By Joanna Seow

THE Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will be hitting our shores in less than a month.

Going by a quick poll, the good news is that close to 100 per cent of people here are aware of the Games, which takes place from Aug 14-26.

In fact, of the 100 people of different ages The New Paper polled, only three were clueless about the Games. Here's the damper: About 59 per cent of those polled said they would not be watching the YOG at all, not even on TV.

Why is that? Many feel that the level of competition will not be exciting enough to grab their attention.

Others said they have no time to watch.

Some even complained that the venues are too hot.

Undergraduate Terence Han, 21, said he will not pay to watch the YOG because he is unfamiliar with the athletes.

"I will watch it on TV only if there's a local athlete in the finals.

"It's not like (Olympic gold medallist) Michael Phelps is swimming or anything.

So it's not exciting to watch," he explained.

Tickets are priced at $10 for preliminaries, $15 for quarter - and semi-finals and $30 for finals for most sports.

Mr Alvin Foo, 30, an energy analyst, said Singapore should focus on hosting the Commonwealth Games or the Asian Games instead, or zero in on hosting marquee golf and tennis events.

But the YOG does have its fans. One is undergraduate Ivan Lee, 24.

"It doesn't matter that they are not well-known athletes. It's my passion for the game that matters, not who's participating," said Mr Lee, a sports enthusiast.

Support

Mr Royston Phoon, 22, also an undergraduate, intends to buy tickets to swimming or football events.

He said: "I want to support Singapore even though I don't know the athletes."

Others plan to watch certain events to support their friends, such as Singaporean canoeist Brandon Ooi and sailor Darren Choy.

Whether or not they may not catch the action come August, 74 per cent of those polled said Singapore's hosting of the event would be a success on several fronts.

Madam Sum Choy May, 54, a remisier, said that Singapore has been "grooming its young athletes" and is ready to "showcase them".

When told about the poll results, Mr Richard Tan, director of corporate planning for the Singapore YOG Organising Committee, disagreed that the event would be a bore.

The level of competition would be "the highest in the world" because the Games would gather the best in their fields.

"Many people who have competed in the YOG will go on to the Olympic Games, so they will be the future champions."

This article was first published in The New Paper.