?The Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) launched on Saturday the biggest children sports event in the Kingdom as the First Bahrain Games got underway at the Bahrain Volleyball Association hall, located at Isa Sports City in Riffa.
Around 1,200 kids from 66 nurseries and kindergartens are lined up for this event, sponsored by Lulu Group – one of the fastest growing retail chains in the world, and Mothercare – the trusted destination for children’s fashion.
Attended by BOC secretary general Abdulrahman Askar and board member Shaikha Hayat bint Abdulaziz Al Khalifa, the opening ceremony started with phrases from the holy Quran delivered by youngster Sara Ahmed from Al Ehsan Kindergarten.
This was followed by a ballet show, presented by kindergarten kids, and another presentation from the Little Learners Nursery, and a taekwondo show by the Kidz World Kindergarten.
Among other activities on the inaugural day were a below-12 months crawling contest, and followed by a below-15 months kids walkers competition, both of which came to the excitement and thrills of hundreds of parents in the stands.
Late on, the parade of the participating nurseries and kindergartens while holding their respective identity banners amidst a big round of applause from the audience.
After the parade, Mohammed Khatim and Fatma Lari entered the hall while carrying the Olympic torch to mark the launch of the event, after which Askar officially declared the Games open.
In his speech, Askar thanked Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, His Majesty’s Representative for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, and President of the committee, for his support to this first-of-its-kind games in Bahrain.
Askar said: “The Bahrain Olympic Committee is so proud to organise the Baby Olympics, which is one of many initiatives of His Highness Shaikh Nasser, a first of its kind in the Kingdom and perhaps in the Arab world, which has many noble objectives aimed at instilling a culture of sport within children and developing their mental and physical abilities”.
On their part, representatives of kindergartens, nurseries and parents expressed their sincere thanks and gratitude to Shaikh Nasser to make this much-cherished event come true.
They also stressed the positive benefits of having such a sports gathering that will contribute to creating a new generation with awareness on the importance of sport and its impact on health, body, mind and personality in general.
Action in the First Bahrain Baby Games, open for kids from 3 to 5 years of age, includes contests in athletics, gymnastics, football and basketball.
Athletics, football and basketball events are all taking place at the Bahrain Sports Federation with Disabilities hall in Riffa, while the Bahrain Volleyball Association premises hosts the gymnastics action.