My initial research confirmed to me that the EYOF is the top multisport event for young European athletes between the ages of 14 and 18 and that I would be attending the seminar of the technical delegates and Chefs de Mission, representatives of the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) as I soon came to understand, from October 9 to 12.

First stop on my journey was Zurich, Switzerland, travelling from London Luton Airport on Thursday (October 9). I'd barely even passed through security when I received what proved to be the first of many comments over the following three days on my insidethegames tie, bright green in colour with pink dots. "Nice tie," said the airport security worker as I went to collect my belongings. I sensed a tinge of sarcasm but that certainly wasn't going to deter me from proudly wearing my employer's colours.

Upon my arrival in Switzerland, I was swiftly introduced to Michael Dörflinger, the 2015 Winter EYOF transport manager, who informed me that I would be escorted to my hotel along with representatives from the NOCs of Austria, Belarus, Greece and Poland. Setting off slightly later than anticipated for reasons beyond our control, the designated driver was travelling against the clock to ensure we were at the Sporthotel Silvretta Montafon in Gaschurn in time for the welcome cocktail at 7pm and dinner at 7.30pm. Having not eaten since 10.30am that morning, I have to admit I was much more interested in the dinner than the cocktail.

After checking-in and dropping off my bags in the hotel room, I arrived in the restaurant pretty much bang on time for dinner. I managed to pick out the familiar face of Joanna Huzarska-Tomaszewska, Poland's representative who I'd travelled with from Zurich, who pointed out a spare seat on the table next to her. Before I knew it, I was sat having dinner with the three representatives from Russia, two of whom spoke very limited English. I must say it all felt a little bit awkward but Georgy Mnatsakanov, the head of department, who spoke my native tongue, made me feel very welcome.

Shortly after dinner, I met two members of the 2015 Winter EYOF Organising Committee. Ilva Ciemite, NOC relations and services manager, and Li Neo Tay, accreditation and sport entries manager, provided me with my press pass, along with a 'goodie' bag containing merchandise, tourist information and most importantly, a schedule for the seminar. One thing I did notice was that I was the only journalist on the list of participants. No pressure then, I thought to myself.

Before shooting back up to my room to finish writing my preview piece, I also had a brief chat with Rosie Pili, head of NOC Services, who I'd been liaising with via email in the build up to the trip. Armed with reassurances that interviews would be readily available throughout Friday and Saturday (October 10 and 11), I couldn't wait to get started.

I had my picture taken at the seminar's Social Media Box ©Facebook/EYOF 2015 Vorarlberg & Liechtenstein






The NOCs were given a tour of the nine competition venues on Friday and it was a real pleasure to join them on one of the two coaches. The first two hours were spent travelling from the hotel to the venue for Alpine skiing in Malbun, Liechtenstein. This provided the NOCs with first-hand experience of what is perceived to be the main limitation of the Festival, the travel times to and from the co-hosting nation.

Nevertheless, there was time to fill and what better way to do it than to have an Olympic quiz? Each person on both coaches was given the opportunity to be crowned the biggest male or female "Olympic geek" with a maximum of 20 points up for grabs. Peter Brüll, Finland's Chef de Mission, was the winning male, however, I am proud to say I knew that the first Winter EYOF was held in Aosta, Italy in 1993. My pre-trip research paid dividends, earning me two very respectable points for naming the hosts and the year. Phew.

After visiting Malbun, we moved onto Steg, the venue for cross-country skiing, before returning to Austria to see the biathlon venue in the incredibly serene Bürserberg. Here, we stopped for a lunch break and were treated to a special appearance from Alpy, the official mascot of the Festival. It only took one other person to ask for a photo before I stepped up to pose alongside the marmot, who caused a lot of excitement among the NOC representatives. I also took the opportunity to interview Ingo Türtscher, 2015 Winter EYOF head of sports, who provided great insight into the preparation of the venues and the tasks at hand leading up to the Festival, which is due to take place from January 25 to 30.

It was a pleasure to meet Alpy the marmot, the Festival's official mascot ©ITG

After lunch, and a group photo session in Bürserberg, we set off to view the Haus des Gastes, the centre for NOC services and media, and the medals plaza, both of which are in based in Schruns. This was followed by a visit to the newly-built and particularly eye-catching Montafon Nordic, the venue for ski jumping, and finally a return to Gaschurn, host of the cross-country skiing element of the Nordic combined.

The four other venues which we drove past on route were the Messestadion Dornbirn, the Aktivpark Montafon, Hochjoch and St. Gallenkirch-Garfrescha which will host figure skating, ice hockey, snowboarding and the Alpine skiing team event respectively.

Although it felt like a very long day, I have to say I was extremely impressed by the venue tour and the passion with which it was delivered by members of the Festival's Organising Committee. I could really sense their desire to make a strong impression on the NOC representatives and I have no doubt that they managed to achieve that.

Back at the hotel, Philipp Groborsch, the chief executive of the 2015 Winter EYOF, who I had chatted to earlier on in the day, introduced me to Peter Mennel, chairman of the Board. I sat down with the Austrian shortly before dinner, and it was he who initially drew my attention to the NOCs' concerns over the travel times to and from Liechtenstein. Mennel was confident that the following day's plenary session, the second key part of the seminar, would put these concerns to bed, so I was particularly intrigued to see what Sarah Pirklbauer, the 2015 Winter EYOF transport and logistics manager, had to say as part of the session on "Festival-time services".

Pirklbauer opened her presentation by jokingly suggesting she had just been informed that the heart of the Festival in the Montafon Valley had moved closer to Liechtenstein by one inch geographically, a sure sign that she was aware of the NOCs' concerns. I managed to grab an interview with her during the lunch break, in which we were treated to a plush toy version of Alpy, and it became clear to me that all avenues had been explored to reduce the travel times to and from Liechtenstein as much as possible.

Katerina Nycova, the EYOF manager of the European Olympic Committees, who I interviewed after the plenary session was very complimentary of the Organising Committee but stressed that the success of the Festival will ultimately depend on the efficiency of the transport system.

The Montafon Nordic is an extremely impressive venue ©ITG








Midway through dinner on Saturday, Groborsch delivered a thank you speech while the Organising Committee, many of whom were sat on a table together, sneaked off early for reasons which would become clear not long after. Shortly after their departure, we were directed to go down to the reception area of the hotel where the Organising Committee, all donning cowboy hats, performed some extremely well-synchronised dances to an array of songs which included Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus, Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams and Footloose by Kenny Loggins. Even Alpy was pulling out some shapes!

With everyone in such great spirits I thought it would be an ideal time to pull Groborsch to one side and get his views on what had been a hugely important couple of days for the Organising Committee. He couldn't speak highly enough of what had been achieved thus far and was fully expectant of a great Festival come January. A very charismatic individual, Groborsch epitomised the passion that I'd witnessed from the Organising Committee during the time I'd spent with them.

The interview was a nice way to wrap up my time in Austria and I set off home on Sunday (October 12) with a real feeling of satisfaction. Having met so many great people, I would truly relish the opportunity to return in January to cover the Festival itself. Everyone was exceptionally welcoming and friendly and I sensed a real appreciation from the organisers that I was there to give publicity to their project.

After checking-in at Zurich Airport and going through all the other formalities, I headed to my departure gate to be greeted with quite a surprise. As I was approaching a set of stairs leading up to the floor I needed to be on, I looked to my right and realised that a pane of glass was all that separated me and the current Wimbledon champion, Novak Djokovic. As he was wearing glasses, not something you'd generally see in the media, I gave myself a few seconds to double check it was him before a sign of acknowledgement from another gentleman confirmed it to me. 

Meeting the reigning Wimbledon champion, Novak Djokovic, at Zurich Airport capped off a memorable few days ©ITG

I could tell we were set to move in the same direction and as I peered around the corner he was right there in front of me. Now, I'm not usually one for selfies, as you can most probably tell by the fact that I struggled to master the art of taking the photo and looking down the camera lens simultaneously, but this was too good an opportunity to miss.

It was a fantastic way to end a fantastic trip. 

Daniel Etchells is a reporter for insidethegames. To follow him on Twitter click here.