The IRF is proud to announce that we have been invited to participate in the United Through Sport (UTS) International Virtual Youth Festival! This historic event is a unique opportunity for IRF youth teams to get involved in a global project.
UTS is an initiative launched in 2019 by the Association of Independent Recognised Sports (AIMS) with its focus being on encouraging youth to become more involved in sports. This one of a kind event is under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Special Olympics, SportAccord and the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAIFS).
With the sports world at a near standstill due the the Covid 19 pandemic, the UTS movement believes that now more than ever, we must stand in solidarity and unity under the Olympic, Paralympic and Special Olympics movements towards promoting and fostering the Olympic, Paralympic and Special Olympics values. Now is the time to transform crisis into nurturing opportunity, promoting health and safety with a united mission for the youth of the world.
Despite the global pandemic, UTS is presenting an opportunity for youth worldwide to compete in an online festival bringing together youths with different abilities and joining for a unique unity in diversity, sport and educational event.
The event will be held and broadcast online from August to November, with the finals on 20 November.
IOC President Dr Thomas Bach said: “The current coronavirus crisis has proven that sport and an active lifestyle can save lives. With its own campaigns, the IOC has been working since the beginning of the crisis to make it even more evident how important sport is for physical and mental health, in particular in times of lockdown, social distancing and uncertainty. The IOC is excited that the UTS Virtual Youth Festival 2020 is inviting youth of all abilities and backgrounds from the international sports community. We have given patronage to the UTS Virtual Youth Festival 2020 and will also play an active part.”
The Virtual Youth Festival competitions that are available:
- 1 Max Fit – focusing on contestants’ strength, power and stamina
- 2 Aero Fit – 3 mins of a choreographed sequence to music in teams of 2
- 3 Talent – youths are invited not only to a talent competition but to a talent show to promote and encourage a focus on their individual unique talents.
- 4 All Abilities – youths take part in sporting challenges in five age categories.
- 5 Special Olympics – is a 7-week fitness competition that awards athletes for hard work and personal improvement.
Full details
All details about Youth Participation and Registration, as well as all Rules & Regulations, Guidelines for Camera Framing for Competition and details of each of the types of competitions you can enter can be obtained from IRF Admin.
The festivals technical platform will be provided by Rsportz. This is a cloud-based global sports software company designed to unite and empower international sport events.
UTS Virtual Youth Festival Finals
These will be held on the 20 November, 2020. After the Finals are run there will be Virtual Medal Ceremonies.
Leaving a Legacy
UTS’s missions are to provide an equal stage for youth to shine, to share their many talents, provide valuable education towards their future and to bring smiles.
UTS is an alliance of many organisations which work together through sports to bring unity and peace to an often-divided world. UTS was inaugurated during the 2018 SportAccord Convention in Bangkok.
This event is to be the first. But the vision is to continue into the future, cultivating a unified and inclusive international community.
The intention is to raise donations of sport equipment that will then be donated to underprivileged youths in refugee camps within designated regions. All donations are welcomed and appreciated.
#THISISUTS #UTSVYF2020 #RaftersAreAwesome #AreYouReady #strongertogether
