One YCM+ is going the long way home to deliver the Olympic values
It all started with a bike. When Olympian Rebecca Wardell asked Young Change-Maker Sarah van Ballekom if she would join her bike ride from Switzerland to New Zealand, she jumped at the chance. The girls convinced three-time rowing Olympian Emma Twigg to come along for the ride too.
Sarah says: “We wanted the bike ride to be more than just a physical and mental challenge, and a Young Change-Maker grant enabled us to do just that.
I had been working for the World Olympians Association, and part of my job was to encourage Olympians to understand the positive impact they could have in their communities. This was in essence the basis of my Young Change-Maker project. I liaised with National Olympian Associations and National Olympic Committees and coordinated visits to schools and sports clubs with local Olympians, followed by a sports equipment donation.
During the school visits, Rebecca, Emma and a local Olympian would describe their Olympic journeys to the children, followed by a show-and-tell session with our bikes and our route on a world map.
One of my project highlights was at Lake Bled, in Slovenia. We walked into a sports hall with a hundred kids running and yelling like crazy, but as soon as Rebecca and Emma mentioned the word “Olympics” the room was instantly quiet, and the kids sat down listening to their stories in awe. We donated a rowing machine, and the local rowing club matched our donation and provided a second piece to the school. Later that day we went down to the lake and Emma gave 10 young girls the chance to row with her in a double sculls rowing boat. The girls were absolutely thrilled, and it was wonderful to see such a small interaction have such a big impact on the young rowers.
Rebecca really enjoyed visiting local aikido and cycling clubs in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. Our donation allowed an aikido club to purchase some much-needed hand wraps, and a cycling club to purchase some bike chains. At the cycling club we met a young girl who had just bought a bike, and it was really fantastic to see Rebecca giving her some words of advice. She wasn’t keen to join us on our journey though!
My Young Change-Maker project provided us with so many wonderful experiences. In Khorog, Tajikistan, we presented medals at an under-15 football tournament before speaking to a football team about the importance of trying hard and following dreams. In Tehran, Iran, we were able to make a donation to a charity that provides sports opportunities to underprivileged children, which is being supported by a local Olympian.
We also organised school visits with local Olympians in Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Turkmenistan, and we have a final visit planned in Chengdu, China, later this month.”
For the second year running, the IOC is delighted to welcome the support of TOP Partner Panasonic, which has made it possible to expand the YCM+ Programme with its generosity. Later this month, the YCMs+ will meet at the Panasonic Centre in Tokyo for their annual IOC Youth Summit.