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3500 athletes, 80 young shooters among them, pursuing their Olympic dream at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games edition in Singapore.

The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games kicked off last Saturday night, with the city’s skyline providing a magnificent backdrop to an exciting opening ceremony followed by 30000 people who met at the Marina Bay, the “heart” of the Singapore’s Youth Olympic Games.

More the 3500 athletes coming from 204 countries will compete in 26 sports, during the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Between them, 80 young shooters aged 17 and 18 years, who will participate in four competitions: 10m Air Rifle and 10m Air Pistol, Men and Women events.

“From this moment on, young people from around the world have a chance to participate in a global event that combines sport, education and culture,” IOC president Jacques Rogge said during the Opening Ceremony.

“Throughout this programme, our young Olympians will take part in activities and discussions on global and social issues as well as learn how they can make a positive impact in their community,” added Singapore’s President S R Nathan.

Spectators were on their feet clapping and cheering when the competitors entered from both sides of the stage of the Marina Bay venue. Three young shooters finished in the spotlights as flag bearers of their countries: Syeda Sadia Sultana for Bangladesh, Elvin Aroldo Lopez Calderon for Guatemala and Bahya Al-Hamad for Qatar.

Throughout the show, fireworks lit the sky. More than 2,000 were used and they were synchronised to the music and shot from the crowns of various buildings around Marina Bay. More than 5,000 performers, including children from 47 Singapore schools, were involved in the ceremony.

At the end, Olympic swimming legend Michael Phelps (USA), who won eight gold medals at the Beijing 2008 Games, reminded the young athletes that winning was not everything.

“Do your best but above all, have fun,” Phelps said in a video address.

The first Shooting Competition, the 10m Air Rifle Men Junior event, will take place on the 22nd of August, at the Singapore Sports School, at 12.00 AM!

Follow the results of the match on the YOG Webpage!

69 Quotas at the 2010 World Championship. The Qualification pathway for the 2012 Olympic Games of London has been uncovered. Quota Places will be distributed through the 2010, 2011 and 2012 season. Download the detailed Quota Place distribution list.

The International Shooting Sport Federation is pleased to announce that the 2012 Olympic Qualification pathway has finally been released.

As for the 2008 Olympic Games, 390 Quota Places will be distributed by the ISSF and the IOC throughtou the 2010, the 2011 and the 2012 seasons.

Quota places can be obtained in ISSF supervised Competitions / Championships according to the ISSF Rules and Regulations. They are:

- ISSF World Championship 2010/2011

- ISSF World Cups 2011

- Continental Championships 2010/2011/2012

At the 50th ISSF World Championship, which will take place in Munich starting form the 29th of July, 69 quota places will be distributed in Shotgun, Rifle and Pistol events. Check the full Quota Places’ distribution list: Download the full regulation of the 2012 Olympics Qualification path, including Qualification Timeline, MQS scores, solidarity places, Quota Distribution and Host Country representation rules.

The 2010 YOG’s Organizing Committee launches the 99-day-to-go celebrations.

We are only 100 days far from the opening ceremony of the first Youth Olympic Games, kicking-off the 14^th of August 2010 in Singapore!

Celebrating this milestone of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, Singapore 2010’s Organizing Committee will launch tomorrow the 99-days-to-go countdown celebrations. The 2010 YOG’s Organizing Committee invites all the sport enthusiast to take part in the celebrations: check the YOG’s countdown facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=116794561671621&index=1

The first edition of the Youth Olympic Games will take place in Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010.  3200 athletes aging between 14 and 18 will compete in 26 different sports in this historic inaugural edition. Eighty shooters will compete in four events, Air Rifle and Air Pistol, Men and Women, at the first Youth Olympics edition. YOG Quota Places for shooting sport were assigned between 2009 and 2010 at the Oceania Championship in Sydney (AUS), at the Asian Championship in Doha (QAT), at the European Championship in Meraker (NOR), at the Africa Youth Qualification Championship in Tipaza (ALG) and at the Confederation of the Americas Championships in Guatemala City (GUA).

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) elected yesterday Nanjing, People’s Republic of China, as the host city of the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2014 during the 122nd IOC Session in Vancouver, Canada.

Nanjing (CHN) won the bid with  47 votes, edging out Poznan, Poland, which received 42 votes.

“We had two outstanding candidatures from two fantastic cities. Both expressed the spirit of the Youth Olympic Games and both were capable of staging the event,” said IOC President Jacques Rogge. “We are looking forward to working with Nanjing, and are confident the Youth Olympic Games in 2014 will be a success.”

The second edition of the Youth Olympic Games (the first will be held next August in Singapore) will feature competition in 26 different sports, and some 3600 athletes between 14 and 18 years of age from all 205 National Olympic Committees are expected to participate.

Shooting competitions could take place at the Fangshan Sports Training Base of Jiangsu, as mentioned by Nanjing’s Bid committee on their official webpage.

“The preparation period for the second summer edition of the Youth Olympic Games will take four-and-a-half years, which will allow Nanjing to match both the expectations of the IOC and the athletes in producing a programme of sport, culture and education that is of the very highest standard,” Rogge added.

Following the path inaugurated by the IOC with the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, this year, the 2014 YOG will feature a fully fledged education programme aiming to raise participants’ awareness of the Olympic values and topics like healthy lifestyles and the fight against doping.