So, are the kids in the Youth Olympics getting off lightly in terms of competition?
Not at all. The element of excellence is still very strong. We aren’t trying to diminish the value of competition. The athletes will of course be in an environment where they will be encouraged to perform to the best of their abilities. Because they are younger sportsmen, some of the events and categories have been tweaked to suit them, though. How’s that? Well, even small age differences between athletes at this stage can stand against them in competitions, so we have a maximum two-year age difference between competitors in events. We wouldn’t have a 14-year-old competing against an 18-year-old for example. And in the aquatics events, we’ve scrapped synchronised swimming and water polo, but we’ve included basketball with a street style because it’s more applicable to the young people. And instead of the canoeing event being a boring, straight speed race, we’ve added a few obstacles, twists and turns to make it more fun. The Olympics is great, but it’s hardly hip and trendy. How are yo
