Baitussalam Olympiad will be held from January 9

Baitussalam Olympiad 2019, one of the largest sports and academic competition event, will be held from 9 to 16 January in Karachi.
Addressing a press conference at Karachi Press Club on Monday, Uzair Zavary chief organizer of the event informed that third Baitussalam Olympiad 2019 is being organized by Baitussalam and it is an annual event that enshrines Baitussalam's vision of unity. On the occasion Huzaifa Rafique and Nabeel Ahmed Sheikh of Baitussalam were also present.
"The event aims to remove the barriers of economic and social disparity by bringing together students from various educational backgrounds onto a common platform to exhibit their intellect and showcase their skills", he added.
The whole event is free of charge and is being organized with support of sponsors. The event will have about 20 academic and sporting competitions divided into two age categories of 13-16 years and 17 to 20 years, he informed.
This year some 2500 students of 130 private schools and religious institutions (Madaris) are participating in the Baitussalam Olympiad 2019. Students are comprises from the Cambridge school system, the Matric School system and from Islamic schools, he added.
The event will consist Qirat, Scrabble, Arabic essay, General Knowledge, Arabic Speech, Naat/Patriotic Song, Urdu essay, Physical Fitness, Urdu Speech, Football, Science Quiz, Paintball, Bait Bazi, Badminton, English Speech, Table Tennis, English essay, Volley Ball, Spelling Bee , Flat Race, Presentation Contest, Relay Race, Science Exhibition and Tug of War.
Zavary informed that the earlier Baitussalam Olympiad was hosted in the regions of Karachi and Islamabad in January and February of 2017. Overall some 1000 students participated in the event from over 40 schools and participated in 20 competitions including 13 academic and 7 sports.
Baitussalam Olympiad 2019 will be for a week with an opening ceremony on January 9 and a grand closing ceremony on January 19, 2019. Winners were presented with medals, shields and gifts in the closing ceremony.
Prominent schools included Karachi Grammar School, Delsol, Beacon house School System, The City School, Jamia Baitussalam and Jamia Binoria participated in the event in 2017.
Doubling in numbers from last year, Olympiad'18 hosted over 2000 students from around 80 schools. Paintball as a sport was introduced this year and was very popular amongst the participants. The age category I7-20 years was also introduced last year. The participating schools were Lyceum School, Karachi Grammar School, Generations School, Beaconhouse School System, Army Public school. Z International School, The City School, Jamia Baitussalam and Jamia Binoria in 2018.
He informed that Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah will be chief guest in the inaugural ceremony of the event and DG Rangers will be chief guest in concluding ceremony.