400 schools attend as Schools Olympic Program launched

The 11th edition of the Schools Olympic Program (SOP) kicked off on Sunday at Qatar Sports Club with the participation of 214 boys’ schools (119 public schools and 95 private schools) and 186 girls’ schools (105 public schools and 81 private schools). Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Secretary General Jassim Rashid al-Buainain attended the ceremony along with Rabia Mohamed al-Kaabi, undersecretary of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and chairman of Qatar School Sports Association (QSSA). Also present were QOC Sports Affairs Director Khalil al-Jaber; QSSA Secretary General Ali al-Hitmi; QSSA Executive Director Abdul Rahman al-Muftah and a number of guests and participating schools.
The new edition of SOP comprises 11 games, including four group games (football, handball, volleyball and basketball) as well as individual games (gymnastics, swimming, athletics, table tennis, fencing, tennis, and shooting). The opening of the programme saw the start of the basketball and football competitions.
In a statement after the opening of the programme, al-Buainain said that the SOP is a strategic project and needs a lot of work and focus on the selection of talents involved in it in order to increase the benefit as it is in the interest of national sport. He expressed hope of reaching the desired goals. The QOC secretary general stressed that the committee significantly supports SOP even after the QSSA took over supervision of the programme, especially that the objectives set for the SOP are in the public interest regardless of who is responsible for the organisation of the event.
“Th the development of athletes capable of serving the Qatari sport is one of the top priorities, and this will be achieved only by concerted efforts and taking advantage of the existing capacities in an ideal manner, with a focus on the importance of achieving the objectives set for the SOP,” al-Buainain said.
Al-Hitmi said that starting the programme from the beginning of the season will facilitate the achievement of goals, noting that the beginning was good considering that the previous edition was delayed due to the transfer of the programme from the QOC to QSSA, expressing hope that the current edition will be a real experience for the association.
He added that the goal is to provide students with a large space to play sports and instil its value in them as an important factor in building a civilized Qatari society and achieving Qatar’s National Vision 2030, which pays attention to human development.
The launch of the programme was postponed for 10 days due to the hot weather in order to maintain the safety and well being of the students. Meanwhile, al-Jaber said that, since its first edition, SOP has achieved its goal in terms of expanding the base of sports participation across the different age groups.