EYOF participants on EYOF and combining elite sports & education

The European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) was held in the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands from 14-19 July 2013. In cooperation with the EYOF organisation, the Netherlands Olympic Committee (NOC) and the European Olympic Committee, the Mulier Institute, centre for research on sports in society, conducted a study among the EYOF 2013 sports participants. All 2,271 athletes were asked to fill out a short questionnaire, distributed to the chefs de missions in seven different languages by the NOC Service Centre. The content of the questionnaire was twofold, with questions on the evaluation of EYOF 2013 and on participants’ experiences combining elite sports practice and school. The study contributes to the international body of knowledge on the comparison of different Sports Policy factors Leading to International Sporting Success (SPLISS). The central question of the study is: To what extent are EYOF participants satisfied with EYOF 2013 and how do talented athletes from different countries and sports perceive support in optimising academic and sports development?