MOC hosts Olympic Day events

The Maltese Olympic Committee hosted its Olympic Day events on Sunday.

In what was a move away from tradition, wherein Olympic Day was celebrated by means of only the Olympic Day Run, a festival of sport was hosted at the MYER Centre for Sport and Physical Education in Ħamrun.

The traditional Olympic Day Run consisted of a 5km fun run, on a route that took participants around Hamrun and Marsa vicinities. The Run also coincided with efforts from the Marsa Local Council to celebrate its designation as 2022 Capital of Culture.   The Run was overseen by a team from Athletics Malta who also roped in some of Malta’s elite athletes to support the participants along the route.

In the meantime at the Centre for Sport and Physical Education, ten MOC affiliated associations and federations were present to give demonstrations of their sport as well as invited visitors to the event to try out the sport. 

Amongst the associations taking part, were Badminton Malta, the Malta Cycling Federation, Malta Rugby Football Union, Malta Judo Federation & Associated Disciplines, Malta Taekwondo Association, Malta Cricket Association, Malta Netball Association , Malta Wheelchair Basketball Association, Assocjazzjoni Sport Muturi u Karozzi and Malta Chess Federation.

“Olympic Day is about developing into much more than a run or just a sports event. Based on the pillars of ‘Move, learn, discover – Together for a better world’,” said Kevin Azzopardi, the Maltese Olympic Committee secretary general.

“All around the world National Olympic Committee host a number of events and activities aimed at everybody – regardless of age, gender, social background or sporting ability.With our efforts and collaborations with the various participating associations and federations, we have achieved this aim, and we are delighted with the result.”

In a statement, the Maltese Olympic Committee thanked Toyota Malta, Ħamrun and Marsa Local Councils, the Ħamrun District Police, volunteers who assisted on the day as well as the participating sporting bodies.