AT LONG LAST: Youth Games kick off today
The Youth Games is something that defines a nation's passion for sport. It is not an event where one counts how many medals are won or lost but how many youths are involved in showcasing their talent across the country and in as many sporting disciplines as possible.
The primary objective of the Youth Games is to create a sporting vibe at a particular time that almost every youth in the country longs for. We have had this kind of festivity in a different way in the country in the past when annual sports of schools after exams compensated the very essence of this sort of games.
Unfortunately it has never been framed in a systematic way by the National Olympic Committee, the apex body of a country for promoting sport. However, belatedly though, the Bangladesh Olympic Association is finally fulfilling that long due commitment.
The stage is set. The inaugural Bangladesh Youth Games gets underway today across all 64 districts in an attempt to create enthusiasm among participants and organisers alike.
The Youth Games, where 17-year-old athletes are eligible to take part, is the first tournament of its kind in the history of Bangladesh sports. The organisers are optimistic of holding the event regularly in between the Bangladesh Games, an event for professional athletes that takes place once in every four years.
The nation-wide competition was formed with the aim of inspiring young athletes to take more interest in sports, hunt talented individuals and build them up for youth teams and also create more organisers to facilitate sports at grass-root levels.
Approximately 48,118 participants from some 500 upazailas of the 64 districts are expected to compete in 21 disciplines across three phases – district, divisional and national – during the four-month long tournament.
Ahead of the games, torch rallies were held yesterday at each of the 64 districts sports headquarters. The district level competition will begin today with their upazila teams participating.
“Every necessary steps have already been taken to make the games a success,” said Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) secretary general Syed Shahed Reza at an official press conference at the BOA Bhabon yesterday.
“We hope this initiative will create a sporting environment at district level and we also expect that talented players and organisers will come out through this, the first-ever Youth Games, the largest in terms of participation in the history of Bangladesh sports,” Reza said.
Though the Youth Games was initially supposed to be held at the upazila level, it will now start at district level where athletes from each upazila under a district will compete amongst themselves from where the winners will represent their district at the divisional phase. The respective divisional winners will then go on to compete at the national phase.
“Though we can't hold the games at upazila level due to a few limitations, we believe the Games have already created an enthusiasm among the athletes and organisers as we are still getting requests from different district sports associations for entries of their athletes,” said BOA vice-president and media committee chairman Bashir Ahmed, adding that Lalmonirhat basically has no infrastructure for sports but are involved in the Games.
Steering Committee member secretary Ashikur Rahman Miku informed that each district will host at least five disciplines which will include three team events such as football, volleyball, basketball, kabaddi, volleyball or handball.
To inspire budding athletes, the BOA also nominated 20 former and current star players from different disciplines as goodwill ambassadors who will travel to different venues and support the athletes. Reza also informed that they have an estimated budget of Tk 15 crore to complete the tournament and that the money will be raised through sponsors.
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