The British Olympic Association (BOA) announced today the athletes selected to represent Team GB at the second Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) from 16th-28th August 2014 in Nanjing, China.
With many of the senior Team GB athletes already on their journey to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the YOG play a crucial role in the development of young athletes and provides a multi-sport Games experience that helps them along the route to their own Olympic dreams.
Team GB consists of 33 athletes aged 15-18 years old who will compete across 14 sports at Nanjing 2014. They will test themselves against around 3,600 of the finest young sportspeople from more than 200 other nations around the world.
For most of the team this represents their first experience of an international multi-sport environment and they will all be hoping to emulate the likes of Jade Jones and Sam Oldham, who went from the podium at the YOG in Singapore four years ago to medal success at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
All 28 summer Olympic sports will feature across over 220 events in Nanjing. In addition, a Culture and Education Programme (CEP) will aim to develop the young athletes as individuals and teach them about the values of the Olympic Movement.
CEP will offer an array of added cultural and educational activities to the Games and be based in and around the Village. These range from hands-on offerings such as Chinese cooking classes and opportunities to try out different sports, to the YOG Museum which tells the story of the history of the Olympic and Youth Olympic Games.
As well as the activities, CEP has also invited 38 Athlete Role Models (ARMs), 104 Young Ambassadors and 30 Young Reporters to Nanjing to share the YOG experience.
The ARMs are a selection of former athletes who will act as mentors to those taking part in Nanjing, offering advice and support based on their own experiences. Team GB Olympic silver medallist Nathan Robertson will take up an ARM role in badminton out in Nanjing, while Olympic gymnastics bronze medallist Beth Tweddle will help mentor the young athletes before the team fly out.
To see the full Team GB squad click here.
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