The Youth Olympics - which are credited as being the brainchild of current International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge - is a major competition for 15 to 18-year-old elite athletes.

The inaugural Summer Youth Olympics were successfully staged in Singapore last year with Innsbruck set to stage the first ever Winter Youth Olympics next January.

The Chinese city of Nanjing will host the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics and Lillehammer are set to host the second Youth Olympic Games in 2016 as they are the only bidder for the event.

Glasgow could now be a real contender to host the 2018 competition - just four year after the Scottish city stages the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Darryl Seibel, the BOA Head of Olympic Media and Communications Strategy, told insidethegames: "The British Olympic Association is currently evaluating whether or not to put forward a bid for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

"A decision has not yet been made and we will be discussing this with our Board of Directors during its next regularly scheduled meeting on 21 September.

"We will only bring forward a bid if we believe the conditions for doing so are right and we have a Candidate City that can be competitive internationally.

"Should we elect to proceed with a bid, we will of course conduct an evaluation of possible Candidate Cities from throughout the UK."

If Glasgow bids for the event, the city will undoubtedly be aiming to highlight the fact that the majority of the infrastructure for the competition will already be in place due the huge investment into new sporting venues and transport systems for 2014 Commonwealth Games.

This means that no major work or investment will be required to host the event which is something that is likely to sit well with the IOC.

Venues that could be utiliised include the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome named after Britain's four-time Olympic gold medallist. 

Glasgow City Council have sent a letter to BOA chief executive Andy Hunt which says: "We recognise that the BOA will be required to carry out a thorough review process and should your meeting agree in September to express an interest, this will give the opportunity for both Glasgow and other potential interested UK cities to develop their proposals further."

The IOC launched the bidding process to host the 2018 Youth Olympics last week by sending a letter to all National Olympic Committees (NOCs) informing them of the procedure and documentation available for cities interested in hosting the competition.

The letter to the NOCs was accompanied by the Summer Youth Olympic Games Brochure and Candidature Procedure and Questionnaire and outlines the key dates which show that NOCs have until March 1, 2012, to name a Candidate City before submitting the Candidature File and other documents by October 15, 2012.

In addition, the IOC will hold a "Bidding for the Games" conference on November 1-2 this year at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne which is aimed at NOCs and cities interested in bidding for the Youth Olympic Games or Olympic Games.

Should Glasgow put themselves forward for the event, they will face stiff competition to win the right to stage the 2018 Youth Olympics.

Argentinean capital Buenos Aires has already revealed they will bid for the event as have Monterrey in Mexico.

Other potential bidders for the event include Medellín in Colombia, Kazan in Russia, The Hague in the Netherlands, Abuja in Nigeria and Makhachkala, in Dagestan, a neighbour of Chechnya.

However, Glasgow will be confident in a bid race after they comfortable saw off the Nigerian capital of Abuja by 47 votes to 24 at the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) General Assembly in November 2007.

The city will also be looking to the support of senior figures such as Sir Craig Reedie, Scotland's highly influential IOC Executive Board member.

Sir Craig - the first British IOC Executive Board member since 1961 - was formerly the BOA chairman and played a crucial role in helping London win the right to stage the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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