Before the inaugural Youth Olympic Games commenced, I joined a team of student journalists under the Samsung Mobile Explorers program. Over the course of 2 months, we attended workshops as well as covered events during the Youth Olympic Games. I attended games events as well as participated in cultural education programs. At these events, I was given the opportunity to report on them and interview people there. We were also host to 20 other SMEs from China and Korea. We lived together in a hotel during YOG and participated in group activities where we learnt lion dance and visited places of interest such as Jurong Bird Park and Sentosa. I also represented Samsung in the Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame as a torchbearer. Go to my SME blog to check out all the work I did during YOG.
Interview with Juwon, a fellow Korean SME
Interview with Singaporean Youth Olympian, Liane Wong.
Nic: How did you do today?
Liane: Oh, I came in 6th overall.
N: What was it like fencing against your competitors?
L: It was definitely interesting as everyone fences differently so having to change my tactics every time I fenced someone different was slightly challenging but it was okay with the help of my coach.
N: So what was the level of the competition like? Was it what you're used to or was it higher than normal?
L: I thought that it was okay as in because of the way everyone qualified for the YOG. The world cadets was even harder. YOG was not as hard as I thought it would be.
N: How did you feel representing Singapore in this competition?
L: Proud. I am happy to be given this opportunity as it is the first yogi and it is my first big games. It is a very rare opportunity and the participants for fencing are only 16 and 17 so I fall into that age group very nicely.
Liane: Oh, I came in 6th overall.
N: What was it like fencing against your competitors?
L: It was definitely interesting as everyone fences differently so having to change my tactics every time I fenced someone different was slightly challenging but it was okay with the help of my coach.
N: So what was the level of the competition like? Was it what you're used to or was it higher than normal?
L: I thought that it was okay as in because of the way everyone qualified for the YOG. The world cadets was even harder. YOG was not as hard as I thought it would be.
N: How did you feel representing Singapore in this competition?
L: Proud. I am happy to be given this opportunity as it is the first yogi and it is my first big games. It is a very rare opportunity and the participants for fencing are only 16 and 17 so I fall into that age group very nicely.
Interview with Jessie Bates, United States Taekwondo athlete
Nic: What's your name and how old are you?
Jessie: I'm Jessie Bates and I'm 16 years old.
N: Okay so I hear that you're fighting tomorrow?
J: Yes I fight tomorrow, at 2pm I'll be competing in the 49 and under category.
N: Are you excited to be here for YOG?
J: I am so excited, it's such a great opportunity and I never imagined that Taekwondo could have ever taken me so far. It's amazing to see people of my calibre everywhere in different sports. It's just incredible.
N: Taekwondo is a korean martial art, how come you ended up learning Taekwondo?
J: I actually used to live in England before so I started Taekwondo in England. When I moved back to the States, I kept doing it because it was something that I was good at and I had the potential for it. It started when I was little kid, just something to get me active and I excelled at it.
N: So how are you feeling about tomorrow?
J: I'm so excited, there is nothing more I could ever dream of. Watching everyone fight today is making me even that much more.
N: Do you think you can go far tomorrow? What are your goals?
J: To win the whole thing. In a fight, match after match, round after round, I'll fight with everything I've got in my heart. If I win, good then I'll go to the next one. But if I lose, then I know I put everything out there.
Jessie: I'm Jessie Bates and I'm 16 years old.
N: Okay so I hear that you're fighting tomorrow?
J: Yes I fight tomorrow, at 2pm I'll be competing in the 49 and under category.
N: Are you excited to be here for YOG?
J: I am so excited, it's such a great opportunity and I never imagined that Taekwondo could have ever taken me so far. It's amazing to see people of my calibre everywhere in different sports. It's just incredible.
N: Taekwondo is a korean martial art, how come you ended up learning Taekwondo?
J: I actually used to live in England before so I started Taekwondo in England. When I moved back to the States, I kept doing it because it was something that I was good at and I had the potential for it. It started when I was little kid, just something to get me active and I excelled at it.
N: So how are you feeling about tomorrow?
J: I'm so excited, there is nothing more I could ever dream of. Watching everyone fight today is making me even that much more.
N: Do you think you can go far tomorrow? What are your goals?
J: To win the whole thing. In a fight, match after match, round after round, I'll fight with everything I've got in my heart. If I win, good then I'll go to the next one. But if I lose, then I know I put everything out there.
