Singapore proud host of first YOG

The 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games now being held in Singapore is the closest that the city-state will get to hosting the regular summer Olympics. Though that may be the case, hosting the YOG by the once malaria-infested nation is a big feat especially compared with what Singapore’s neighbors have done in terms of hosting Olympic-style tournaments.

The international multisport event for athletes between 14 and 18 years of age and officially known as the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), started on Aug. 14 and ends on Aug. 26. It is known as the inaugural event of the Summer Youth Olympics that features 3,531 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees who will compete in 184 events in 26 sports.

Over the past several years, we had traced the history of the YOG and have written about the Singapore YOG and the measures taken by the Singaporean government to ensure its success, especially when we were in the area for various professional and personal reasons. We had a chance to talk to Singapore sports officials who had a direct hand in Singapore’s preparations and were privy to their concerns and anxieties about the magnum opus that the country was crafting.

The Singaporeans won the right to host the event over eight other countries on Feb. 21, 2008 through a mail vote by 105 International Olympic Committee (IOC) members according to the website www.olympic.org/uk/news/olympic_news.

A brainchild of IOC president Jacques Rogge, the 13-day games is meant “to inspire young people around the world to participate in sports and adopt and live by the Olympic values”, according to the IOC. Unlike the Olympic Games, youth athletes are expected to stay in Singapore all throughout the Games, even if they have been eliminated from competitions, to take part in culture and education activities.

The www.sgyoutholympic games.com states the birth of the idea of having the Youth Olympics was planted on Apr. 26, 2007. On May 22, 2007, the international forum on Sport of Peace and the Olympic Truce came up with its list of recommendations that supported the IOC’s idea of a YOG. Further discussions ensued until the IOC members approved the YOG on July 5, 2007.

On Aug. 10, 2007, the IOC announced the bid procedure, questionnaires and Games procedure for YOG 2010. Singapore then set up a committee to prepare for its bid for the inaugural YOG. On Sept. 3, 2007, the IOC announced that there are 11 countries interested in hosting the YOG: Singapore; Algiers (Algeria); Athens (Greece); Moscow (Russia); Turin (Italy); Bangkok (Thailand); Belgrade (Republic of Serbia); Debrecen (Hungary); Guatemala City (Guatemala); Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Poznan (Poland).

On Nov. 8, 2007, Greece, Thailand, Russia, Singapore and Italy were the top five shortlisted countries. Russia was ranked first and Singapore second. A month before the award of the YOG, on Jan. 23, 2008, Alexander Chernov, Russian external affairs director of the Moscow’s 2010 bid committee said that “(he) wants Moscow to have the honor of hosting the 1st YOG”, according to the Singapore YOG web site. Chernov was said to have added that Singapore should host the YOG in 2014 but this did not deter the Singaporeans from pursuing their bid with even greater vigor and single-mindedness.

Certainly, hosting the YOG was not without its problems for Singapore, whose citizens are known more for their concentration on commerce and industry. I remember having been told by a Filipino who was given a two-year contract to coach a team sport in Singapore that he had great difficulty getting his national athletes to devote their full time to train since “they were more interested in their business and entrepreneurial careers rather than the national team and sports”.

It is therefore not surprising to hear that the YOG has not attracted the interest of the population. In addition, government overspending on the YOG has, according to Earth Times, provoked anger among Singaporeans, some of whom have called the project a “massive waste of money” which would be better spent on citizens in need. Originally estimated at 104 million Singapore dollars (US$76 M or P3.5 B), the cost of the YOG has ballooned to US$387 M or almost four times budget.

How is the Philippines faring? As of Tuesday morning, Filipino swimmer Jessie King Lacuna, ranked seventh in the world, finished eighth in the boys’ 200-meter freestyle finals. The US Virgin Islands basketball squad downed the Philippines, 34-28, in 3-on-3 basketball.

The YOG should give us a clearer picture on what lies ahead in the 2010 Asian Games, 2011 SEA Games and the 2012 London Olympics.