The Organising Committee of the Schools Olympic Programme (SOP) has launched the eighth edition of the annual programme with an opening ceremony signalling the start of the competitions.
The SOP, held since 2007, consists of multisport competitions among schools in Qatar for students aged five to 18 years. It aims to encourage an active and healthy lifestyle among young people, promote Olympic values and grow sports participation in Qatar.
The opening ceremony held at Al Sadd Sports Club was attended by numerous participating schools, representatives of Maersk - the official partner of the programme, as well as several high-ranking officials from the Qatar Olympic Committee, including secretary-general Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.
After the conclusion of the ceremony, basketball, football, athletics and para-athletics games began.
Sports included in the programme are tennis, shooting, athletics, handball, volleyball, table tennis, basketball, football, gymnastics, fencing and swimming. This year’s SOP sees the addition of taekwondo, taking the total number of sporting disciplines in the programme to 12.
Para-table tennis competitions will also feature in this year’s schedule.
The programme has seen increasing participation across Qatar since it began in 2007, growing from just over 7,000 students in its inaugural year to 26,454 students last year, when it was held under the theme of “Sport & Integrity”.
The SOP has partnered with Qatar Olympic Academy and Reach Out to Asia, a member of Qatar Foundation, to provide this year’s theme of “Sport & Peace”. It aims to educate schools, teachers, parents and students about the Olympic values of friendship, respect, hard work and leadership through entertaining and informative activities, presentations and contests.
“The Schools Olympic Programme has become a regular and celebrated fixture of the school calendar over the last seven years and we are delighted to see it go from strength to strength,” Sheikh Saoud said.
Qatari gymnast Rahma al-Dulaimi, who recently competed in the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, had participated in earlier editions of the SOP. So did fellow gymnast Nadine Wahdan, who will head to Incheon, South Korea, for the 2014 Asian Games next week.
Speaking on her participation, Rahma said: “I really enjoyed the Schools Olympic Programme. It gave me good experience of performing in a competitive environment and set me up very well for competing at an international level.”
Khalil al-Jaber, SOP executive director and chef de mission of the Qatari team for the Asian Games, said: “Our objective is to provide opportunities and support for athletes in Qatar right from the moment they first pick up a ball or set foot on a running track.”
The SOP will continue through the school year, with the finals taking place in March 2015.