Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended the final round of the Prime Minister’s Cup School Swimming Tournament at the Tsaghkadzor Main Sports Complex, in which 128 schoolchildren participated.
The tournament was held in 2 age groups: 3-6th grades - students born in 2014-2017 (8-12 years old) and 7-12th grades - students born in 2008-2013 (13-17 years old). The teams of the regions and Yerevan city participated in the final round. The team of each age group consisted of 4 boys and 4 girls. In this round, the participants of the first and second age groups competed in the 8x50 meter and 8x100 meter relay and freestyle simming, respectively, in a mixed composition (4 girls and 4 boys).
After the final round, an award ceremony was held. The awards were presented by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan, and Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan. In the 3rd-6th grade tournament, the top three places were taken by the teams from Yerevan, Shirak, and Kotayk. And in the 7th-12th grade tournament, the top three places were taken by the teams from Yerevan, Shirak, and Lori.
In the final round of the tournament, the teams that took 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in each age group were awarded certificates, cups, souvenir medals and cash prizes of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Armenia. The amount of the team cash prizes was divided proportionally between the schools of the team members for the purpose of improving the school's sports infrastructure or purchasing sports equipment. The team that took 1st place was awarded 4 million drams, 2nd place - 2.5 million drams, and 3rd place - 1.5 million drams. The students who took the prize places of the tournament were also awarded cash prizes: 1st place - (8 participants) 150,000 drams each, 2nd place - (8 participants) 100,000 drams each and 3rd place - (8 participants) 75,000 drams each. The coaches and physical education teachers were also awarded with 150,000 drams for 1st place, 100,000 drams for 2nd place, and 75,000 drams for 3rd place.
The tournament was organized and held by a committee established by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, in cooperation with the Armenian Swimming Federation sports non-governmental organization.
After the award ceremony, the Prime Minister made a speech, congratulated the winners and wished them success. In his speech, Nikol Pashinyan touched upon the importance of providing the necessary infrastructure in all regions and emphasized that there is already a political decision that there should be at least a 25-meter swimming pool in all enlarged communities.
The Prime Minister expressed hope that the “Prime Minister’s Cup” will be a new incentive for those prizewinners and students who are engaged in swimming to make greater efforts and add award platforms in international competitions to the domestic ones.
Speaking about the Strategy for the Transformation of Armenia until 2050, Nikol Pashinyan noted that the strategy sets a goal of having 25 Olympic gold medals by 2050. “I hope that at least one of these gold medals will be in swimming, and we should all strive for that goal,” the Prime Minister added.
Nikol Pashinyan also toured the Tsaghkadzor Main Sports Complex, getting acquainted with the infrastructure and future plans.
