The Olympic movement has put the skis and skates away, after an extremely successful Winter Games in Vancouver. Now the focus is on the first Youth Olympic Games (YOG), to be held in Singapore in August.

As well as competing in all summer Olympic sports, the 3600 outstanding young athletes from all corners of the globe will participate in an extensive Cultural and Education Programme.

The 2010 Australian Youth Olympic Team will be led by rowing dual gold medallist Nick Green. As Chef de Mission Green is overseeing all preparations and planning for the Team and attended the Chefs Seminar in Singapore this week.

Beijing sailing gold medallist Elise Rechichi joined Green as part of her YOG preparations. Rechichi, who along with Tessa Parkinson won the 470 class in 2008, was nominated by the Australian Olympic Committee and subsequently chosen by the International Olympic Committee to be one of 30 outstanding Olympians to participate in the YOG Young Ambassador Programme.

The 24-year-old from Perth will promote the YOG in Australia between now and August. During the Games she will stay in the Athletes’ Village and work alongside the likes of swimming great and fellow Young Ambassador Michael Phelps to inspire the athletes and participate in components of the Cultural and Education Programme.

“To have an experience that in many ways resembles an Olympics, with slightly less riding on the results is such an amazing opportunity,” Rechichi said from Singapore.

“I would jump at the chance if I was a young athlete with Olympic ambitions to try and attend the Youth Olympics…you just cannot get this experience anywhere else.”

Rechichi has had an exciting week brainstorming with the other Ambassadors about ways to promote the YOG to youth around the world as well as experiencing the cultural and educational elements that the athletes will participate in come August.

As a young athlete herself Rechichi believes the YOG is a ‘must have’ in the development of young athletes to cope with the pressures and expectations of an Olympic Games while also promoting the Olympic ideals and values.

“Being quite young and having just competed at my first Games I feel like I have a really good understanding of the concerns these athletes will have and it will be more than providing advice. I will be happy to listen to their worries about being nervous and the different stresses of the Olympic environment so from that side I am so excited and I can’t wait to help out.”

Rechichi wants to make sure the athletes compete to their ability but also have fun and enjoy the moment. “Only retrospectively do I realise how cool it was to be competing at an Olympics in China,” Rechichi recalled.

“At the time with the cultural differences and weather conditions it seemed difficult to try and achieve your goals in that environment but looking back it’s made it so special.

“I know Singapore is obviously nothing like China but it is a very interesting place and culturally very diverse and vibrant so I think the athletes will experience so much.”

The IOC wants the YOG to be more than medals and records. It is all about inspiring youth and teaching them skills not only related to sport.

“A big part of the program in Singapore is the Cultural and Education Programme which the IOC is really putting a heavy priority on, as well as the competition events. One of our roles as Ambassadors during the YOG will be to encourage athletes from all delegations to participate in the truly wonderful initiative.”

AOC