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Edwin Low is SinaporeSailing's Secretary General and also the Competition Manager responsible for the sailing events at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), the inaugural YOG taking place in Singapore next August.

We spoke to Low during the lunch break at today's ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship Sub-committee in Busan, Korea, a championship of which Low says "we place a lot of emphasis on in Singapore. I'm very keen to see this event go on and become more successful."

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However for now, the Youth Olympic Games is where he is focussing most of his energies. The inaugural YOG takes place in Singapore from 14-26 August next year, just two and half years after Singapore were chosen as host city (compared to seven years for London 2012). Four sailing events are included on the YOG programme for 2010 featuring a total of 100 sailors aged between 15-16:

Boys Windsurfer - Techno 293
Boys 1 Person Dinghy - Byte CII
Girls Windsurfer - Techno 293
Girls 1 Person Dinghy - Byte CII

Could you give us an update on how preparations are going for next August?

Well, we've done quite a fair amount in the short time we've had! One thing is for sure, the venue preparation has been done. The team back home has been working well and everything is ready to go. They [the operations team] are going to start moving in as early as the 13 June to get the place set up.

On the sailing side I think we are as ready as we can be, at the moment we're approval of the personnel by ISAF which we're expecting pretty soon. Other than that, it's just waiting for it to happen.

How have you tested the venue?

We've used local regattas and recently we hosted the Asian Youth Games, which was the test event for the YOG. It went really well. [Across the four Youth Olympic Games events, Thailand won two gold medals, Singapore and China one apiece. Other nations to win medals were Malaysia and Korea.]

What conditions can the sailors expect when they get to Singapore in 2010?

I think in August the wind should be pretty stable. Past years we've had between 8-12 knots - something in this region. Weather wise it should be okay, perhaps occasional showers, but in this period we should avoid the tropical storms. The waters are flat and easy to sail. Getting to the race site should be easy as the race courses are just a stone's throw from the venue.

And in Singapore itself, what's the general feeling toward the event? Is there a lot of excitement being generated?

Amongst the sports fraternity for sure. For the man on the street, I guess we'll have to wait for it to come nearer before the excitement builds. I think personally, it's a fantastic event to host. For me, I think probably I'll never see something like this on our shores again. So I think it's fantastic and I'm really looking forward to it.

Find out more on the Youth Olympic Games at www.sailing.org/youtholympicgames.