Youth Olympic Games: A New Paradigm in the Quest for Transnationalism Nao Masumoto Tokyo, Japan The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is a movement back to the original concept of the Olympic Games. The vision of the YOG is to inspire the young generation to participate in sport and to learn about Olympism and the Olympic values, not only through athletics but also by participating in a Culture and Education Program (CEP). The Singapore YOG took place from 14 to 26 August 2010 bringing together 3,524 athletes between the ages of 14 to 18 years. In this YOG, the CEP was imple- mented. The 2012 Winter YOG was held in Innsbruck from 13 to 22 January with 1,059 athletes rep- resenting 70 National Olympic Committees (NOCs). They experienced the CEP and also competed in new competition formats. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the significance of the transna- tional directions of the new YOG format, with a special focus on the CEP and the new competition styles. Alongside new competition formats, the objectives of the CEP were to share Olympic values with young athletes from around the world and to learn about various foreign cultures, environmental problems, anti-doping issues, and so on. Thus, through actual experience, young athletes learned about Olympic values and Olympism. As the main theme of the 2010 YOG was “Blazing the Trail,” it displayed innovative trials for the sport and educational programs in seeking for a new paradigm of the Olympic Games. Moreover, in both YOG, new sport formats were introduced, including 3-on-3 competitions, mixed gender teams, mixed NOCs, and a five continents team competition, among other innovative ways to organize sport. This new paradigm of the Games showed the transnational spirit symbolized by Olympism. Background The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is a new Olympic movement that aims to go back to the original concept of the modern Olympic Games. The vision of the YOG is to inspire the young generation to participate in sport, and to learn about Olympism and Olympic values through athletic competitions as well as by participating in the Culture and Education Program (CEP).1 The concept of the YOG was already established with the creation of the European Olympic Festival by IOC President Jacques Rogge when he was the President of the European Olympic Committee. The Festival started as the European Olympic Days in 1990 and was held every two years. The Winter Games began in 1993.2 The concept of the YOG was approved by the IOC General Assembly in Guatemala City in July 2007, with the first Games scheduled to take place in Singapore two and half year later. The Singa- pore Youth Olympic Games (SYOG) took place from 14 to 26 August 2010, and brought together all 205 NOCs and 3,524 athletes between the ages of 14 to 18 years. The 2012 Innsbruck Winter YOG 35 36 Nao Masumoto (IWYOG) were held from January 13 to 22, with 1,028 athletes from 70 NOCs participating. In each YOG, young athletes experienced the CEP and competed in new competition formats.3 The purpose of this paper is to clarify the significance and future tasks of the transnational direc- tions of the 2010 SYOG and the 2012 IWYOG, with a special focus on the CEP and the new compe- tition styles. The methods of data collection included an on-site survey in the host cities, interviews with Japanese athletes, and a review of the official report from the Japanese Olympic Committee. Culture and Education Program (CEP) The main theme of the 2010 SYOG was ‘Blazing the Trail,’4 which had as its primary goal the creation of a new paradigm for the Olympic Games by using innovative plans to do so, such as implementing the CEP alongside new competition formats. The objectives of the CEP were to share Olympic values between young athletes from around the world and to give them the chance to learn about various cultures, environmental problems, anti-doping issues, and so on, during their stay in the Olympic Vil- lage. The entire cost of their stay was paid by the IOC. Thus, through actual experience, the athletes learned about Olympic values and Olympism. CEP for the SYOG The CEP of the 2012 SYOG included five themes, seven formats, and over fifty different activities. The five themes were Olympism, skills development, well-being and healthy lifestyles, social responsibil- ity, and expression. The seven formats of the CEP were as follows: chat with champions, discovery activity, world culture village, community project, art and culture, island adventure, and exploration journey. The CEP also included more than fifty interactive activities that were voluntary. A commem- orative watch was given to all the participants who participated in all program categories.5 According to the Questionnaire Survey given by the JOC to the Japanese participants in the CEP, 40 of the 71 Japanese YOG athletes participated in all of the CEP and obtained the gift watch. This percentage of 56.3% indicates that the Japanese delegation was willing to participate in the CEP. The satisfaction level of all Japanese YOG athletes was also very high with an average 4.8 of 5.0 full marks.6 These high evaluations were given mainly because of the effect of the communication and exchanges with foreign athletes including those who are great rivals. Therefore, the CEP in the 2010 SYOG achieved some significant educational effects for the Japanese YOG participants. CEP for the IWYOG The CEP for the 2012 IWYOG had the same five themes as the SYOG, and six formats with twenty- three programs. The six formats were as follows: media lab, world mile, sustainable project, art proj- ect, competence project, and the Youth Olympic Festival.7 The athletes could acquire prizes accord- ing to the amount of participation points they accumulated in the CEP. For example, sunglasses were provided for participation in 5 programs, a water bottle for 9 programs, and headphones for 14 pro- grams. According to a JOC official report about the IWYOG, among the Japanese delegation, 32 Jap- anese athletes joined the IWYOG, of whom 30 athletes received sunglasses, 19 athletes received water bottles, and 10 accumulated enough points for the headphones. The Innsbruck Organizing Committee admired the Japanese delegation for their eagerness to join the CEP for the Winter YOG.8 The innovative direction of the CEP Almost all of the athletes learned about Olympic values, specifically, Excellence, Friendship, and Respect, and the three pillars of Olympism, which are Sport, Culture, and Environment. Upon Youth Olympic Games: A New Paradigm in the Quest for Transnationalism 37 completion of the CEP, participants were given the title ‘Young Olympian.’9 It can be said that the main objective of the CEP is to foster a transnational status of human existence, which can be expressed through the experience of being a Young Olympian. In other words, participating on the CEP enables athletes to experience the oneness of coexisting in the Youth Olympic Village, which can be likened to the ‘global village’ of life. Living closely in the global village provides athletes with an opportunity to better understand the diversity of the multicultural bases of participating countries. Thus, the new direction of the CEP is striving for a transnationalism that transcends national and ethnic identities. New Competition Formats in YOG 2010 SYOG In the 2010 SYOG, the NOCs were limited to a maximum of 70 athletes to avoid the problem of gigantism at the Games. Moreover, at the SYOGOC, new sport formats were introduced in order to attract youth participants and to instill the concept of transnationalism in their sporting practices. To achieve this goal, the competition program included several innovative formats, including 3-on-3 events, mixed gender teams for archery and table tennis, mixed NOCs, and a five continental teams competition in triathlon and judo.10 The new paradigm showed the transnational spirit of Olympism. In other words, the initiatives were designed to transcend national and ethnic rivalries that might exist between athletes and, instead, compete as athletes of the world. In fact, the SYOGOC and the IOC did not list a final medal count by country or show rankings by nation. 2012 IWYOG In the IWYOG, though seven winter sports and fifteen events were implemented, the same as the ordinary Winter Olympic Games, twelve events will be adopted for the first time at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, and some new events specific to the IWYOG were included: • The disciplines and events that will be included in the 2014 Sochi Games include: an individual competition for women’s ski jumping; a half pipe competition for men and women in freestyle skiing; snowboard slope style for men and women; a luge mixed-gender team relay; a biathlon mixed-gender relay; and in figure skating, an NOCs mixed-team event. • The discipline and events specific to IWYOG include: in alpine skiing, a mixed-gender and mixed-parallel team events; a cross country skiing and biathlon mixed-team relay, a ski jumping team competition (1 woman, 1 man, 1 Nordic combined); a short track mixed NOC relay; a curl- ing mixed team competition; and an NOC doubles competition. • Individual skill challenges in the ice hockey were for the first time included for women and men.11 In preparation for the Sochi Games, test events have been held in order to check spectator response, and to determine how the events should be broadcast on television and Internet. For instance, some consideration has been given to how spectator-friendly the events are for the live audience, as well as where TV cameras should be located in order to provide the best viewing experience for the televised audience.