?The Fifth Mini Olympics was officially declared open yesterday (Thursday) to a spectacular opening ceremony at Isa Sports City’s Bahrain Volleyball Association gym in Riffa.
The Mini Olympics is being organized by the Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) in cooperation with the Ministry of Education with over 3,500 students from government and private schools to compete in a record 20 sports this year.
His Majesty King Hamad Representative for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa inaugurated the Mini Olympics, which will run until March 22.
Other high-ranking sports officials were also present at the ceremony, including Education Ministry undersecretary Dr Faouzi Al Jowder, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports deputy general secretary and BOC general secretary Abdulrahman Askar, as well as representatives of sports federations, the ministry and participating schools.
The ceremony started with Askar expressing pleasure for bringing up the Mini Olympics for the fifth consecutive year in cooperation with the ministry, which is part of their strategy to expand sports culture within national community and providing all that would help in spreading the principles of Olympism.
Askar noted the massive leap in the Mini Olympics, and said that having 58 schools for the first time this year and over 3,500 students to compete in 20 sports compared to the previous edition’s 14 sports in 2014 reflects the remarkable development of organization and the experience gained by the BOC over the past years to make this edition an even a greater success.
Late on, a number of musical and dancing shows, performed by several participating schools’ pupils, were staged on the course, and focused on Shaikh Nasser’s slogan this year ‘Gold Only’ as a target for all Bahraini athletes at regional and international competitions.
The ceremony concluded with Shaikh Nasser lighting up a dedicated torch to declare the Mini Olympics open. He later delivered a short speech, in which he welcomed all the participants and expressed pleasure for the organization of the fifth edition of the Mini Olympics, and wished everyone success.
In a touching gesture, Shaikh Nasser met Maram Al Sayed Jalil, a student with special needs from Al Khansa Primary Girls School at the gym and had general discussions on the Mini Olympics.