Olympic Values moving to a virtual space: The European Young Olympic Ambassadors (EYOA) are developing Olympism-based activities online

Preparations for the Virtual Olympic Week, which is scheduled to take place online during the original dates of the EYOF 2021 in Vuokatti (February 6-13), are in full swing. 24 European Young Olympic Ambassadors who are divided into three groups – Promoters, Facilitators, and Reporters – are working together to prepare Olympism-based educational activities for athletes. Five webinars have already taken place with one more webinar scheduled today.

Here we introduce the third and final group of ambassadors, the Reporters, who are responsible for conducting interviews with athletes, writing news stories, engaging with athletes through social media, and reporting on the impact of the EYOA programme.

Daria-Olimpia Haristiade (19) from Romania is a shooter. When not holding a gun, climbing, skiing, and snow-tumbling are some of her favourite activities. “I wish to learn, learn, learn”, explains Daria-Olimpia when explaining the reasons for her participation in the EYOA programme. “I am eager to learn about being a reporter, about Olympism, about different cultures, people, sports and customs. I want to share my journey with others at home.”

Gunay Salamova (26) from Azerbaijan has been working for the National Olympic Committee for the past four years. Gunay was a participant of the 2019 EYOA programme in Baku which motivated her to join the project for the second time. Table tennis and volleyball are two of her favourite sports. Gunay would like to become a professor at a sports institute. To create a friendly atmosphere among athletes and develop a motivational attitude towards the Olympic Games are the goals that Gunay sees in her role as an EYOA.

Anna Duskova (20) from the Czech Republic is a figure skater who was crowned champion at the 2016 Junior World Championships. She is a silver medalist from the 2016 Youth Olympic Games and competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Her motivation as an EYOA is clear: “I wanted to see sport from a different perspective. I wanted to open myself up to new opportunities that would give me valuable experiences.”

Sintija Misina (20) from Latvia is a student following a bachelor programme of Sports Studies at the University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. She is a fan of volleyball and used to play at a regional level. She likes to travel and explore nature. “If everyone is competing, then why not to win?” is the question that keeps her motivated: “Keep fighting, and if you are not winning yet, it means the fight is not over yet.”

Vlad Zvernik (22) from Belarus is an alpine skier who took his inspiration from former Austrian alpine ski racer Marcel Hirschler. Creating and listening to music is a big part of Vlad’s life. In addition to alpine skiing, Vlad plays tennis and basketball. “Drain out bad energy” is a motto that Vlad has and he believes that positive energy is one of his superpowers. By joining the group of reporters Vlad is looking forward to trying our journalism and blogging for himself.

Ivana Perovic (18) from Serbia is a student at the faculty of Organizational Sciences at the university in Belgrade. Ivana is a two-time world champion in karate, a sport she has been doing since she was five. Ivana won bronze at the 2018 YOG and the 2018 European Championships. In 2019 Ivana was voted by the National Olympic Committee as the Best Young Athlete of Serbia. “Always be the best, no matter what” is the motto that drives Ivana.

Anna-Liisa Karson (23) from Estonia is a former alpine ski racer and currently works as a coach. She trained a team of alpine ski racers for the  EYOF 2019 in Sarajevo and East Sarajevo. She likes surfing, cooking, and baking, and speaks five languages. “One team, one dream, one goal” is the motto that underpins all her training sessions with kids who give her much motivation and enthusiasm. Anna-Liisa Karson describes herself as a team player who has good communication skills, is brave, determined, spontaneous and helps to have fun.

Arnaud Merkle (20) is a badminton player from France. He won the European Championships in 2018. He accompanied young athletes as a coach to the 2018 YOG and plans to further develop his coaching career. Arnaud believes that through participation in the EYOA programme he will assist with spreading the Olympic Movement all around the world. It is his goal to share the Olympic Values and to help people discover the spirit of Olympism.

This group of ambassadors is coordinated by alumni participants Mirjana Ivkovic and Nina Micic from Serbia, and Marija Lozancic from Croatia. Nina was part of the EYOA’s team at the first edition in 2017, while Mirjana and Marija joined the programme two years later.

Find out more and visit the EYOA Instagram account here!

Written by Maksim Berdnikov, EYOA Alumnus Erzurum 2017