Australian Youth Olympic Festival 2007

For the last few daysI've been working as the Team Manager for the NSW sailing team taking part in the Australian Youth Olympic Festival (AYOF 07).

18 different sports are included from Badminton to Hockey to Sailing to Short track speed skating, Figure skating, Swimming, Athletics and Rowing. Competitors are from all around Australia as well as those from nearly 20 different nations. It's a big event.

Conducted by the Australian Olympic Committee, the event aims to provide potential Australian Olympians with an Olympic experience so that they are better prepared for the real experience when they are selected as Olympic representatives.
So far I'd have the say the AOC is doing a great job of replicating the experience.

There is lots of excitement around the event for the young competitors and this, wasn't without good reason. The event includes a Team reception during which Flag bearers for each country were announced, a spectacular Opening Ceremony, fantastic competition and a full Medal Ceremony.

The accommodation was far better than anything I experienced at an Oympic Games, but the fact that (for at least the sailors anyway) there wasn't enough food or water supplied and competitors were expected to go for long periods without food or water being handed out to them was also very Olympic style. For all of their first day of the event, sailors had breakfast supplied before 7am, and lunch consisting of sandwiches and juice wasn't supplied until roughly 1 pm. 6 hours without food or water tested a number of the sailors and some took matters into their own hands by "liberating" a few boxes of Powerade and water for sustenance.

When all was said and done it was an amazing experience for the young sailors I was involved with, and the insight into Olympic Games life was very real. I hope they took the lessons on board and are now better prepared for what potentially lies ahead of them. The only sad part was once agian seeing that the event does have a big business side to it and while the competitors are there for themselves, the organising authority takes full advantage.

When all was said and done, the NSW Team had a great time and finished just outside the medal count in fourth place after battling it out in the bronze medal final with the Kiwis.