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Hey folks!

It's been way too long since I updated this blog for the last time. It's just that there has been lots of stuff going on, especially with the YOG that prevented me from writing. So here are, at a glance, the most important things that have happened recently.

1) The inaugural YOG in Singapore are less than 30 DAYS away!

2) Daniel Gruber, a very talented 18-year old guy from Tyrol has been named Young Reporter for the YOG. Great job, Daniel!

3) 3-times Olympic champion Usain Bolt has signed up as a Youth Olympic Games ambassador. Unfortunately, he and fellow ambassador Michael Phelps won't make it to Singapore due to their competition schedule.

4) The Austrian delegation for Singapore has been nominated! The following 16 promising youngsters will give their best at the Games:

Alexandra Mathis (Badminton)
Kira Grünberg (Track and field)
Ivona Dadic (Track and field)
Michael Greiter (Judo)
Christine Huck (Judo)
Jakub Malý (Swimming)
Alois Knabl (Triathlon)
Lara Vadlau (Sailing)
Stefan Rumpler (Shooting)
Cornelia Enser (Shooting)
Elisa Hämmerle (Gymnastics)
Paul Sieber (Rowing)
Jana Hausberger (Rowing)
Stefan Leitgeb (Table Tennis)
Martina Kuenz (Ringen)
Viktoria Wolffhardt (Canoe)

We will have a kick-off event with our athletes at the end of July, including presentations about the CEP, multimedia etc... as well as fun team-building activities outdoors. I'll post a review following the event at this blog.


That's all for the moment. In the remaining three weeks until Singapore, I will try to keep you updated with stories about and around the YOG.

Have a good day and hopefully see you all in Singapore!

Team sports

Hey folks!

Today marks the last entry about the Olympic Day celebration one week ago. I wrote about my chat with Paul and Christopher about the importance of school. Then, I also took up Mr. Schauer's opening words about how taking part in the Olympics and taking part in the Olympiad are actually two different things. So what's left today, is a little retrospective about Peter Seisenbacher's short presentation at the celebrations.

Peter Seisenbacher is an Austrian icon when it comes to (summer sports). He was the first (and I believe up to today the only) heavy weight judoka to defend his title at two consecutive Olympic Games. And while my country is used to such heroes when it comes to winter sports, it's rather uncommon that we have such dominant athletes in the summer. When asked about his success, Mr. Seisenbacher picked this up and said:

"I think what made me successful during my career was that I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by a dedicated team, where everybody knew his place and was fighting for a common goal. That's neither the easiest nor the most comfortable way, however, that's in my opinion the way to be successful."

Being given this quote, I think it's funny that one classification still differentiates between "individual sports" and "team sports". While this was true maybe some decades ago (I doubt that Jesse Owens was supported by a nutritionist or mental coach), I think that it is hopelessly outdated nowadays. Like Mr. Seisenbacher said: To be successful, you need a dedicated and competent team. So I guess the only difference between so-called individual and team sports is that with a team sport, there is at least one other guy competing. However, behind the scenes, all athletes have to rely on their coaches, physiotherapists, sport psychologists etc... to be successful. I wonder how long it will take for them to be recognized with a shiny medal as well... ;)

Taking part

Hey folks!

It's 11:10AM here in Austria, the weather is nice and I should actually be studying for two exams (contemporary history, statistics II) - in short, the perfect time and condition for another follow up of the Olympic Day celebrations on Wednesday.

As I wrote in my review, I was one of the guest speakers at this event, presenting the key facts of the YOG. Not an easy assignment, being given the fact that I had only 5 minutes to do so. (You know, when it comes to talking/presenting/writing, I keep with Mark Twain who allegedly once wrote: "I don't have time to write you a short note, so I'll write a long letter instead.") The other speakers were Peter Wittmann (president of the Austrian federations organization), Peter Seisenbacher (Olympic champion; I intend to write about him later), Hans Holdaus (director of the IMSB) and Paul Schauer (president of the Austrian Swimming Federation, vice-president of tie AOC). I'd like to write about the latter today.

In his role as the AOC's vice-president, it was Mr. Schauer's job and privilege to welcome the guests to the Olympic Day celebration. Below, there is an excerpt from his speech, quoted by memory. In advance, I guess I need to explain that the unofficial motto of the Olympic Games is "Dabei sein ist alles" - "It's all about taking part". The source of this slogan is disputed, nevertheless, it's widely used in German speaking countries.

"You know, when it comes to the Olympic Games, it's all about taking part. However, this quote is very often misinterpreted. People believe that it is all about taking part in the Games. However, it is rather about taking part in the Olympiad - the four years leading to the Games. It is about working hard on yourself and your skills in those four years in order to be a world class athlete."

I have to admit that I never thought about it in that much detail, however, when hearing Mr. Schauer's point of view, it was kind of a light bulb moment. Because if you think about it closely, he is absolutely right! Of course taking part in the Olympics is amazing - the greatest thing you can achieve as an athlete. However, what is even more important, is being in the middle of things during the Olympiad. It is in those four years that you can determine whether you are good enough for the Games or not. And instead of having one competition or maybe two weeks of competitions, you have to be on top of your game constantly, 24/7 for four years!

And I guess looking at it from this perspective, the whole philosophy of this saying become much more appealing.
"It's all about taking part in the Olympics" can be understood as a cheap excuse à la "At least I took part".
"It's all about taking part in the Olympiad" however is like saying: "Yes, I am taking part and I am on my way to Innsbruck/London/Sochi/Nanjing/Rio..." So what might appear as a semantic difference at first glance, is actually a huge difference in real life.

What it takes to be successful...

Hey folks!

As I promised the other day, I will pick up some themes from Olympic Day and write about it in this blog.

At the Olympic Day, one of the activities we had in store for the youngsters was a training session with Paul Sieber, a rower representing Austria in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. During the session, I got the chance to chat a little bit with Paul, as well as with his coach, Christoph. I noticed that Paul was reading "Der Process" by Franz Kafka, one of the main works in Austrian literature and (unfortunately) key element to the higher education curriculum.

So when I asked Paul which school he attended, he told me that he went to an "ordinary" high school in Vienna. Ordinary meaning that the school does not have a varsity program, providing aid for athletic performance. Christoph then said something quite interesting:

"Personally, I prefer an athlete that can handle both an athletic career as well as earning his academic degree. Because you definitely need the discipline and stamina it takes to obtain a high school degree to also have success with your sport."

For once, I have nothing more to add. Well, maybe one thing: It's a pleasure to meet people who embody this spirit in the first place!

Olympic Day

Hey folks!

As most of you probably know, there was a big birthday celebration going on all over the world yesterday. On June 23rd, 1894, Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee in Paris, France. Two years later, the Ancient Olympic games were revived in Athens and started to shape the world of sports as we know it.

Being the Young Ambassador of Austria, I had the chance and privilege to take part in the official celebrations in my home country. And what better place could there possibly be to celebrate Olympic Day than in an Olympic Training Center. Since there are four of them in Austria, we also had four celebrations going on. I took part in the celebrations at the Institute for Sports Medicine and Science (IMSB) in Maria Enzersdorf, Lower Austria. The center has been closely working with Austrian (Olympic) athletes for nearly 30 years and is one of the leading institutions in Europe.

In this blog entry, I will write a little review about the Olympic Day celebration. However, in the next couple of days, I will also pick up some of the themes that were discussed or just arose in the course of the festivities.

To celebrate Olympic Day, two classes (approx. 50 students) from a nearby high school focusing on sports were invited to the IMSB. They were welcomed by Paul Schauer, president of the Austrian Swimming Federation and vice president to the Austrian Olympic Committee. He gave a very inspiring speech about Olympism and what it means to live your life by the Olympic values and to give your best every single day. For me, it was very cool how the Olympic Values and the Olympic Spirits easily transcend generations. Because although I am some 40 years younger than Mr. Schauer, I share the same message with people out there.

Following Mr. Schauer, Peter Seisenbacher, two-times Olympic champion in Judo spoke about what it means to be a champion and, even more important, how to become one. And then it was my turn to give a presentation about the YOG. I was a little nervous, since I had to present after two exceptional personalities in Austrian sports, however, it all went very well and I think I could transport the YOG message. To wrap up the presentations, Prof. Holdaus, the IMSB's director, talked about the range of services his institute offers.

And then, it was time for action! At altogether six different check points, the kids could experience what professional training means.

• They went to the weight room and got a lecture on how weight training is done (and not done)
• They met with the Austrian fencing team preparing for London 2012 and Rio 2016 and learned some cool fencing moves.
• They tested their speed and reaction time at a fun performance diagnostics site
• They practiced on the beach volleyball court with two Austrian Olympians
• They tried out field hockey, coached by members of the Austrian team that won the European Championship
• They were introduced to rowing by no less than Paul Sieber, who will represent Austria in Singapore!!

All in all, it was an action packed day and the kids really enjoyed it. Besides giving a presentation to reach out to the kids, I also got the chance to talk to two of the athletes going to Singapore and get to know them a little. It goes without saying that they are very excited and looking forward to the Games. So after Olympic Day, there is only one thing left: Counting down the days until Singapore!

Tales from the Diplomatic Corps 13a

Hey folks!

So, as I announced yesterday, I have another memory with Shannon Andrew to share with you. Just a little side note before getting started: I know that I haven't written something about every Young Ambassador out there. This is of course in absolutely no way because I prefer some over others. It's just that with some guys, there was this one incident sticking out so I felt like writing about it.

I would like to use the second memory with Shannon to discuss a topic in its larger sense: On, I think it was, our last day in Singapore, we had a big feedback round with Pak Sing, the CCEO (Chief Culture and Education Officer). He asked us to give him some impressions and recommendations for the final CEP to be done in August. We were sitting around a long table in the impressive SYOGOC headquarter in Singapore and one after the other gave feedback.

As you might guess from my blog, most people were really pleased with the proposed CEP activities. However, there was one point criticized by several of us: Some of the CEP learning activities (i.e. career planning, nutrition, balancing your life...) deemed too immature to us. So we suggested to rethink them and make them more appropriate to a target group consisting of 14-18 year olds. The overall tenor was: Those activities will be too boring for the youngsters.

When it was Shannon's turn, be started out, like everyone else, by thanking the organizers for the awesome week we were allowed to spent in Singapore. However, next he stated something that made me think:

"I think the athletes and us, we should be happy and glad that we have the chance to be here in Singapore. For many people from my country, this is the first time ever they board a plane and visit such a big city. I think we should be much more grateful that we can make an experience like that."

In addition, the next day, Shannon took a subway to Chinatown...for the first time in his life! As you can see, this story puts many things into a whole different perspective. For me, it's nothing special to go to a big city (Well, Vienna) and I take the subway day in day out. Also, flying to another country, despite being the exception rather than the rule, is not much of a deal nowadays. So I'm very happy that stories like Shannon's put things in the right perspective. Of course having a CEP program with so many exciting activities is great. However, I think at the end of the day, we should already consider ourselves fortunate and very lucky to be given the chance to go to Singapore and meet with so many diverse people in the first place.

Tales from the Diplomatic Corps 13

Hey folks!

If I counted correctly, the Young Ambassador video portrait of Shannon Andrew is already the last one to be featured on the Olympic homepage. This suits me quite well since I not only have one, but two very special memories about Shannon to share with you. By the way, fun fact about Shannon: Being nicknamed "Nani" for his close resemblance with the Portuguese footballer, he is challenging Mansour for the Ambassador with the most given names ;)

As you can maybe see in his video, Shannon is wearing a beautiful necklace around his neck. During our week in Singapore, you could always see him wearing it. I noticed, because I am myself a big fan of necklaces, wearing a Celtic symbol of life my mom gave to me every day (Actually, not today since the lace broke a week ago. So anybody who has a spare leather lace will be showered with pins, stickers and thank yous!).

For most people, wearing a necklace is just a simple adornment to their outfit. They just wear them because they make them look and/or feel good. However, Shannon is definitely not one of those people. On our last day, we were sitting in the lobby of our hotel, ready to explore the city. Shannon was there as well and some when in the conversation, we were talking about family, brothers and sisters. From that topic, the following excellent story evolved:

"I have one younger sister. She is the Queen of my heart, I love her so much. Every time I travel abroad, she gives me her necklace, to protect me. It is a very valuable necklace. Where I come from, in Papua New-guinea, we believe that such a necklace protects you from evil things and demons. So people pay a lot of money for them. Like, where I come from, I could easily get an acre of land in return for my necklace. In other regions, people would trade it for a pig. You have to know that for them, pigs are the most precious things in the world. They are even more important than their wives! However, most likely, I wouldn't get anything for it. If I wore this necklace back home in the streets, just for fun, people might kill me, because it is so valuable."

I think it's remarkable how things can differ. Here in Austria, people are crazy about big houses, fancy cars or posh clothes. And if you saw somebody on the street wearing a necklace, you might think that it is pretty and suits the person well. However, where Shannon comes from, in PNG, people's biggest treasure might be a pig or a protecting accessory. And although it might appear bizarre at first glance, I don't think that it is at all. After all, I wouldn't trade in my mother's necklace either...not even for some land or a pig!