15 reasons why we love Buenos Aires 2018: No.11 – the equipment!
As the countdown to the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Buenos Aires 2018 continues, we are highlighting 15 reasons to get excited ahead of the 3rd Summer YOG.
Did you know that almost 7,400 balls of varying shapes and sizes will be needed during the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018?
This includes 4,980 for tennis, 600 for beach volleyball, 545 for futsal, 300 for hockey 5s, 300 for rugby sevens, 288 for table tennis, 280 for beach handball, and 100 for 3x3 basketball.
It’s a huge figure, which goes to show just how much planning and preparation goes in to hosting the YOG.
In total, the Sports Equipment Department of the Buenos Aires 2018 Organising Committee will be responsible for providing more than 20,000 items during the Games, ensuring that each of the young athletes has the essential equipment they need to compete in their sport.
This includes everything from the three hoops needed for the 3x3 basketball courts and the eight mats needed for wrestling, right through to the 10,800 shuttlecocks that will be used for the badminton events.
All of this equipment is essential for the elite level competitions in each sport.
Out of all the sports on the YOG programme, it is athletics that will require the most equipment. This will include 24 discuses, 24 hammers, 24 javelins and 24 shots for each of the throwing events. There will also be 250 cones, 190 hurdles, 28 starting blocks, 4 record indicators, 60 chalk blocks and 16 high jump bars. There will even be a couple of remote control carts to transport items such as hammers and discuses across the field.
Looking at the wide variety of specialist equipment that will provided gives you an even greater appreciation of the differences between each of the sports on the YOG programme.
The sailing events, for instance, require 18 inflatable boats, 14 catamarans and 48 windsurfer boards, while modern pentathlon needs 28 laser pistols and boxing requires 80 pairs of gloves, 300 bandage tapes and 68 helmets.
So next time you forget where your gym kit or your running shoes are, just imagine trying to keep track of this incredible amount of equipment that will all be essential for the YOG to take place this October.