?The opening ceremony of the 2014 Schools Mini Olympics, organised by the Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) in cooperation with the Education Ministry, is set to commence today (April 24) at Isa Sports City in Riffa.
To be held under the patronage of Supreme Council for Youth and Sports chairman and BOC president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the opening ceremony programme with a group of athletes and officials lighting up the Olympic torch at the Education Ministry premises.
They then will be heading towards Isa Sport City premises near the National Stadium, as a group of the participating students will be handling the torch till it reaches the targeted destination.
Upon arrival, the big main torch will be lit up for one week when the curtain comes down on this edition of the Mini Olympics. Today’s ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Bahrain Table Tennis Association’s gym.
Meanwhile, the Mini Olympics action continued yesterday on the second day with competitions in basketball, volleyball and table tennis.
In the girls volleyball tournament, Qortoba School sealed its berth in the semi-finals after a 2-0 win over Yathreb in Group ‘A’ to move on top of the group with four points. Yathrem, who played their opening game in the competition, remained with no points.
Zaynab School revived their qualifying chances after beating Isa Town 2-0 for their second straight victory. Isa Town stayed on no points from one game.
In Group ‘A’ of the girls basketball tournament, Arad were ensured a place in the semi-finals along with Isa Town School after an easy 44-6 win over Halima Al Saadiya School. In Group ‘B’, Zaynab and Um Kulthoom Schools also reached the competition’s last four after the latter registered a 28-4 win over Um Al Hidd School.
The girls table tennis event got underway with the group stages as Al Hidd topped Group ‘A’, followed by Qortoba, the Arabian Gulf School and Sanabis. Um Salama School won Group ‘B’ against Zanobia, Yathreb and Arad.
In the boys section, Abdulrahman Al Nasser edged Othman bin Affan School 81-72 in the basketball tournament for their maiden points. In Group ‘B’, Samaheej also have two points from a 59-54 win over Al Hidd, who stayed on no points.
The volleyball competition saw Awal reach the semifinals with a well-earned 2-0 win over Tareq bin Ziyad, while Zallaq School edged Al Hidd 2-1 for their first win in Group ‘B’.
The Mini Olympics action continues today with the concluding first round matches in the girls volleyball and basketball tournaments.
This edition Mini Olympics is sponsored by Palace Projects, who will be presenting trophies and medals to the winners, while McDonalds is also contributing with free daily meals to the participants.