The ISF Gymnasiade Bahrain 2024, featuring more than 5,400 participants representing over 70 countries from around the world, gets underway today with the official opening ceremony at the National Stadium in Riffa.
The multi-day Gymnasiade is taking place under the royal patronage of His Majesty King Hamad.
This evening’s inauguration is scheduled for a 5.30pm start, and it will feature a colourful parade of nations. All are welcome to attend and entry for fans to the venue is free.
Competition is scheduled to begin tomorrow with plenty of action to look forward to over the next few days in the Gymnasiade’s 26 sports.
The kingdom has been gearing up for the event over the past several months, and yesterday the ISF general assembly took place ahead of today’s ceremonies.
The meeting was attended by Bahrain’s Education Minister and the event’s supreme organising committee chairman Dr Mohammed Mubarak Juma, General Sports Authority (GSA) CEO Dr Abdulrahman Askar, Bahrain Schools and Collegiate Athletics Association president Shaikh Dr Saqer bin Salman Al Khalifa, Bahrain Olympic Committee board member and executive organising committee chairman Ali Issa, and International School Sport Federation (ISF) and local officials.
Extensive work has been done over the past several months, spearheaded by the GSA, to get the more-than-a-dozen venues that will be hosting the events fully prepared for the Gymnasiade. This has included renovation and maintenance projects, and much more.
“The GSA has been responsible for getting all the facilities ready in order to give the participating delegations the best experience in Bahrain,” GSA facilities director Eng Yusuf Duaij Muhoorfi told the GDN.
“We have also had to prepare the right people to manage the facilities, make sure the venues are up to fire and safety standards, train personnel with first aid sessions and how to deal with any possible cases needing care, working with the Electricity and Water Authority to provide generators for some venues, and a lot more.
“We have put together a team of sports teachers from the Education Ministry to help run the facilities throughout the event, and to have them available at each venue to manage any possible situations we may have.
“Furthermore, we handled the procurement of sports equipment, scoring systems, and the like from five different countries, in order to ensure the smooth running of the games without any interruptions.”
The 26 sports that will be a part of the Gymnasiade’s programme are archery, athletics, badminton, 3x3 basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, chess, dance sport, fencing, aerobic gymnastics, artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, handball, judo, karate, orienteering, padel, Para athletics, Para badminton, Para judo, Para swimming, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, and wrestling.
During the event, a cultural day will also be held on Sunday, with the participating delegations sharing various aspects of their nation’s cultures.
This year’s Gymnasiade is the 19th edition of the event. It was first held in 1974, hosted by West Germany, with 13 nations taking part and just two sports on the programme. It has grown over the years and its last edition in 2022, which was held in Normandy, France, featured 69 countries competing in 20 sports.
The number of youngsters and countries in Bahrain, as well as the number of sports taking place, are all records.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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