2017/09: #YOGJourney Continues: On To The World

Stage Two of the qualifying process for the b-boys/girls aspiring to break at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games (BAYOG) was brought to a successful conclusion with the Continental Qualifier for Asia and Oceania held on 2 December in Taipei City, TPE.

20 b-boys and 10 b-girls representing 13 different National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have been added to an existing contingent of 38 b-boys and 19 b-girls, who had all been identified at the other Continental Qualifiers in Philadelphia (Americas) and the German city of Essen (Africa and Europe) in October. 

A total of 58 b-boys and 29 b-girls representing 33 NOCs will now continue their #YOGjourney with an itinerary that brings them to Kawasaki, a city on the oustkirts of Tokyo, on 20 May 2018. On that day and in the Todoriko Arena, they will battle out the 12 BAYOG berths per gender during the WDSF World Youth Breaking Championships.

So far, DanceSport's qualifying process for BAYOG was considered unique in many ways by the stakeholders. Here are some of the views which were expressed over the past few months.

Before it even makes its debut on the Youth Olympic Games stage at Buenos Aires 2018, breaking already made history earlier this year with the launch of the first-ever online qualification pathway for an Olympic event.

Olympic News
www.olympic.org

Meeting kids from Nepal, Mongolia, Bhutan, Myanmar...  I mean, who even knew these places had scenes? A few have only ever seen breaking online. They have never left their country, much less been to a jam and connected with so many like-minded individuals.They are a mixture of innocence, nerves and excitement. It is, and always has been, about the youth.

Kev James, Breaking for Gold Judge
www.worlddancesport.org

With the decisive Stage Three of BAYOG qualifying still to come and even more technological innovation planned for it, everyone is well advised to continue following all the action through the online platform created by WDSF specifically to report on the process. Virtually every single step shown by any one of the 1,000 breakers from around the world can be traced there: www.breakingforgold.com