The best young European athletes aged 14-18 will fight on January 21-18, 2023 at the 16.p Winter European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF).
The biennial multi-sport event, originally called European Youth Olympic Daysorganized by European Olympic Committees (EOCs) under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The competition will take place mainly in Friuli-Venezia Giulia in Italy, but also in the neighboring countries of Austria (Spittal) and Slovenia (Planica).
The Italian region, located in the north-east of the country, also organized the summer edition of the event in 2003 in Lignano Sabbiadoro.
Winter EYOF returns to Italy after its first edition was held thirty years ago in Aosta. In the rescheduled March 2022 event in Vuokatti, hosts Finland topped the medal table with six gold medals (14 total), ahead of Italy (five gold, 20 medals) and Austria (five and 10). 17p the 2025 edition will take place in Borkomi-Bakuriani, Georgia in 2025.
Russian athletes who did not compete in the 2023 event dominated the last 15 editions with a total of 213 medals, followed by Germany (116), France (118), Norway (110) and Italy (109).
“This festival provides young European athletes with great motivation as it gives meaning to their careers from the very beginning” – former IOC president Jacques Rogge
Winter EYOF 2023 schedule
14 winter sports will be displayed sideways 12 premises and three different clusters (Carnia, Piancavallo, Tarvisio).
The sports are: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing (slopestyle and big air), ski cross, ice hockey, short track speed skating, ski jumping, ski touring, alpine and cross snowboard, freestyle snowboard ( slopestyle and big air) and nordic combined.
Here is the program (medal events):
Saturday January 21 – EYOF Winter Schedule 2023 (Opening Ceremony)
Sunday January 22 – Winter EYOF 2023 schedule (medal events)
- Short Track: 1500 m boys/girls (Pontebba)
Monday, January 23 – EYOF Winter Program 2023 (medal events)
- Cross-country skiing: 10 km (classical) boys / 7.5 km (classic) girls (Sappada)
- Snowboard Alpine: PGS Boys/Girls (Piancavallo)
- Alpine skiing: Super G Boys (Tarvisio)
- Short Track: 500 m boys/girls (Pontebba)
- Ski jumping: HS 102 boys/girls (Planica)
Tuesday January 24 – Winter EYOF 2023 schedule (medal events)
- Biathlon: sprint 7.5 km boys / 6 km girls (Forni Avoltri)
- Cross Country Skiing: 7.5 km (Freestyle) Boys (Sappada)
- Freestyle Skiing: Slopestyle Final, Boys/Girls (Zoncolan)
- Mountain skiing: sprint boys/girls (Forni di Sopra)
- Alpine Snowboarding: PGS Mixed (Piancavallo)
- Alpine skiing: Super G Girls (Tarvisio)
- Short Track: 1000m Boys/Girls (Pontebba)
- Snowboard Freestyle: Slopestyle Final Boys/Girls (Sella Nevea)
- Nordic Combined: HS 102 – 6/4 km boys/girls (Planica/Tarvisio)
Wednesday January 25 – Winter EYOF 2023 schedule (medal events)
- Cross Country Skiing: 5km (Freestyle) Boys (Sappada)
- Mountain skiing: mixed sprint relay (Forni di Sopra)
- Alpine skiing: boys’ giant slalom (Tarvisio)
- Figure Skating: Boys/Girls Short Program (Pontebba)
- Ski Jumping: Team HS 102 Boys/Girls (Planica)
Thursday January 26 – Winter EYOF 2023 schedule (medal events)
- Biathlon: 12.5 km boys / 10 km girls (Forni Avoltri)
- Cross Country: Sprint (Classic) Boys/Girls (Sappada)
- Freestyle Ski Cross: Boys/Girls Grand Final (Zoncolan)
- Snowboard Alpine: SBX Boys/Girls (Piancavallo)
- Alpine skiing: girls’ giant slalom (Tarvisio)
- Figure Skating: Free Program Boys (Pontebba)
- Nordic Combined: HS 102 – 4×3.3 km Mixed (Planica/Tarvisio)
Friday January 27 – Winter EYOF 2023 schedule (medal events)
- Cross-country skiing: 4 x 5 km mixed relay (classic freestyle) boys/girls (Sappada)
- Freestyle Skiing: Big Air Boys/Girls Final (Zoncolan)
- Mountain Skiing: Individual Boys/Girls (Forni di Sopra)
- Curling: Boys/Girls Finals (Claut)
- Alpine Snowboard: SBX Mixed (Piancavallo)
- Alpine skiing: boys’ slalom (Tarvisio)
- Figure Skating: Free Show Girls (Pontebba)
- Snowboard Freestyle: Big Air Final Boys/Girls (Sella Nevea)
- Ice Hockey: Final Boys (Udine) and Final Girls (Spittal)
- Ski Jumping: Mixed Team HS 102 (Planica)
Saturday January 28 – Winter EYOF 2023 Schedule (Medal Events and Closing Ceremony)
- Biathlon: Mixed 4×6 km (Forni Avoltri)
- Alpine skiing: girls’ slalom (Tarvisio)
- Closing ceremony
For a more detailed schedule, please click here here.
Winter EYOF 2023: How to watch live
The European Youth Olympic Winter Festival Friuli-Venezia Giulia 2023 will be broadcast live on EOC channel.
Athletes worth watching during Winter EYOF 2023
For athletes aged 14-18, some athletes competing in Italy are likely to participate in the next Winter Youth Olympic Games (JOG) in Gangwon, South Korea, from January 19 to February 1, 2024.
Here are some names to keep an eye on:
Freestyle skiing:
Henry Sildaru (EST): The 16-year-old Estonian is the younger brother of Beijing 2022 freeskiing bronze medalist Kelly, who is also a youth Olympic slopestyle champion and six-time Winter X Games gold medalist. Henry won gold in the halfpipe at the FIS Junior World Championships in Krasnoyarsk, but he can also compete in slopestyle (a bronze medalist at the Junior World Championships) and big air.
Snowboard free style:
Vanessa Volopichova (CZE): The 15-year-old Czech is one of the most interesting young players who won two junior slopestyle competitions in 2022.
Figure skating:
Naoki Rossi (SUI): The 15-year-old, born to a Japanese mother and an Italian-Swiss father, finished ninth at the 2022 World Junior Championships, where he faced competitors up to five years his senior. Former violinist Naoki from Switzerland is fluent in five languages.
Biathlon:
Jakub Kulbin (EST): The 17-year-old Estonian is one of the rising stars of the sport. Last year, he won the world title in the 7.5 km sprint at the 2022 IBU World Junior and Youth Championships in Soldier Hollow, USA.
Winding:
Rebecca Mariani (Italy): He is the captain of the youth team Curling Club Dolomiti based in Cortina, including Beijing 2022 Olympic champion Stefania Constantini. The Italian city is considered the home of the sport in the country and will co-host the 2026 Winter Olympics. Her father Marco was part of Italy’s first Olympic team at the 2006 Turin Olympics and is now China’s coach.
Alpine skiing:
Lara Colturi (ALB): Born in 2006, she is the daughter of the 2022 Italian Olympic champion from Salt Lake City, Daniela Ceccarelli. After joining the Albanian federation in May 2022, Colturi made her FIS World Cup debut just four days after turning 16, the youngest skier ever to do so since Mikaela Shiffrin. The tech specialist has scored points in three races so far in the Women’s Elite Series, finishing 17thp in the giant slalom in Killington, USA.
