The British Olympic Association (BOA) is announcing today that its Director of Sport Sir Clive Woodward has been appointed Chef de Mission to lead Team GB at the inaugural winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG), which takes place in Innsbruck, Austria from 13-22 January 2012.
Woodward, a member of the International Olympic Committee’s Entourage Commission, will be supported by BOA Head of Winter Sport Engagement Mike Hay as Deputy Chef de Mission. The appointment follows Woodward’s role as Team GB Deputy Chef de Mission at both the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. He was also a member of the Delegation Leadership for the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in 2007. As announced in October last year, Woodward will serve as Deputy Chef de Mission for Team GB at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Team GB is expected to consist of approximately 20 athletes from 5 sports who will compete against more than 1,000 of the best elite young athletes, aged 14-18, from over 70 nations across the world. The YOG will feature all seven sports on the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games programme. BOA Chief Executive Andy Hunt said: “I am delighted that our top young winter athletes will benefit from Clive’s vast experience and expertise in leading a successful team and creating the performance focused environment to enable them to perform to the best of their ability. “Having witnessed the excellent quality of the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore last summer, I am sure that Innsbruck 2012 will provide an excellent opportunity for the athletes to gain experience of a multi-sport environment and prepare themselves for the demands they will face in progressing their careers through to senior international, and ultimately, Olympic level.” BOA Director of Sport Sir Clive Woodward said: “I am delighted to take on the role of Chef de Mission for the first winter Youth Olympic Games. Last month we saw first-hand the excellent preparations being made for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and I am sure that the YOG in Innsbruck will be an important stepping stone in the development of our best young winter athletes both on and off the field of play. “Following the outstanding success of the first YOG in Singapore last summer I have every confidence that the International Olympic Committee will again provide an environment of the highest quality to allow the young athletes to gain vital experience of the unique Olympic environment. “I am sure that every young British winter athlete was inspired by Amy Williams’ thrilling gold medal performance at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Our ambition for the YOG is to find and develop Team GB Olympians of the future and give them the best opportunity to follow in Amy’s footsteps.”