Olympic Youth Camp (OYC)
The OYC is an integral and special part of the Olympic Games with the goal to promote the Olympic spirit and provide a unique Olympic experience for young people. The OYC showcases the culture, history, and customs of the host city and country; and fosters cultural exchange and friendship among young people around the world. The OYC is of key importance to passing the Olympic spririt to future generations.
OYC Beijing 2008
The 600 participants including campers from 205 NOCs and 10 participants with disabilities will be invited to Beijing to celebrate the XXIX Olympiad together. Jamaica will have two (2) representatives :-
Natoya Goule a Manchester High School student who represented Jamaica at the World Jamaica Athletic Championship in Poland 2008:-
Ramon Walton a Junior Swimmer.
During the 2-week program（5—18 August, 2008 ），participants will be exposed to a variety of activities such as:
Olympic experience
- - Opening Ceremony
- - Olympic Torch Relay
- - Guided tour in the Olympic Village
- - Olympic sport competition events
Demonstration of China
- - Series of course on Chinese culture
- - City sightseeing
- - Excursion
Cross Cultural Exchange
- - Theme Days
- - Exchange activities of sports and arts among campers
Beijing 101 Middle School (11, Yiheyuan Street, Haidian District, Beijing) has been selected as the site for the 2008 Olympic Youth Camp. It is one of the best high schools in Beijing and also well-known in China. 10 kilometers from Olympic Green and 35 kilometers from Beijing Capital International Airport.
The school is located conveniently, with a clean and beautiful campus covering 200,000 square meters. The participants will be accommodated in the school dormitory, which provides 240 four-person rooms for 960 participants and working staff. The dining hall has a capacity of 1,000 people. Beverages, snacks and daily commodities are available at the school store near the dormitory and dining hall.
A number of rooms including an auditorium with 850 seats, a lecture hall with 300 seats, two amphitheaters with 200 seats and 110 seats respectively are also available for the Camp activities. Over 50 classrooms in the main building and 7 computer labs (350 computers with Internet access) in the school Information Centre will be offered. Sports facilities include a four-court tennis centre, an outdoor eight-court basketball ground, an indoor and an outdoor volleyball ground (6 courts in total), a standard 400-meter track and field lawn ground and one playground with artificial lawn for football matches.
Selection
Each NOC may send 1 boy and 1 girl between 16 and 18 years of age by the Games time. BOCOG recommends the following criteria as a reference:
- Conversational ability in English or French is strongly required for efficient communication
- Be good at sports or arts for themed days and feature demonstration.
It is highly recommended that the campers be selected on the basis of achievements not just in sport, but also in environmental protection, Olympic movement, or volunteer activities.
Cost
NOCs will not bear any costs for the Olympic Youth Camp participation in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The roundtrip airfares of the 2 campers nominated by each NOC will be reimbursed by BOCOG and IOC Olympic Solidarity. BOCOG will be fully responsible for all the other costs, including local transportation, accommodation, and meals during the 2008 Olympic Youth Camp. However, the cost covered by BOCOG and Olympic Solidarity applies to only two participants from each NOC. If applicable, airfares for any additional participant will be at the NOCs’ expense.
