jul.03.2008

The countdown to the third Commonwealth Youth Games has begun, with tomorrow (July 4) marking 100 days until the opening ceremony in the Indian city of Pune.

The Games promise to be the biggest and best yet. More than 1300 elite young sportsmen and women from all 71 Commonwealth countries and territories will gather in Pune from October 12-18, making it the biggest assembly of under-18 sporting talent at an international multi-sport event.

The carnival will also be a forerunner to the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.

At the inaugural 2000 Commonwealth Youth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland, fourteen countries were represented by 733 athletes. Four years later, when Bendigo in Australia hosted the second edition of the Games, about 800 athletes competed under the banner of 22 countries.

In Pune, the athletes will take part in a program that embraces nine of the individual sports of the Delhi Games, including athletics, badminton, boxing, shooting, swimming, tennis, table tennis, weightlifting and wrestling.

Currently visiting Pune and Delhi in India, CGF President Mike Fennell said he was delighted that the Youth Games had been embraced so widely, and enjoyed such a surge in popularity.

“The 2006 Melbourne Games were a fantastic showcase of the sporting talent in the Commonwealth and, by hosting these games in Pune, we are encouraging our youth to aspire towards the 2010 Delhi Games and the 2014 Glasgow Games,” Mr Fennell said.

“It is enormously significant to go from 22 countries and territories involved in 2004 to having 71 in 2008. Member associations, big and small, along with their national sporting federations, are getting right behind the Games.

“Edinburgh and Bendigo were very good events with a special atmosphere, but I’m sure the Pune Games will shine.

“The people of the city and the Mararashtra region are right behind the event. It’s a brilliant opportunity for everyone involved and we will see some very high-class sport played across the five days of competition.”

CGF Chief Executive Mike Hooper praised the organisers on the construction of the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports City, a 153-acre site which houses both the athletes’ village and all the competition venues.

“For the first time in any major international games, we will have all athletes housed and competing in a single complex, which is extremely convenient for athletes, officials and spectators,” Mr Hooper said.

“This will create a truly memorable experience for all our athletes. Those attending will have fantastic facilities for their sport, and the opportunity to easily mingle with others from around the Commonwealth and watch them compete in their chosen sport.

“The athletes’ village is a new hotel, which provides competitors and officials with some of the best accommodation of any Games, anywhere.

“The nine sports venues are either brand new or reconstructed, plus the area houses a sports science centre, a fitness centre and contains the Main Press Centre and International Broadcasting Centre.’’

Pune will be hosting a special event to mark the ‘100 days to Go’ to the Games, launching its official merchandise and range of uniforms on July 4.

On August 1, The CGY Youth Baton Relay will start from Delhi and spend 74 days on the road visiting hundreds of colleges and universities across its 6000-kilometre route through India before arriving at the opening ceremony in Pune on October 12.