The Olympic Torch will indeed be in Singapore for the inaugural games!

RECORDS will not be registered at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010, but national or world records will be taken into account, said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday.

In Singapore to conduct an orientation seminar for the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (SYOGOC), the IOC said the focus of the Youth Olympics will be on ‘achievement and excellence’, not merely competition.

‘The IOC doesn’t want to record because in many international federations there are no championships at this level,’ said Chairman of the IOC Coordination Commision, Mr Sergey Bubka.

‘Another issue is - you cannot push youngsters at this age to do so much and just to focus on setting up records, and maybe damage their body. It’s not necessary at this age of 14 to 18 to speed up the development of their career.’

What drives the Youth Olympics are the elements of sports, education and culture, he said

The Games will be an ‘educational tool’ for the youngsters, so that they can develop successful sports careers in future, said Mr Bubka.

When asked whether the absence of records will sit well with the youth participants, Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan would only say that plans are ’still evolving’.

‘Let’s see how those details are resolved in the end,’ he said.

Olympic torch to come to Singapore

The organising committee has also decided that the iconic Olympic torch, a symbol of peace and unity, will make its way through the streets of Singapore.

Despite the controversy surrounding the Beijing Olympics torch relay, the Republic will go ahead with the Youth Olympics torch run, said Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

‘Because the Olympic movement has such wide impact on the world, other people with other agendas sometimes want to hijack this process,’ he said.

‘But we have to try to organise it in such a way that while all these different perspectives can be expressed, we can do so in a spirit of friendship and respect.

It is not decided as yet whether the Youth Olympics torch relay will be global, regional, or local, he said.

The IOC team will be here till April 18 to conduct workshops for the close to 150 members - which includes members of the organising committee and business and Government representatives.

The team will continue to visit key proposed venues for the Games in 2010, including competition and training venues.

Source: Straits Times Interactive, 14 Apr 2008.