NANJING: Once the Australian athletes finish competing at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Nanjing, China, they will be turning their skills to the other pillars of the Olympic Movement and participating in a Culture and Education Program (CEP).

Unlike the Olympic Games where athletes are free to come and go as they like, athletes competing at Youth Games are required to stay at the Olympic village and immerse themselves in other cultures and skills that will ultimately help them in their future careers.

The Nanjing 2014 CEP has been designed to provide life-skills to athletes and other young participants, enabling them to grow up in their sporting career and to promote a healthy lifestyle.

“I think these are valuable activities for athletes of the YOG age group because they develop or reinforce skills they need to balance school and sport and also get them thinking about life after sport,” Olympic Silver Medallist Jessica Fox said after trialling some of the activities while on a recent Nanjing visit.

Fox who competed at the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore 2010 says the CEP is an invaluable tool for young athletes and helped her prepare for the London Games.

“The whole experience of being at such a major event, with thousands of athletes was invaluable preparation and made me feel less overwhelmed when I arrived in London for the Olympics.”

Activities in the CEP are based around five themes that reflect the Olympic values including; Olympism, skill development, well being and healthy lifestyle, social responsibility and expression.

Athletes have many options to choose from such as workshops on safe sport and fair play, healthy cooking classes, music for stress relief and even the chance to ‘Chat with Champions’ where the young athletes can pick the brains and experiences of athlete role models.

Many of the activities are held within the Youth Olympic Village (YOV) and run for roughly 30 minutes, but athletes can spread their wings a little wider and venture out on day trips including an ‘Adventure and Treasure Hunting’ trip to the Nanjing Laoshan National Forest Park where athletes learn about team work and an ‘Ancient City Wall Exploration’ which includes activities like kite-making.

Australian athletes are encouraged to partake in as many activities as possible once they have finished competing.

Following the success of the CEP in Singapore, Fox says many of the activities are the same but with the added value of proximity to the YOV.
With sport always a strong focus at the Olympics, Fox says the CEP is a reminder to young athletes that there is more to being an Olympian than strong performances.

“It encourages team building, education, sharing of Olympic and cultural values and differences and spreading the YOG DNA!

“It's important for the young athletes to know that while the competition is the focus, there are many other aspects of the YOG which they will experience and I believe the CEP is one of the reasons why my YOG experience was so enriching.”

Laura Judd
olympics.com.au
@AUSOlympicTeam