ay 4 was again blessed with lovely sunshine, and competitions continued apace with great enthusiasm. On a particularly happy note, Team Lithuania took their first medal ever at a winter EYOF on the anniversary of their country’s national independence, and both events were celebrated at the Village in the presence NOC President Daina Gudzineviciute, shooting gold medallist at Sydney 2000.

The traditional EYOF Thank You Dinner also took place yesterday evening hosted by EOC Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi at the Sway Hotel, the official EOC Family hotel, in a very convivial atmosphere. It was attended by the Technical Delegates, NOC Presidents, NOC Secretaries General, representatives from the Turkish NOC, from the Erzurum 2017 Organising Committee, and of course the EOC Erzurum 2017 CoCom and EYOF Manager Katerina Nycova, as well as a representative of the wonderful volunteers.

Thanking everyone for the amazing job done, EOC Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi said how he felt that the three ‘families’, present, the European Olympic Committees, Winter Sports Federations, and the Organising Committee with the NOC of Turkey, had formed one body that has worked in tune, and that this harmony of intent has been a driving force behind the success of Erzurum 2017.

For her part, EOC CoCom Chair Liney Halldorsdottir thanked the Technical Delegates warmly for their amazing passion for sport for the wellbeing of the young athletes.

The Thank You Dinner closed with the presentation of EOC souvenirs to the Technical Delegates, handed to them by EOC Executive Committee Members Andrej Krasnicki and Niels Nygaard, together with Liney Halldorsdottir and Secretary General Pagnozzi, who said he looked forward to seeing everyone again at the Sarajevo and East Sarajevo EYOF in 2019.