First Ever Youth Winter Olympic Games Come to a close for New Zealand athletes New Zealands top winter youth athletes have finished the first Youth Olympic Winter Games with eleven top ten finishes and a critical insight into elite level multi-sport event and what it means to be an Olympic athlete. Top Kiwi performer Callum Burns who recorded a fourth place in ice-hockey skills (14) led the team into the closing ceremony that took place after ten days of world class sporting competition and cultural and educational activities. He was joined in the ceremony with the rest of the 15-strong team of 14 18 year old athletes. New Zealand Olympic Committee Secretary General Kereyn Smith said the inaugural games were significant. The combination of competition and culture provides a strong base to the Olympic pathway for young athletes, she said. The Youth Olympic Games open doors for young New Zealand athletes. The Ceremony brought a close to 10 days of world-class sporting competition and cultural and educational activities specifically designed for the 1,000-plus athletes aged 14 to 18 who participated in the Games. The highlight of the short Ceremony saw the Olympic Flag passed from Innsbruck to Lillehammer, who will host the next Winter Youth Olympics in 2016. Youth Olympic Winter Games Chef de Mission Peter Wardell says that while the team did not finish with any medals, the experience the athletes gained was invaluable and the pathway to the Olympic Winter Games has been strengthened. For the first time a lot of these young athletes were able to judge themselves against their peers at an international level, it provided them with a great opportunity and Beau-James Wells and Callum Burns were right up there placing 4th in their events. We expect to see Youth Olympic free-ski and alpine ski team members at both Sochi in 2014 and PyeongYang in 2018. Alpine Skier Piera Hudson finished 16th in the Super Combi in a field of 44 and 17th in the Super G in a field of 45. In the giant slalom she was lying 21st after the first run but did not finish the second which put her out of contention. Hudson was one of only eighteen 15-year-olds competing in the alpine events at the Youth Olympics. She finished third fastest of her age group in the slalom, Super G and Super Combined, an exceptional result which reflects her increasing confidence and ability to perform under pressure amongst strong international competition. Hudson is the current New Zealand overall National Giant Slalom and Junior Giant Slalom titleholder and has been heralded as a rising star in alpine ski racing. Innsbruck was a terrific continuation of the excellent work done at the first Summer Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010, and it bodes very well for the future of the Youth Olympic Games. Kereyn Smith, New Zealand Olympic Committee Secretary General said the games have given youth athletes great exposure to the international competition and provide a great pathway to the Olympic Games both Summer and Winter. The athletes helped to make Olympic history by participating in a number of events that appeared for the first time on an Olympic programme in Innsbruck ahead of their inclusion in the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. These included womens ski jumping, ski halfpipe and snowboard slopestyle. The Games also featured innovative new formats such as the mixed country doubles competition in curling; the mixed sport event cross-country/biathlon; mixed gender luge and ice hockey skills challenge. The next big event on the Olympic calendar is the London Olympic Games which are just over six months away and open on 27 July 2012. The next edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games will be held in Lillehammer, Norway, while the second Summer Youth Olympic Games will take place in Nanjing, China in 2014. The next Winter Olympic Games will be held in Sochi, Russia in 2014. The New Zealand Youth Olympic Team depart Innsbruck tomorrow, and some athletes are heading off to North America or staying in Innsbruck to train, while the Curling team will head to Korea for the Junior World Curling Championships. Peter Wardell, Chef de Mission will head to Sochi for site visits and meetings with the organizing committee. The Sochi Winter Olympic Games are only two years away. NEW ZEALAND YOUTH OLYMPIC TEAM Beau-James Wells (15) - Freeski in ski halfpipe, Wanaka Sam Andrews (15) - Freeski - ski cross, Wanaka Matheson Hill (16) Luge mens singles, Dunedin Olivia Thomson (15) biathlon - 6km sprint and 7.5k pursuit, Wanaka David Weyer (17) curling mixed team, Ranfurly Eleanor Adviento (16) curling mixed team, Auckland Kelsi Heath (16) curling mixed team, North Shore Luke Steele (17) curling- mixed team, Ranfurly Callum Burns (14) - ice hockey individual skills challenge, Queenstown Libby-Jean Hay (16) - ice hockey individual skills challenge, Auckland Hamish Bagley (15) Snowboard halfpipe and slopestyle, Arrowtown Harry Izard-Price (16) Alpine slalom, giant slalom, super g, combined, Wellsford Piera Hudson (15)- Alpine - slalom, giant slalom, super g, combined, Hawkes Bay Samantha Poots (15) Freeski - halfpipe, ski cross Wanaka Tim Herbert (16) Snowboard - slopestyle, Wanaka New Zealand Olympic Team Results: Alpine Skiing Combined Men 22nd Harry Izard-Price Alpine Skiing Giant Slalom Men 14th Harry Izard-Price Alpine Skiing Super G Men 31st Harry Izard-Price Alpine Skiing Slalom Men 23rd Harry Izard-Price Alpine Skiing Combined Women 16th Piera Hudson Alpine Skiing Giant Slalom DNF 2nd run Women Piera Hudson Alpine Skiing Slalom Women 15th Piera Hudson Alpine Skiing Super G Women 17th Piera Hudson Biathlon 6km Sprint Women 45th Olivia Thomson Biathlon 7.5km Pursuit Women 45th Olivia Thomson Freestyle Skiing Halfpipe Men 4th Beau-James Wells Freestyle Skiing Halfpipe Women 7th Samantha Poots Freestyle Skiing Ski Cross Men 18th Samuel Andrews Ice Hockey Skills Challenge Men 4th Callum Burns Ice Hockey Skills Challenge Women 8th Libby-Jean Hay Luge Singles Men 25th Matheson Hill Snowboard Half Pipe Men 10th Hamish Bagley Snowboard Slopestyle Men 21st Tim Herbert Curling - Mixed Team 13th Luke Steele, Eleanor Adviento, David Weyer, Kelsi Heath
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