ZURICH – The signature individual ice hockey event of the Youth Olympic Games, the skills challenge competition, has finalized its athletes' list going into the next qualification phase.
39 male and 32 female athletes will compete in a Global Skills Challenge taking place from 5-10 July in Vierumaki, Finland. The names were finalized earlier this month following a lengthy national qualification phase that began last October.
Click here to view all the contestants and skill tests Nearly every corner of the world will have at least one country competing at the Global Skills Challenge. South America will be represented by Nicolas Fantacone and Iara Haiek from Argentina. Asia will have competitors coming in from China, Hong Kong, and Mongolia among others. New Zealand and Australia each sent two athletes to the inaugural Youth Olympic Games skills challenge three years ago in Innsbruck, and will try to ice a male and female competitor once again in Lillehammer.
The athletes will compete in six skills competitions to determine the 15 best male and the 15 best female athletes that will qualify for the 2016 Youth Olympic Winter Games.
39 countries held national qualification tournaments from October 2014 to early May including YOG 2016 hosts Norway, who will send Sander Hurrod and Millie Rose Sirum to join the other 30 finalists in Lillehammer.
The Under-16 Skills Challenge was conceived ahead of the first Youth Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck 2012, as a way of getting other countries involved in an ice hockey event beyond the top nations that were competing in the men's and women's ice hockey tournaments.
In 2012,
Augusts Valdis Vasilonoks from Latvia and
Julie Zwarthoed of the Netherlands won the men's and women's competitions respectively. The final of both competitions were among the best attended at the Games and the event was commended for its innovation and inclusion of non-traditional ice hockey nations.
Click here for a video of the challenges from Innsbruck 2012. The Skills Challenge will take place between February 12 and 21, 2016, during the 2016 Youth Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway.
ADAM STEISS
