VI OLYMPICS4ALL IN PORTUGAL CONFIRMED THE IMPACT AND SUSTAINABILITY OF THE INITIATIVE AS A LEVER FOR SENIOR SPORT

Between the 7th and 9th of September, the event 'Olympics4All’ took place in Vila Nova de Cerveira. The initiative, which aims to promote sports among the senior population and reinforce social and cultural exchange, involved around 300 participants from the 10 municipalities of Alto Minho (Portugal).
At the opening ceremony, the Mayor of Vila Nova de Cerveira, Rui Teixeira, highlighted that it was “an honour to receive the delegations from all the municipalities of Alto Minho and to start these Olympics in Vila Nova de Cerveira. An event that represents an added value and an undoubted contribution to the increase in the practice of physical exercise in the senior population”. The mayor took the opportunity to thank all the municipalities of Alto Minho, the Escola Superior de Desporto e Lazer, the young referees and the staff for their committed support and contribution to make the event run successfully.
It should be remembered that each participating municipality presents itself with a team, previously prepared thanks to the implementation of a weekly training program, which takes senior athletes to practice various modalities that are included in the regulation of the event, from Athletics, Volleyball, Basketball, Swimming and Football, as well as traditional games such as Boccia, Petanque, Malha (traditional Portuguese game) and Corda (traditional Portuguese game).
The Secretary of State for Youth and Sports, João Paulo Correia, was present at the closing session of the 'Olympics4All' Senior Olympics, highlighting “the innovative character, the social contact between athletes and the positive impact of conviviality”, and he committed himself to be an ambassador for the project with the aim of replicating this initiative in other regions of the country. He also referred to the importance of informal sport and the inter-generational character of the event, which brings together senior athletes and referees and young support staff, a synergy that leaves positive marks on all participants.
The winning team of this edition was the Cerveira team, revalidating the title already won at the 2019 Olympics. At the ceremony, the municipality that will host the event next year was also announced: Viana do Castelo.