Kasper to head up planning for 2012 Winter Youth Games

International Ski Federation president Gian-Franco Kasper was appointed Monday as chairman of the International Olympic Committee’s co-ordination commission for the first Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, in 2012. He will be visiting Innsbruck today and tomorrow with IOC president Jacques Rogge.International Ski Federation president Gian-Franco Kasper was appointed Monday as chairman of the International Olympic Committee’s co-ordination commission for the first Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, in 2012. He will be visiting Innsbruck today and tomorrow with IOC president Jacques Rogge.

Kasper served on co-ordination commissions for the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and Turin and is currently a member of the IOC panel for the 2010 Vancouver and 2014 Sochi Winter Games.

The games will feature about 1,000 athletes ages 14-18 competing in seven sports – skiing, biathlon, ice hockey, curling, bobsled, luge and figure skating.

Innsbruck, home to the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics, won its bid for the event after beating out Kuopio, Finland.

Information from the AP.