Sep 7, 2010
Raleigh, N.C. — North Carolina is considering a possible bid to host a future Youth Olympic Games, which are geared for athletes ages 14 to 18.
Triangle sports event planner and marketer Hill Carrow spent some time in Singapore last month as an official U.S. Olympic Committee observer of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games.
The Youth Olympic Games are the first event created by the International Olympic Committee since the Winter Olympics began in 1924. The summer and winter versions of the youth games will be held every four years and will feature the same disciplines, although fewer events, as the Olympic Games.
Carrow said Tuesday that Triangle sports boosters have been eying the possibility of a youth games bid since the IOC launched the concept in 2007. Still, he said there is no imminent move toward a bid.
The Triangle hosted the 1987 U.S. Olympic Festival and the 1999 World Special Olympics. Greensboro will host the 2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
With numerous universities and colleges in the state, Carrow said, many of the housing and sports venues needed for a Youth Olympic Games already exist. All of those venues would need to be involved in any discussion of a possible bid, he said.
The next summer Youth Olympic Games up for bid would be in 2018. Nanjing, China, is scheduled to host the 2014 games, while Innsbruck, Austria, is scheduled to host the inaugural winter games in 2012.
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