SPORTS, TRADE, INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE & CULTURE

The Antigua and Barbuda National Olympic Committee named Kelesha Antoine as the Chef de Mission of the 2^nd Summer Youth Olympic Games 2014 to be held in Nanjing, China, from August 16-28.

As the youngest member of the NOC Executive Committee, Ms. Antoine has a wealth of experience dealing with young athletes. She studied Physical Education in the Havana, Cuba, and after she graduated in 2008 she became a Physical Education teacher. In 2010, she received her Executive Masters in Sports Organization Management (MEMOS) and became head of the Physical Education department at Princess Margaret School, where she teaches third to fifth form students.

She is also certified in First Aid and CPR. She is a certified Massage Therapist and worked with several teams and clubs in training and therapy.

Ms. Antoine will manage a contingent of five athletes from three national associations  participating in the 2014 Youth Olympic Games, including Athletics, Swimming and Sailing. Qualifiers were determined by the IOC and the Organizing Committee and granted to the following athletes:

Athletics
Bliss Soleyn – Female athlete
Coull Graham – Male athlete
Evans Jones – Coach/Manager

Swimming
Noah Mascall – Male Athlete
Gabriella John – Female athlete
Terrell Bruno – Coach/ Manager

Sailing
Rhone Kirby – Male athlete
Karl James – Coach/Manager

The Chef de Mission has already been heavily involved with the team plans, including meeting with the parents, coaches, athletes and the president and secretary general of the NOC. She is expected to make public appearances including visits to several summer camps and media appearances on the island’s most popular radio and television programs.   

Now is a fantastic opportunity for the communities to get behind the athletes and show support for Team Antigua and Barbuda, as the athletes make their final preparations.

The Youth Olympic Games aim to bring together talented young athletes aged 14 to 18 from around the world to an event which balances sport, education and culture.

Alongside the competition and sporting aspect of the games, there will be educational programmes on the Olympic values, the benefits of sport for a healthy lifestyle, the social values sports can deliver, and the dangers of doping, training to excess, and inactivity.

The IOC's stated objectives for the Youth Olympic Games are to:

1. Bring together the world's best young athletes and celebrate them.
2. Offer a unique and powerful introduction to Olympism.
3. Innovate in educating and debating Olympic values and challenges of society.
4. Share and celebrate the cultures of the world in a festive atmosphere.
5. Reach youth communities throughout the world to promote Olympic values.
6. Raise sports awareness and participation among young people.
7. Act as a platform for initiatives within the Olympic Movement.
8. Be an event of the highest international sporting standard.