By stating that the question "Can Turkey hold this event?" is no longer valid, Minister of State for youth and sports Faruk Nafız Özak said, "From now on, Turkey can organize all types of sports events."
Before the introduction of the logo and the mascot of the 11th EYOF in Trabzon that will be held between 23rd and 30th July 2011, Minister Özak made a statement at the press conference.
The other members of the Board of Directors; Governor of Trabzon Dr. Recep Kızılcık, Mayor Orhan Fevzi Gümrükçüoğlu, KTU Rector Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özen, Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Turkey Neşe Gündoğan, and General Coordinator Nihat Doker also attended to the press conference. State Minister Özak gave information about the process of becoming a host city and the preparations for the Festival.
Minister Özak pointed out that the Festival, welcoming about 4000 young athletes between the ages 14 - 17 and officials from 49 countries at 9 sports, had been for the first time organized in Brussels, the capital city of Belgium. He continued that since then, it had been organized biennially. He stated, "We are expecting high level of participation to the 11th EYOF in Trabzon". Minister Özak continued his speech by saying " From Albania to Belgium, from Denmark to Georgia, from England to Israel, from Latvia to Portugal, from Ukraine to Turkey, there will be not only young athletes from 49 European countries but also technical and administrative delegates and referees, and there will be also great numbers of media representatives in Trabzon."
The process of becoming a host city
Minister Özak paid the attention to the issue of Turkey's hosting lots of great organizations thanks to its sports complexes at the international standards and its reliability in international platform. He said, "The question if Turkey could host these events is no longer valid. From now on, Turkey can hold all types of sport organizations at a high level." Mr. Özak went on his speech:
"Turkey's journey for the Festival began in 2005 owing to having great complexes which are able to host international organizations. We applied to European Olympic Committees (EOC) officially on 28th October 2005 and voting in EOC General Assembly on 9th December 2006 ended successfully on behalf of Turkey in Brussels.
In General Assembly, we competed with Herning (Denmark), Riga (Latvia), Geneva (Italy), Utrecht (Netherlands) and in the end we won. We appreciate to everyone who plays important role at that time to become the host city for EYOF.
Especially, it is necessary to remind the important contributions of former technical director of Trabzonspor, Urbain Breams.
New Complexes
Minister Özak stated that from now on Trabzon had complexes for carrying out the Festival, however in order to hold the Festival at a higher level, he reminded that they started construction of new venues. Minister Özak said that, "Credit and Dormitories Agency providing accommodation for the students with the dormitories built in 1975, started the construction of dormitories for 2800 people thanks to Olympic Village after 35 years. Construction of Yomra Dormitory, which is like a boutique hotel, has already been completed. After, new 2800-capacity dormitories completed and former buildings reconstructed, there will be no problem in terms of quality and quantity. This will be a legacy for the young people and they will have high standard complexes in the university."
The construction of 7500-capacity multi-purpose sports hall has speed up. This complex's construction will end up on January 2011, and it will become the dearest of Turkey. One thing needs to be reminded at this point.
Since 1st of August 2009, Olympic flag has been waving in Atatürk Arena, and it is a first for the history of Republic of Turkey.
Here is another first; the first swimming pool with retractable roof and diving tower is being constructed in Trabzon with 10 lanes at Olympic standards. It is just next to Mehmet Akif Ersoy Swimming Pool with eight lanes. These two complexes will be combined.
Additionally, Söğütlü Athletics Field with the capacity of 7200 spectators, Tennis Courts Complex with main tennis court with the capacity of 1000 spectators, 3 indoor and 12 outdoor courts and 3000 capacity sports hall are the other venues."
Minister Özak has stressed the importance of the European Youth Olympic Festival for Turkey's aspiration for 2020 Olympic Games, and he said that "For this purpose, we will hold a successful and high level organization, then we will be a candidate for the Olympic Games."
Trabzon; the City of Sports and Art
Faruk Özak, Minister of State, has reminded that Trabzon is hosting a huge number of artists and athletes and now there are only three districts that have no sports hall. He added, "The location is provided for one of these sports halls. And the other two is about to be completed. So it means that there will be no district without a sports hall in Trabzon soon.
In this sense, people of Trabzon, who lead a life identified with sports, are living in a city that has great numbers of sports complexes.
There is a well-known reality; the Olympic Games are not only sports organizations. That is the reason why it is said, "Olympic Games are turning points for a city."
Education or Sports?
Minister Özak responded to the questions of press officials after the meeting.
Minister Özak pointed out that there was an attitude like 'to focus on either sports or education' in National Education in Turkey and they are struggling to solve this issue. He went on his speech by saying "There are almost 20 million students in our schools. However the number of licensed athletes is 2.5 million in our country. Our whole purpose is to increase the number of licensed athletes. Our complexes will be a driving force for this. We will work to direct our people to sports."
