The Commonwealth Youth Games started in Edinburgh in 2000 and since then has taken place in Bendigo, Australia 2004 Pune India 2008, Isle of Man 2011 and Samoa 2015 with the 2017 Games due to be hosted in The Bahamas.The Games aimed at young athletes aged 14 -18yrs, have featured Commonwealth, World and Olympic champions athletes including Jessica Ennis-Hill, Beth Tweddle, Geraint Thomas, Caster Semeya and our own Carl Frampton and Michael Conlan.The Youth Games will involve up to nine sports which will be announced in Edmonton, Canada, in October 2016 at the CGF’s General Assembly.
They will be selected from Commonwealth Games Federation sports programme which have governing bodies affiliated to the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council.It is anticipated that the benefits and legacy from the games will not only have an impact on Belfast but on the whole of Northern Ireland. The Youth Games will attract officials, dignitaries and large numbers of visiting friends and family as well as provide the opportunity to showcase Northern Ireland as a world class tourist destination with the ability to stage fantastic sporting events.
Legacy programmes featuring sport initiatives, volunteering and social cohesion are already being developed. Underlining all of this is the unique opportunity to promote the Games Federation’s values of Humanity – Equality – Destiny and the sharing of ideas and culture with young people from across the world to help promote tolerance and respect.