Al-Ahram Weekly | Sports | Let the Games begin

		5 - 11 September 2002 Issue No. 602 Sports	Current issue Previous issue Site map
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Let the Games begin
From Lebanon Abeer Anwar reports on the start of a mini-Olympic tournament for the mentally handicapped

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Two members of the Egyptian swimming team during their training
The torch signalling the start of the third Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Games for the mentally handicapped -- and the go-ahead for 400 athletes from 19 countries -- is to be lit today.
At the opening ceremony, the participating teams are to parade on the court of the Sports City Stadium's indoor hall in Lebanon. Brief addresses will follow by Bechara Merhej, chairman of Special Olympics (SO) Lebanon, Timothy Shriver, president and CEO of Special Olympics International (SOI) and Lebanese Prime Minster Rafiq Al- Harriri, whose auspicious the Games are being held under.
A talent show, produced by Nerveen Fikri, Egypt's expert in productions for the mentally disabled, is to be presented by the athletes who began working under Fikri a month ago. Top Lebanese singers Jwana Malah and Rola Nabil have volunteered to sing in the inaugural ceremony free of charge.
Five sports are to be played: five-a-side football, swimming, table tennis, athletics and basketball. Libya is a first-time participant, entering only in athletics. Despite almost two years of violence in the occupied territories, SO Palestine is being represented in the Games, albeit by only two players, in athletics and table tennis. Host Lebanon has 34 players competing in the five sports. Egypt comes with the biggest contingent, 36 athletes.
The sports will be played on five sites: the Sports City Stadium for athletics, the Sports Club for table tennis, the Golf Club for basketball, the Deir Al- Qala' swimming pool and the National Court for football.
The matches start tomorrow and end 10 September. Earlier the contestants were grouped according to their age, ability and the extent of their handicap so that they compete with other players equal to their abilities, Mohamed Nasser, sports manager for SOI MENA, said.
Five-a-side matches are 30 minutes divided into two halves. Each team has one time-out in every half. Substitution is allowed at any time and with any number of players.
Basketball matches are 24 minutes, divided into four quarters of six minutes each. In athletics, swimming and table tennis, the same rules for able- bodied athletes apply.
In track and field, each athlete has the chance to participate in two track events, a sprint and middle- distance run and one field event, either the long jump or shot-put. In swimming, each athlete has the opportunity to compete in two races and one relay.
Hala Al-Husseini, SO Lebanon's national director and head of the Games' organising committee, said all stadiums were ready and that entrance was free. "A number of authorities will also help us with accommodation and transportation including the Lebanese Army which has provided 100 buses for teams, families and volunteers," Al-Husseini said, adding that several ads had been appearing on Lebanese TV and streets had been decked out with fliers and posters promoting the tournament.

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