Day 1 of the AYOF kicked off with competition in the canoe/kayak sprint, badminton and hockey under sunny skies and in the evening a spectacular Opening Ceremony rocked the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

London 2012 silver medallist Jessica Fox officially opened the Festival with a stirring speech. Hundreds of performers entertained the athletes, spectators and VIPs amongst the traditional Athletes' and Officials Oath, cauldron lighting and the popular parade of nations. The official countdown was over and the fun really underway. Full ceremony wrap here>>>

Earlier in the day competition got underway in three sports while athletes from the other 14 disciplines trained and prepared at their venues.

The opening day of badminton saw limited surprises, with the seeded teams of Malaysia, China, and Chinese Taipei making a clean sweep of each of their opponents in the five match mixed format.

The Australia 1 women's doubles pair managed the upset on Wednesday in the Sports Halls at Sydney Olympic Park, in the final match of the day, against Great Britain. Gronya Somerville and Jacqueline Guan beat Team GB in two games (21-16, 21-15), making them the only non-seeded team to win a match, let alone a game.

Earlier Australia 1 had suffered four earlier losses, including a tense 22-24 final game in the mixed doubles. The Britons earlier easily defeated Australia’s men’s singles, men’s doubles, and women’s doubles, despite some determined efforts.

Malaysia and China have already established themselves as particularly imposing figures in badminton by routing the other local team Australia 2 and Oceania respectively. New Zealand were also unable to win a game against the seeded Chinese Taipei. Read more here>>>

At the other end of Sydney Olympic Park four hockey matches were held. The Australian teams got the competition off to the perfect start with the women winning first up over Great Britain in a high quality clash and then the men defeated the United States of America.

There were plenty of goals scored and fantastic skills shown in all clashes. Hockey wrap here>>>

Out at the Sydney International Regatta Centre at Penrith in Sydney's west perfect conditions greeted competitors. Queensland pair Bill Bain and Jordan Wood claimed Australia's first gold medal of the AYOF, in the MK2 1000m.  The duo paddled their way to victory in a time of 3:25, ahead of New Zealand and Hungary. More here>>>

Day 2 of the Australian Youth Olympic Festival will see a much busier day of competition with athletes from nine sports in action.

olympics.com.au