By David Gold

Yoggl on_New_Years_Eve_2011January 1 - Competitors from every continent are set to travel to Innsbruck for the first ever Winter Youth Olympic Games in the coming days.


The Opening Ceremony of the event is due to take place on January 13, and more than 1,000 athletes and 750 team officials have confirmed that they will be in Austria for the Games.

Athletes from Eritrea to the Cayman Islands will be present, with 70 National Olympic Committees (NOC) in total sending representatives.

It was the first time that the entire registration process – including accreditation, sport entries and confirmation of NOC delegates – was carried out online using the ORAS (Online Registration and Accreditation System) service.

Rosie Pili, head of the Innsbruck 2012 NOC Services team said: "It has been an amazing experience working with my team to finalise each and every delegation.

"I am extremely satisfied with the dedication and efforts that everyone has put in to make sure that everything ran smoothly.

"A number of NOCs have also given us positive feedback on the improved system."

Sabine Krapf of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) said that "it is undeniable that the delegation registration process is much easier with the help of ORAS."

The Winter Youth Olympic Games will run until January 22 and see competitors taking part in the same 15 disciplines as those on the programme for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.

Within those disciplines, seven events will feature for the first time; luge team relay, ski halfpipe, snowboard slopestyle, biathlon mixed relay, figure skating mixed team, ice hockey skills challenge and women's ski jumping.

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