Background To describe injury and illness incidence from the US Youth Olympic Team during the 2014 Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

Methods Electronic health records of Team USA athletes registered for the YOG were reviewed for patient encounters during the 2014 YOG. Medical encounters were defined as all medical services provided by a healthcare provider including evaluation, treatment and prophylactic services. All medical conditions were categorised by IOC Injury and Illness reporting criteria.

Results Team USA was comprised of 48 male and 46 female athletes, aged of 14–18 years, representing 20 sports. There were 346 total medical encounters among 54 of the 94 registered athletes for a rate of 3.7 medical encounters per athlete. A total of 40 injuries were recorded (14 time loss injuries, 26 non-time loss) and 20 illnesses. This equates to 43% of athletes sustaining an injury, and 21% sustaining an illness, with a frequency of 426 injuries and 213 illnesses per 1000 registered athletes. The most commonly involved body regions for time loss injuries were the knee (21%) and ankle (12%). Time loss injuries most frequently occurred in competition (71%) and the most common type of injury was a ligament sprain (43%). The most common illnesses were respiratory (35%) and dermatological conditions (30%).

Conclusions The rates of injury, illness and medical encounters per athlete were greater than in previous reports of medical service provisions at youth Olympic-level sporting events.