Research during the Youth Olympic Games

Are the Youth Olympic Games only the little brother of the Olympic Games? What role do cultural exchange and Olympic Education play? How does the media coverage of the Youth Olympic Games work?

These were only some of the questions that a research team supervised by Dr. Jörg Krieger of the Olympic Studies Centre Cologne attempted to tackle during their stay at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. Within the framework of the research project, the researchers questioned the participating athletes on their perceptions of the event, especially regarding the educational activities delivered through the "Learn & Share" programme. Besides the interviewing, the participants also had time to undertake observations during the sport events that took place in the facilities in and around Lillehammer. Besides classic winter sports such as ice hockey and biathlon, the Youth Olympic Games also feature mixed gender events and new competition formats such as the ice hockey skills challenge, which contributed to the perceived success of the event.