Two Cypriots participate in the 2008 Olympic Youth Camp Programme

Around 409 children – athletes, among them two Cypriots, are participating in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Youth Camp Programme.

The children come from the 205 member countries and regions of the International Olympic Committee.

According to a press release, issue by the Cyprus Olympic Committee, the two young Cypriot athletes, Loukia Trikomitou (gymnastics) and Charis Koutras (athletics), said they were impressed by the Olympic Youth Camp Programme.

The Programme aims at fostering exchanges and friendship between young people from various countries and educating them to understand and carry forward the Olympic spirit.

Twenty of the children participated in the Olympic Torch Relay.

For the first time in the history of the Olympic Youth Camp, 50 young people with disabilities, from around the world, have been invited to participate in the activities of the Programme.

Since the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games, the Olympic Youth Camp Programme has been an educational and cultural exchange programme under the Olympic banner. Since the 1960s all Olympic Games have supported the initiative.