Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) secretary general HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani (centre), International School Sports Federation president Laurent Petrynka (left) and Qatar School Sports Association secretary general Ali al-Hitmi attend the opening session of the ISF Convention at Doha Marriott Hotel yesterday.
By Sports Reporter/Doha
Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) secretary general HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani inaugurated the convention of the International School Sport Federation (ISF) yesterday morning at Doha Marriott Hotel.
The two-day convention has participation of 83 officials representing 51 nations.
The opening session was attended by ISF president Laurent Petrynka in addition to the chairpersons of the continental federations and members of the ISF Executive Committee.
The QOC assistant secretary general for Administrative Support Meshaal al-Khalifa, director of the QOC Sport Affairs Department Khaleel al-Jabir attended the opening ceremony.
The Qatari delegation is chaired by the Qatar School Sports Association (QSA) secretary general Ali al-Hitmi and includes the QSA executive director Abdulrahman Al Muftah and the QSA assistant secretary general Nasser al-Malki.
Sheikh Saoud gave a welcome speech greeting the attendees and lauded the cooperation between the QOC and the ISF in this period after hosting the ISF World Schools Tennis Championship 2015.
For his part, ISF president Laurent Petrynka extended his appreciation to the QOC for its support to the Qatar School Sport Association (QSA) and for its keenness to provide an ideal atmosphere for school sport.
Petrynka also lauded the faithful efforts of the QSA officials and their organizational abilities that contributed to the exceptional edition of the ISF Schools Tennis Championships, which concluded recently in Doha.
QSA secretary general Ali al-Hitmi stressed that the convention reflects the ISF trust in the Qatari abilities.
By the end of the opening session, Sheikh Saoud and Petrynka signed a cooperation agreement between the ISF and the Qatar Olympic Academy. The agreement aims at developing school sport in Qatar and the whole world.
In an interview after the opening session, QSA executive director Abdulrahman al-Muftah said that the ISF Convention will focus on a number of issues, including, marketing and media as the ISF aims at developing a new vision for the future.
Al-Muftah confirmed that the ISF officials will attend the final competitions of the Schools Olympic Program to be held at Aspire Academy of Sport Excellence on Friday.
