Doha: The 7th edition of the Schools Olympic Program under the theme ‘Sport & Integrity’ will come to an end today with the final competitions in the Hall of the Sports Academy for Sport Excellence at the Aspire Dome.
The over six-month competitions started in September 2013 registered the participation of 26,454 male and female students from various school levels. Over 3,000 students representing 220 schools made it to the finals to compete mainly for the first and second places in team sports (football, volleyball, basketball and handball), and for reaching the podium in individual sports (athletics, tennis, gymnastics, swimming, fencing, table tennis and shooting).
Will attend the SOP 7th edition finals this year, many local and international sport personalities, including Wilfred Lemke, the UN Secretary General Adviser for Youth Sport and the Environment, Klaus Schormann, the President of the International Pentathlon Association and the Tunisian swimming star, OussamaMallouli.
The Schools Olympic Program was launched by Qatar after successfully hosting the 15th Asian Games, Doha 2006. It is a national program aimed at developing the sport skills, and promoting social values among students in various school grades. Among its objectives is to raise the youth’s awareness about the importance of physical activities and about adopting a healthy lifestyle. Students from public and private schools take part in the program activities, and the preliminary stages of the competitions are staged in the schools facilities.
The SOP was an initiative of His Highness the Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), and the program is managed under the supervision of the QOC in cooperation with the Qatar School Sport Federation and the Qatar Paralympic Federation. The SOP represents a unique opportunity to discover new talents among the participating students, and to feed the Qatari clubs, federation and National teams with new athletes. It also promotes communication among various government and community institutions in a way to develop the administrative and technical skills of Qatari youth who have then the potential to contribute in development objectives of the country.
The Peninsula
