Izzivi za olimpijske igre mladih, poletne in zimske

The present paper looks at the development of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG), first held in Singapore in August 2010, from the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF), first held in Brussels in 1991. With 3500 athletes between 14 and 18 years of age from all 205 National Olympic Committees, a full Olympic sports programme, a Youth Olympic village, and a Culture and Education Programme (CEP), the YOG is a very significant development, requiring investigation and consideration. We look at the Sports Programme, some new sports forms, disciplines and events (such as FIBA33, moon-lit diving, mixed events for gender and nation), innovative equipment (such as laser pistols), problems of participation and equal opportunity, age and fairness, immaturity and harm, talent identification, early specialisation, and possible exploitation. We briefly examine also the innovative CEP, noting its very existence as remarkable, and entering come caveats. Finally, we present a brief description of the up-coming Innsbruck Winter YOG, and of the hopes and aspirations for the future editions of the YOG