By Shannon Speirs
In a weeklong celebration of athleticism and culture, youth from Utah and Moscow will compete in sporting events, and be given the opportunity to build lasting relationships.
More than 400 coaches and athletes from Utah and Moscow will come together at Rice Eccles Stadium for the opening ceremony of the Moscow-Utah Youth Games winter competition Friday, Jan. 30, 2004.
The summer competition, in July in Moscow, was the first meeting between youth from both locations since the agreement signed by former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt and Yuri Luzhkov, mayor of Moscow, in October 2002.
The Youth Games were conceived during the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics where Gov. Leavitt and Mayor Luzhkov first met. The primary purpose for joining in the games is the promotion of economic cooperation between the two former Olympic-host cities. Luzhkov said he hoped these games would be a good way to keep the Olympic legacy alive in each city.
One of the most important reasons for the games is the opportunity they provide for high-school age students to improve in sports.
“I think it”s incredible that Utah high school athletes get the opportunity to compete in international games,” said Ben Jolley, spokesman for Neways International. “It”s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Neways International, a Springville-based company, is the presenting sponsor of the Youth Games. Along with the state of Utah and the Utah Sports Commission, Neways International has played an important role in making these games possible. Their donations provided the means for the games to take place in Utah, and allowed athletes and coaches to fly to Moscow for the summer competition.
The winter competition will include several Olympic events that were present in 2002 such as curling, aerials, figure skating and hockey. Competition in tennis and volleyball will also take place. The youth will have the opportunity to compete in many of the venues where the Olympic athletes competed two years ago.
The closing ceremonies on Feb. 7 at Rice Eccles Stadium will double as the two-year anniversary of the 2002 Olympics, according to Tom Hudachko, a spokesman for Utah during these games.
“We are going to be doing some neat stuff at the closing ceremonies to commemorate that anniversary,” Hudachko said. “There will definitely be an Olympic presence at both the opening and closing ceremonies.”
For high school athletes, competing in the Olympics is a dream. Many of these athletes do not even advance to college sports. The Youth Games is an opportunity for young competitors to participate in an event similar to the Olympics.
“The competition will be good. There is an opportunity for cultural events, and also for a lot of friendship-building,” said Jeff Robbins, president of the Utah Sports Commission.
The Utahns who competed in the summer competition had the opportunity to become involved in activities with the Moscow youth and built relationships that have lasted to this day, Robbins said.
There will also be a bit of Olympic feeling at this competition because of the “international flair” that will be present, Robbins said.
The Moscow-Utah Youth Games are unique to Utah and Moscow. Robbins said he connects the “tremendous visions” of Leavitt and Gov. Walker with the origins of these games.
The success of these games will be a reflection on Walker and state of Utah, Robbins said.
The future of the Youth Games will be decided after the conclusion of the winter competition. Inquiries by officials from Vancouver and Beijing have been made concerning their involvement in future games. The possibility of continuing and expanding the games will be discussed after this competition.
“At a minimum, we hope to establish relationships in our various sporting areas with the Russians that will allow them to have sporting competitions in the future,” Robbins said.
Walker encouraged Utahns to attend the sporting events to support Utah”s competing youth.
Volunteers who speak Russian are needed for the games. Contact Fillip Zallesky at (801) 427-4438 or . For more information about the winter competition, visit www.utahsportscommission.com.
