities (known previously as Culture and Education Programme (CEP)) Along with several innovations in the competition formats, this is what make the YOG different from other sports events.
There is a summer, and a winter edition, like for the Olympic Games. The Summer YOG are staged in the years of the Olympic Winter Games and vice versa. The period of the Games is adapted to the climate and sports calendar of the host city (region). The two first editions were staged in Singapore in 2010 (Summer) and in Innsbruck 2012 (Winter).

Duration: The Summer and Winter YOG last for 12 and 10 days respectively.

Age groups: YOG athletes must be between 15 and 18 years old on 31 December in the year of the YOG. However, depending on the sport and discipline, specific age groups are defined. This is done by the relevant International Federation (IF) responsible for the sport, in close collaboration with the IOC.
(Recourse: The YOG - Vision and Principles / 25 June 2014 publication of the IOC)

Egypt at the YOG

Egypt participated in the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore.Medalists

Egypt competed at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics, in Nanjing China from 16 August to 28 August 2014. Medalists