Tuesday, March 23, 2010

“Youth Olympic Games can stop kids leaving sport: Rogge (Reuters via Yahoo! News)” plus 3 more

“Youth Olympic Games can stop kids leaving sport: Rogge (Reuters via Yahoo! News)” plus 3 more

Youth Olympic Games can stop kids leaving sport: Rogge (Reuters via Yahoo! News)

Posted: 22 Mar 2010 11:45 PM PDT

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) can provide a magnet to attract back youth who turn their back on sports when they reach adolescence, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge told Reuters on Tuesday.

Rogge was visiting Singapore to assess preparations ahead of the inaugural August 14-26 Youth Olympics, a new IOC event for 14-18-year-olds featuring all the events from the regular Olympic Games.

The Belgian believes the YOG, his idea which was ratified at an IOC conference in 2007, needs to be "fun" to help retain a demographic who traditionally turn away from sports.

"I would think certainly the event in time will be a magnet for young people who want to participate in something like that," a relaxed Rogge told Reuters after holding a question and answer session with youth Olympic ambassadors.

"We see the attraction very much and the magnet effect of the traditional games ... I think too a certain extent for the Youth Olympic Games we will have the same affect."

The 67-year-old, who competed in the yachting event in three consecutive Olympic Games from 1968, believed the emphasis of enjoying the event was key for the YOG rather than following the full Olympics model.

"It must be fun, it cannot be too serious, there should not be a gravity that you have at the traditional games that's for later. We want it (the YOG) to be fun, to be attractive.

"They (the athletes) are between 15 and 18 and that is the age to celebrate not necessarily the age to achieve.

"For me the measurement of success lies in the happiness of the athlete if the athletes are happy then for me the experience is a success."

However, Rogge, an orthopaedic surgeon by profession, said the athletes would be expected to go through the serious matter of doping testing during the YOG with more than 1,000 of the expected 3,500 competitors being tested.

Rogge, president since 2001, also thought the YOG would need time to perfect its model and find its feet in an already crowded sporting calendar.

"You have to be reasonable, it took 116 years since 1894 to have the organizational perfection, the audience and the crowd for the traditional Olympic Games, we will not need 116 years, maybe one or two editions."

Rogge said the model of using existing venues for the Youth Olympics helped Singapore organizers survive the global economic downturn with only slight budget effects and could also prove more attractive to other cities wanting to host the event.

"The economic crisis has led to certain adaptations to the budget but never has this slow(ed) down the preparations."

Rogge added he was not concerned the event would be affected by its scheduling, coming only a month after the soccer World Cup finals in South Africa.

"The World Cup will not have any negative effect on these Games. The World Cup you cannot compare with the Youth Olympic Games, but the Youth Olympic Games will not suffer because of the World Cup."

Rogge said he would meet Singaporean officials Wednesday before flying to Hong Kong for the rugby sevens tournament later in the week to discuss the sport with the International Rugby Board (IRB) ahead of its implementation into the 2016 Games.

(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

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Kids who lose parents still grieve as adults (CNN)

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 06:05 AM PDT

(CNN) -- As Elizabeth Sullivan stood on the field at Comfort Zone Camp, staring out at the "normal" kids playing ice-breaker games and elbow tag, she realized, "It's OK to have fun."

Six months earlier, she lost her father when he collapsed while jogging at night. He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. The 12-year-old never got to say goodbye.

But not all of the one in seven Americans who lose a parent or sibling before the age of 20 learn to cope the way Sullivan has.

In fact, 73 percent of adults believe that their lives would have been "much better" had their loved ones not died when they were young, according to a survey released Monday by Comfort Zone Camp, a nonprofit provider of childhood bereavement camps, and Matthew Greenwald and Associates Inc.

Of the 1,006 adults surveyed, 110 had lost a parent before the age of 20, 52 lost a sibling, and 13 lost both. Participants had to be at least 25 years old to take part in the poll, which was conducted between November and December via the Internet. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

The majority of participants agreed that they would trade one year of their life for one more day with their departed parent. However, about 59 percent of people who lost a parent at a young age think they have become stronger as a result, saying that losing a loved one gave them a greater appreciation of family relationships.

There is not one way to interpret each individual's idea of "much better," said Pete Shrock, national program director at Comfort Zone. But with any loss, life is going to be different; however, that doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be worse.

"The family is a unit, and everyone plays a significant role in how that family communicates and works. ... It's like a link in a chain," he said. "When you move that link -- it doesn't matter if it's directly in the middle, to the left or the right -- there's a disruption in the chain, and it will never be the same."

About 85 percent of parents who lost a spouse said they wish there were more resources for their grieving children.

Kate Killion does, too.

Killion, 53, who lost her father suddenly when she was 8 years old, said there were very few bereavement services available for children in the 1960s.

"People didn't recognize how children process death and grief," she said. "The adults in my life tried to protect me by not talking about it. They thought I wouldn't think about it as much. That isn't the case. Giving children the chance to express their feelings and help them process [loss] is so important."

Killion started dealing with the loss when she was in her 20s by talking openly about her father -- something she could not do with her mother, who shut down after her father's death.

Killion said her brother, who was 12 at the time, never found the support she found.

"He just closed up. He's that way to this day," she said. "That's how much it changes your life. He was a vulnerable, confused little boy, and he still hasn't dealt with it. It stays with you forever unless you can really go there and deal with it."

Not only do siblings tend to deal with the same loss differently, there are many differences in the ways men and women handle grief, Shrock said.

While 38 percent of the women surveyed for Comfort Zone's study "strongly agreed" that "losing a parent was the toughest thing [they've] had to deal with," only 29 percent of men agreed.

Daddy's little girl is going to react differently to the loss of her father than the young man who just lost the person who was supposed to teach him to play catch and drive a stick shift, Shrock added.

Milestones such as proms, graduations and weddings are among the top concerns for many children and young adults. But for Sullivan, now 23, it's more about the little things, like going to a college football game.

It's all about learning how to cope, she said, which she finally managed to do while making breakfast eight years after her father's death.

She was making pastina, an Italian dish she and her father used to make together.

After cracking an egg over the tiny pieces of pasta and butter in her pot, she began to stir quickly so the egg would spread before everything congealed.

"When we used to make it before I went to school, he would cheer me on and tell me to stir faster, 'stir, stir, stir,' " she said. "Making that pasta and thinking about him cheering me on and laughing was the most connected I've been able to feel to him. That's when I realized how I need to cope: by doing the things that make me feel connected."

There are always going to be good days and bad days, she said.

"I remember a lot of people telling me initially that I should write in a journal. That wasn't for me at the time. It's important not be afraid to try things and figure out what works for you. Be willing to talk to people .... There's not a right or a wrong way to grieve."

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Youth Olympic Games can stop kids leaving sport - Rogge (Reuters via Yahoo! Malaysia News)

Posted: 22 Mar 2010 11:44 PM PDT

By Patrick Johnston

SINGAPORE president Jacques Rogge told Reuters on Tuesday.

Rogge was visiting Singapore to assess preparations ahead of the inaugural August 14-26 Youth Olympics, a new IOC event for 14-18-year-olds featuring all the events from the regular Olympic Games.

The Belgian believes the YOG, his idea which was ratified at an IOC conference in 2007, needs to be "fun" to help retain a demographic who traditionally turn away from sports.

"I would think certainly the event in time will be a magnet for young people who want to participate in something like that," a relaxed Rogge told Reuters after holding a question and answer session with youth Olympic ambassadors.

"We see the attraction very much and the magnet effect of the traditional games ... I think too a certain extent for the Youth Olympic Games we will have the same affect."

The 67-year-old, who competed in the yachting event in three consecutive Olympic Games from 1968, believed the emphasis of enjoying the event was key for the YOG rather than following the full Olympics model.

"It must be fun, it cannot be too serious, there should not be a gravity that you have at the traditional games that's for later. We want it to be fun, to be attractive.

"They are between 15 and 18 and that is the age to celebrate not necessarily the age to achieve.

"For me the measurement of success lies in the happiness of the athlete if the athletes are happy then for me the experience is a success."

However, Rogge, an orthopaedic surgeon by profession, said the athletes would be expected to go through the serious matter of doping testing during the YOG with more than 1,000 of the expected 3,500 competitors being tested.

Rogge, president since 2001, also thought the YOG would need time to perfect its model and find its feet in an already crowded sporting calendar.

"You have to be reasonable, it took 116 years since 1894 to have the organizational perfection, the audience and the crowd for the traditional Olympic Games, we will not need 116 years, maybe one or two editions."

Rogge said the model of using existing venues for the Youth Olympics helped Singapore organisers survive the global economic downturn with only slight budget effects and could also prove more attractive to other cities wanting to host the event.

"The economic crisis has led to certain adaptations to the budget but never has this slow down the preparations."

Rogge added he was not concerned the event would be affected by its scheduling, coming only a month after the soccer World Cup finals in South Africa.

"The World Cup will not have any negative effect on these Games. The World Cup you cannot compare with the Youth Olympic Games, but the Youth Olympic Games will not suffer because of the World Cup."

Rogge said he would meet Singaporean officials Wednesday before flying to Hong Kong for the rugby sevens tournament later in the week to discuss the sport with the International Rugby Board ahead of its implementation into the 2016 Games.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Olympics-Youth Olympic Games can stop kids leaving sport - Rogge (Reuters via Yahoo! Asia News)

Posted: 22 Mar 2010 11:34 PM PDT

By Patrick Johnston

SINGAPORE, March 23 - The Youth Olympic Games can provide a magnet to attract back youth who turn their back on sports when they reach adolescence, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge told Reuters on Tuesday.

Rogge was visiting Singapore to assess preparations ahead of the inaugural Aug. 14-26 Youth Olympics, a new IOC event for 14-18-year-olds featuring all the events from the regular Olympic Games.

The Belgian believes the YOG, his idea which was ratified at an IOC conference in 2007, needs to be "fun" to help retain a demographic who traditionally turn away from sports.

"I would think certainly the event in time will be a magnet for young people who want to participate in something like that," a relaxed Rogge told Reuters after holding a question and answer session with youth Olympic ambassadors.

"We see the attraction very much and the magnet effect of the traditional games ... I think too a certain extent for the Youth Olympic Games we will have the same affect."

The 67-year-old, who competed in the yachting event in three consecutive Olympic Games from 1968, believed the emphasis of enjoying the event was key for the YOG rather than following the full Olympics model.

"It must be fun, it cannot be too serious, there should not be a gravity that you have at the traditional games that's for later. We want it to be fun, to be attractive.

"They are between 15 and 18 and that is the age to celebrate not necessarily the age to achieve.

"For me the measurement of success lies in the happiness of the athlete if the athletes are happy then for me the experience is a success."

However, Rogge, an orthopaedic surgeon by profession, said the athletes would be expected to go through the serious matter of doping testing during the YOG with more than 1,000 of the expected 3,500 competitors being tested.

Rogge, president since 2001, also thought the YOG would need time to perfect its model and find its feet in an already crowded sporting calendar.

"You have to be reasonable, it took 116 years since 1894 to have the organisational perfection, the audience and the crowd for the traditional Olympic Games, we will not need 116 years, maybe one or two editions."

Rogge said the model of using existing venues for the Youth Olympics helped Singapore organisers survive the global economic downturn with only slight budget effects and could also prove more attractive to other cities wanting to host the event.

"The economic crisis has led to certain adaptations to the budget but never has this slow down the preparations."

Rogge added he was not concerned the event would be affected by its scheduling, coming only a month after the soccer World Cup finals in South Africa.

"The World Cup will not have any negative affect on these Games. The World Cup you cannot compare with the Youth Olympic Games, but the Youth Olympic Games will not suffer because of the World Cup."

Rogge said he would meet Singaporean officials on Wednesday before flying to Hong Kong for the rugby sevens tournament later in the week to discuss the sport with the International Rugby Board ahead of its implementation into the 2016 Games.

(Editing by Greg Stutchbury; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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