YOG Culture and Education Programme

Youth Olympic Games is more than just winning medals@CNA

SINGAPORE: The Olympic Games has always been the pinnacle sporting event for athletes wanting to establish themselves as the numero uno sportsman in the world.

However, at the coming Youth Olympic Games Singapore 2010, it's not just about winning medals, as the inaugural Games has already been labeled as an event that encompasses sport, culture and education.

To achieve that aim, the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee (SYOGOC) has integrated a Culture and Education Programme (CEP) that will allow athletes to embrace, adapt and live by the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect.

The highlight of this programme is Friends@YOG, since forging friendships is the best way to learn about other countries' culture and develop respect for cultural diversity.

This will see Singapore schools paired up with each of the 205 National Olympic Council home countries under a twinning programme under Friends@YOG endorsed by the International Olympic Committee.

Since the programme began in December 2008, the pairing has seen 229 local schools matched up more than half of the 204 participation nations, with some schools wasting no time in introducing Singapore culture to new friends.

At Evergreen Secondary School, students had their Mongolian counterparts join them in a Home Economics lesson.

Learning how to prepare a Malay dessert – Kueh Dada – was only part of the fun.

"The dessert was very sweet. It was soft and had a nice coconut taste," said 17-year-old Manlai Chinbayar after taking a bite of his kitchen creation.

He was among some 10 Mongolian students who dropped by the school during their four-day visit to Singapore where they also put up a cultural performance.

As for 21 students at Singapore's Jurong Junior College, they got to experience life in Moscow when they travelled to the Russian capital to be part of their twinned school, the Secondary School of Humanitarian University.

With most Singapore students more focused on their books, the ten-day trip which included visits to schools and places of historic significance, proved a socio-cultural eye-opener for the students such as Tee Yang.

"Russians marry at a very young age. Most of the people we interact with are aged about 19 to 22 and they are already engaged or married."

The Jurong Junior College students also managed to introduce a few aspects of Singapore local culture to their host.

Student Alan Chee Wei Feng said, "The fact that we brought our traditional games, and costumes and food over to Russia for them to try out, it really got them to understand what Singapore culture is really like."

The Friends@YOG programme even allowed 50 students from the Primary, Independent and Barker Road branches of Anglo-Chinese School and Anglo-Chinese Junior College to meet up with Australia's two-time gold medal Olympic champion Michael Klim.

With swimming a key sport in ACS, being twinned with Australia and getting tips to refine techniques in the pool was priceless for the 50 students who met the bold, bald swimmer.

"I'm glad I could come here to learn from Michael Klim. He's really helped me to improve my strokes," said 13-year-old swimmer Gabriel Yao of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent).

17-year-old Lennard Yong who will put down his meeting as an unforgettable experience added, "Michael Klim is such a well-known swimmer, it's been great to be able to see him, learn from him and talk to him."

Despite countless medals to his name, Klim can't help but agree that sporting events such as the Youth Olympics offer participants a more valuable prize of friendship and understanding, and endorses the Culture and Education Programme.

"It's [The Olympic Games] more than just winning medals. It's the friendships that you make over the years that you'll remember for the rest of your life," said the Australian who made his first Olympic splash in Atlanta before re-writing records at the Sydney Olympics.

"It's a great initiative to share with the younger generation. They can learn more about the whole Olympic Movement; how to deal with being in a new environment and sharing a message with people from different countries," said the swimmer who retired in 2007.

Sports Sci J@Nov09-Feb10

This is the latest sports science journal update. Please note that I have change the categorization from sports science discipline to key terminologies which are relevant to us.

Long term athlete development is main focus for Sports School and the some topics include growth and development, youth coaching, and talent ID etc. In Performance enhancement, high performance coaching and new training methods etc are covered. Prevention of injuries and rehabilitation of injuries are important for the Injury prevention and management category. In Technology development, the keywords are performance analysis and development of gadgets and devices etc.

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Nov09-Feb10

Long term athlete development
The Effect of Chronological Age and Gender on the Development of Sprint Performance During Childhood and Puberty. JSCR

Relative age effect in elite sports: Methodological bias or real discrimination? EJSS

Age-related differences in repeated-sprint ability in highly trained youth football players. JSS

Circumstantial development and athletic excellence: The role of date of birth and birthplace. EJSS

Anthropometric and fitness characteristics of international, professional and amateur male graduate soccer players from an elite youth academy. JSMS

Basic physiological measures determine fitness and are associated with running performance in elite young male and female Ethiopian runners. JSMPF

Resistance training among young athletes: safety, efficacy and injury prevention effects. BJSM

Effects of SAQ Training and Small-Sided Games on Neuromuscular Functioning in Untrained Subjects. IJSPP

Female adolescent athletes' coping: A season-long investigation. JSS

Self-regulation and performance level of elite and non-elite youth soccer players. JSS

Detecting over-age players using wrist MRI: science partnering with sport to ensure fair play. BJSM

Gender, age, and sport differences in relative age effects among US Masters swimming and track and field athletes. JSS

ACTN3 and ACE Genotypes in Elite Jamaican and US Sprinters. MSSE

Is There an ACE ID - ACTN3 R577X Polymorphisms Interaction that Influences Sprint Performance? IJSM

Relationships between maturity status, physical activity, and physical self-perceptions in primary school children. JSS

Oversized young athletes: a weighty concern. BJSM

Performance enhancement
The use of sports science in preparation for Olympic competition. JSS (Special issue)

The big sports events—How does sports medicine and sports science contribute? JSMS

Why Great Britain’s success in Beijing could have been anticipated and why it should continue beyond 2012. BJSM

Psychological stress in sports coaches: A review of concepts, research, and practice. JSS

Effect of in- versus out-of-water recovery on repeated swimming sprint performance. EJAP

Inspiratory muscle training improves 100 and 200 m swimming performance. EJAP

Effects of Warming-up on Physical Performance: A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis. JSCR

Electrophysiological correlates of cognition improve with nap during sleep deprivation. EJAP

A comparison of modelling procedures used to estimate the power–exhaustion time relationship. EJAP

Measuring submaximal performance parameters to monitor fatigue and predict cycling performance: a case study of a world-class cyclo-cross cyclist. EJAP

Physiological characteristics of elite and sub-elite badminton players. JSS

A biomechanical analysis of common lunge tasks in badminton. JSS

Physiological determinants of Yo-Yo intermittent recovery tests in male soccer players. EJAP

Induction and decay of short-term heat acclimation. EJAP

Mental toughness and athletes' use of psychological strategies. EJSS

The Standard Difference Score: A New Statistic for Evaluating Strength and Conditioning Programs. JSCR

Comparison Between Linear and Daily Undulating Periodized Resistance Training to Increase Strength. JSCR

Optimizing Resistance Exercise Adaptations Through the Timing of Post-Exercise Carbohydrate-Protein Supplementation. SCJ

Energy Drinks: A Review Article. SCJ

A comparison of ratio and allometric scaling methods for normalizing power and strength in elite rugby union players. JSS

Effect of Glycemic Index Meals on Recovery and Subsequent Endurance Capacity. IJSM

BJSM reviews: A–Z of nutritional supplements: dietary supplements, sports nutrition foods and Ergogenic aids for health and performance Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Oxygen Uptake Kinetics: An Underappreciated Determinant of Exercise Performance. IJSPP

Insulin-Like Growth Factor I as a Biomarker of Health, Fitness, and Training Status. MSSE

Effects of Ramadan Intermittent Fasting on Sports Performance and Training: A Review. IJSPP

Effect of Ramadan Intermittent Fasting on Aerobic and Anaerobic Performance and Perception of Fatigue in Male Elite Judo Athletes. JSCR

Injury prevention and management
Injury prevention in paediatric sport-related injuries: a scientific approach. BJSM

Efficacy of injury prevention related coach education within netball and soccer. JSMS

Injury prevention in professional sports: protecting your investments. SJMSS

On the value of team medical staff: can the “Moneyball” approach be applied to injuries in professional football? BJSM

Interrater Reliability of the Functional Movement Screen. JSCR

Using the Body Weight Forward Lunge to Screen an Athlete's Lunge Pattern. SCJ

Prediction and prevention of musculoskeletal injury: a paradigm shift in methodology. BJSM

No injuries, but plenty of pain? On the methodology for recording overuse symptoms in sports. BJSM

Heat injury in youth sport. BJSM

Setting standards for the prevention and management of travellers’ diarrhoea in elite athletes: an audit of one team during the Youth Commonwealth Games in India. BJSM

Golf-related injuries: A systematic review. EJSS

Incidence of Injury Among Adolescent Soccer Players: A Comparative Study of Artificial and Natural Grass Turfs. CJSM

Reliability and validity of field-based measures of leg stiffness and reactive strength index in youths. JSS

Comparison of Active Stretching Technique and Static Stretching Technique on Hamstring Flexibility. CJSM

Technology development
Application of four different football match analysis systems: A comparative study. JSS

Validity and reliability of GPS devices for measuring movement demands of team sports. JSMS

greenhouse gas management at Vancouver 2010 Olympics

David Suzuki's suggestions for greenhouse gas management at Vancouver 2010 Olympics@David Suzuki.org

To undertake a carbon neutral program Vancouver Organizing Committee
for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) will require a comprehensive green-
house gas management plan.

Key elements of this plan would include:
• Determining emissions scope
• Conducting a greenhouse gas emissions inventory
• Engaging partners and sponsors
• A policy for procuring carbon neutral or low carbon products and services
• Reduction strategies
• Procurement of renewable energy certificates and carbon offsets
• Reporting requirements to ensure transparency
• A communications strategy with a strong public engagement component.

Nanjing to host 2014 YOG

Nanjing to host 2014 YOG@Straits Times

VANCOUVER - OLYMPIC chiefs on Wednesday voted for the Chinese city of Nanjing to host the 2014 Youth Olympic Games - the second summer edition of the four-yearly event.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), meeting in Vancouver ahead of the opening of the Winter Olympics here on Friday, opted for the eastern Chinese city ahead of Poznan in Poland, by 47 votes to 42.

Youth Sports Academies in Singapore

MOE to set up Youth Sports Academies to promote sports excellence@CNA

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Education (MOE) is setting up Youth Sports Academies (YSAs) to provide centralised training for talented athletes at the secondary and junior college/centralised institute levels and promote sports excellence.

The YSAs will enable graduates of the Junior Sports Academies (JSAs), and other students in MOE secondary schools, junior colleges or centralised institute to receive a high level of training in their chosen sport.

The YSAs will complement the Singapore Sports School by providing a developmental pathway for students who are talented in sports but enrolled in
regular schools in the system.

For a start, MOE will set up three academies in April, each catering to one sport. The three sports are badminton, wushu and table tennis.

The YSAs will be housed in schools and institutions with facilities or expertise to support the training of these athletes.

The hosts for the first three YSAs are: Bedok South Secondary (badminton), Meridian Junior College (wushu) and MOE's Co-curricular Activities Branch (table tennis).

There will be three admission points for the YSAs, at Secondary 1, 3 and junior college 1/centralised institute level 1. The MOE said this is to take into consideration students who are "late developers".

For the first year, the YSAs will cater to students in Secondary 1 only. The selection trials will be held in March. The YSA programmes will be conducted after school hours.

In 2008, MOE piloted four JSAs. Another eight new JSAs were set up in 2009. The first batch of 144 JSA athletes completed their two-year training programme at the end of 2009. They are now enrolled in 63 secondary schools including the Singapore Sports School.