The Influence of the Youth Olympic Games Education Program on Athletes

Abstract

The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international event introduced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for youth aged 14–18 years. First held in 2010 and alternating every two years between summer and winter sports, the YOG differs from the Olympic Games because it is a mix of sport and education. While several studies have examined this new mode of international sport, most have focused on traditional concerns such as performance, sports science and coaching but failed to examine the unique feature of the combined sporting and educational focus. This thesis addresses this gap, and examines the influence of the YOG education program on athletes by focussing on the five key themes which underpin it: Olympism, skill development, social responsibility, well-being and healthy lifestyle, and expression. This study applied a mixed methods approach and collected data from athletes who attended one of the first four YOG: Singapore 2010, Innsbruck 2012, Nanjing 2014, or Lillehammer 2016. The quantitative data was from a survey of 173 athletes from Singapore and Norway, 2 to 8 years after they attended, and the qualitative data was from 30 semi-structured interviews. The data was analysed using correlation analysis and regression modelling. The semi-structured interviews provided a broader understanding of the survey results. Results demonstrated, that the YOG education program is successful as it had a positive influence on the lives of the athletes. Specifically, while the theme of Olympism did not meet its educational targets, the other four themes were more influential on athletes. Other results included: athlete role models were the most effective method to teach the objectives of the five themes; the younger the athletes were, the more pronounced the learning that took place; and in general females and Norwegians were less influenced by the YOG activities. Although the study demonstrates that athletes are being influenced by the YOG education program, there are still opportunities to improve the program and several recommendations are made. Further research should build on and verify these findings with a more representative sample including more nations.