A look inside the Athletes’ Vortex at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games
LAUSANNE — For the first time in the history of the Youth Olympics all athletes are being housed under one roof.
The Vortex, as it’s called, is where more than 1,870 athletes from 79 countries are staying during the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games. Flags from countries around the world are draped all along the balconies as the athletes get set for competition.
Team Canada includes 78 athletes from coast-to-coast-to-coast who are looking to improve on their eighth-place finish in the medals table four years ago at the Youth Olympics in Norway. The opening ceremony is scheduled for Thursday night in Lausanne leading into the first day of competition on Friday.
As the official broadcaster in Canada, CBC will provide daily coverage of the competitions from Thursday, Jan. 9 to Wednesday, Jan. 22 via the free CBC Gem streaming service as well as CBCSports.ca, radio-canada.ca/sports and the CBC Sports and Radio-Canada Sports apps.
Leaving a legacy
Located on the shores of Lake Geneva in the heart of the University of Lausanne, the 27-metre-high circular ring-shaped structure houses 712 apartments with 952 bedrooms. The circular construction allows people the opportunity to walk around a spiraling 2.8 kilometre track from top to bottom.
The Vortex was built near multiple public transit lines allowing athletes easy travel from venue to venue.
After the completion of the Games the Vortex will become home to more than 1,200 students at the University of Lausanne, just one of the legacies of these Youth Olympics.
Curfew for the athletes
Inside the Vortex athletes have access to almost anything they could ask for – medical services, food services, physiotherapy, dentistry and even a dance party.
Every night at 7 p.m. in the courtyard there is a tent with a DJ where athletes can gather. But not too late. There is a 10 p.m. curfew for all athletes inside the village.
There’s also a program called Athletes365, a place for athletes to gather throughout the Youth Olympics. It includes a number of educational and interactive programs. They have the opportunity to speak to professionals about their body chemistry, can speak with past Olympic champions and can also learn about health maintenance throughout years of competition.
More than 850 volunteers put all the finishes touches on the Vortex in preparation of the Youth Olympics, including unpacking and assembling 26,000 packages of furniture from IKEA.
