Youth Engagement in the Olympic Games Proposal

Youth Engagement in the Olympic Games
Fan Diao
George Washington University
Youth Engagement in the Olympic Games Proposal
Introduction
The sport is one of the critical epicenters of entertainment around the globe. The gaming industry is worth a multibillion-dollar business empire, is not a secret, and its impact in society is profound and unquantifiable. The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) are not different and assume an essential place in our society. Jacques Rogge, who is former President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), conceived the idea of YOG as earlier advanced by Austrian industrial manager, Johann Rosenzop (Krieger, 2013). The IOC members unanimously approved his proposition of YOG at their Session in July 2007 In Guatemala City. The approval gave life to YOG; this was marked by firsts summer YOG and winter YOG, which were held in Singapore, in August 2010 and Innsbruck, in January 2012, respectively. The fundamental goal of YOG is to inspire the young people around the world to engage in active sports, create awareness, disseminate relevant and critical information to masses around the world, and to nurture the adopting of values of Olympic.
YOG is coupled with a vibrant wave of history. The idea of the Youth Olympic Games originated from Austrian industrial manager Johann Rosenzop in 1988 (Krieger, 2013). Johann Rosenzop’s idea of youth Olympic Games was informed by ever-growing concerns on increasing childhood obesity and dwindling sport participation among the youth, especially in the developing nations. It was perceived that the creation of the youth Olympic Games would aid in revamping young people who participated in the Olympic Games, and this would foster youth sports engagements. The IOC did agree with the idea that the YOG events could be purely hosted as a sporting activity (Krieger, 2013). The IOC wanted such a form of youth sports to be accompanied by cultural education and celebration.
 The conception of YOG was seen as a strategy to pool the global best athletes aged between 15 and 18. This strategy was being driven by the desire to compete, learn, and share experiences that are packaged as purpose-driven sports festivals. Despite the enormous benefits that society stands to gain from sports, the sports industry, including YOG, has brought challenges, problems, and opportunities at the same time. This sphere, like any other, has its fair share of challenges. However, people must not lose sight of the seamless opportunities those games like YOG offer to young people and the whole population. YOG is endowed with significant potential, which needs to be tapped in a bid to better people’s lives in the continent.
Objectives of YOG
YOG was created with a clear mission and mission. Its set of goals and specific objectives constitute what gives a sense of direction to the activities and aspirations of the YOG fraternity. YOG is driven by the spirit of Olympic, which is characterized by an active deployment of body and mind. Thus, YOG not only seeks to blend sport, culture, and education but also to ensure that games are life-based, enjoyed, and represent a desirable course of social responsibility and respect the top universal ethical principles of human life (Parent et al., 2015, Wong, 2011).
The YOG is destined to motivate young people to engage in sports and be ambassadors of Olympic values to society. The gist of the YOG mission is to nurture a seamless wave of experience across all spheres of life. The whole intentions, mission, philosophy, and activities are wrapped together as the Olympic Movement, which used as a springboard for gaming, education, and cultural programs, that are geared towards the aspiration of the young population. The YOG aspires to engage an optimal number of young athletes through gaming in a mix of cultural and educational programs (Judge, 2014). In the light of elite young athletes, YOG offers a platform through which the elite sportsmen and women can underdo development and explore all opportunities that are within the realm of the sporting world or outside. The Olympic Movement is not only a reserve for the elite and best global young athletes, but it also engages locals to participate in YOG programs to discover and develop new passions, including skills and responsibilities.
Four fundamental objectives power the YOG programs and aspirations. First, YOG aims to pool the best young athletes to participate in the level of global arena competition, as a purpose-driven sports festival, this means, such games are laced with cultural and educational experiences. Second, within the spirit of the Olympic Movement, YOG seeks to pursue the interests of Olympic values that are related to indiscrimination, the principle of excellence, and fair play. Third, it aims not only to engage with young people in the short term but also long term plans, and this can be actualized through the Olympic Movement’s digital endeavors. The channels such as platforms, Olympic Channel, and IOC website stand to provide an opportunity for conversation on diverse issues and plans that affects humanity. Finally, the YOG aspires to be an epicenter of innovation and creativity. In response to creativity and innovative spirit, YOG strives to engage and to adopt new and improved ways of testing technologies, establishing competition formats, and creating sustainable models of sport delivery, that are shareable digitally.
Youth Olympic Range of Games
The YOG offers multiple numbers of gaming opportunities. The games are categorized into two classes, i.e., summer and winter games. The rich diversity of games has not been static but dynamic because there has been the introduction of several gaming events as the need arises. The dynamic nature of youth Olympic games is evident in sports calendars, for example, as from 2010, 2020 and 2026 sports schedules and plans. Some of the specific types of games have been struck off from the list of YOG games. The specific activities that have been in games schedules and also planned to be held in future in the class of summertime games include beach handball, archery, athletics, badminton, beach volleyball, cycling, boxing, diving break dancing, handball, gymnastics, fencing, field hockey, futsal, golf, football, and gymnastics (Hanstad, Parent & Houlihan, 2014).  The summertime list of sports also includes canoeing, judo, surfing, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, sport climbing, weight lifting, triathlon, wrestling, skateboarding, karate, roller speed skating, shooting, rowing, modern pentathlon, and rugby sevens, among other. The wintertime games are relatively fewer, and they include speed skating, ski jumping, luge, Nordic combined, alpine skiing, bobsleigh, curling, biathlon, cross-country skiing, skeleton, figure skating, snowboarding, freestyle skiing, ski mountaineering, ice hockey, and short track speed skating (Hanstad, Parent & Houlihan, 2014). This diversity of games is an illustration of how the Youth Olympic Games have grown since its inception. The games marked the remarkable progress in the growth of sports and are observable that the menu of available gaming events ensures broad, extensive, and inclusive participation among the youth. The examples of sports activities in YOG’s menu is in recognition of the diversity of talent among the youthful population and unique talents that are bestowed upon individuals.
Contemporary YOG’s situation
The coronavirus disease has brought sporting activity around the globe to unprecedented disruption, but the current, the gaming activities taking a new shape as vents are resuming gradually. The COVID-19 has had a profound impact on unmatched scales, and in almost all spheres of life has been interrupted or halted in one way or another. The sporting arena has not been spared either and is one of the areas which experience an enormous negative impact that drew everything into disarray, including future game schedules and existing timelines. The contemporary situation is quite unpredictable, and we are uncertain about what the future holds. Based on the degree of risk exposure and containment measures, some games, for example, football, are resuming a significant number of countries. The top football leagues, e.g., premier league, La Liga, and Serie A, among others, have resumed their closing season matches. The YOG is taking a keen note of the existing situation defined by the corona disease.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, several changes have been made. The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 has been postponed to 23rd July 2021, due to Coronavirus Disease-2019 (International Olympic Committee, 2020). Senegal and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) agreed to defer the Dakar 2022 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) to 2026 owing to coronavirus pandemic (Olympicchannel.com,2020, and the Economic Times,2020). IOC President, Thomas Bach, made the statement regarding Dakar 22 games postponement on 15th July after the proposal was put forward by Senegalese President Macky Sall relating to YOG events deferral. The postponement will allow Dakar 22 YOG events to 2026 will allow IOC,  International Federation representatives ( IFs)and National Olympic Committees (NOCs)  to plan and rescheduled various activities, which are also affected by the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and postponement of other sports activities, amidst global health crisis (Olympicchannel.com,2020). However, Mr. Bach acknowledged the disappointment amongst the young athletes and the hosting nations regarding such inevitable deferral due to operational challenges.
The Economic News-Times also cites other significant disruptions in the sports world that include Asian Cricket Council’s postponement of the Asia Cup tournament to June 2021, cancellation of Wimbledon Championships, and the postponement of Euro 2020 to June 2021, the delay of World Athletics Indoor Championships to march,2021. The coronavirus contingency measures show that corona can be spread through saliva, and this has resulted in the ban of events that are associated with the use of saliva, e.g., saliva application in a cricket ball (International Olympic Committee, 2020).
Benefits and Opportunities in Youth Olympic Games
As contemplated by the missions and aspiration of YOG’S foundation, both the community and the individual athletes are set to enjoy various gains. The YOG games have provided various avenues, through which youth can earn income, develop skills, enjoy sports, develop a career in sports, ensure cultural education and promote global health efforts, such as one on obesity (Skirstad, Parent & Houlihan, 2017). The institution of the Olympic Village has been critical in nurturing developments in communities in terms of urban development and the revival of cities. The Olympic Village, which involves designated housing and amenities for athletes, coaches, officials, and media participation, has stimulated tremendous innovations in planning, architecture, technology, protection and sustainability, environmental renewal, and public and private financing (Kidd, 2013). The social responsibility in terms of education and peace is espoused in YOG’s ideals and strategic vision, and this is evidenced by efforts that are geared towards improving global well-being through sports (Bayle, 2016).
As earlier noted, YOG was not only founded on the need ...