National School Games
Havana, Jun 28 (ACN) - Agustin Abril, director of sports organization and programming of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder), said in Havana that the 60th edition of the National School Games (JEN, in Spanish) will be a sporting spectacle throughout Cuba.
Abril told the Cuban News Agency that the conditions have been created for the success of this important event, which he considered as the cornerstone of the competitive system on the island, from where the athletes who will be part of the senior national teams in the future emerge, he said.
He added that it is very difficult to see a Cuban athlete who has been a world or Olympic champion, or in Central Caribbean and Pan American events, who has not been the result of the JEN, hence the great importance of this competition, which began in 1963, he said.
The Inder director explained that reaching this 60th edition in the midst of a complex context in which the country has so many limitations has been a challenge, but it was always decided to make them for the benefit of these young athletes who prepare with great effort to compete and represent their provinces in this sporting event.
He also noted that holding the JEN reaffirms that sports activity continues to be one of the greatest achievements of the Cuban Revolution, to continue the legacy of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz (1926-2016), architect of the idea of sport as a right of the people, he said.
Abril pointed out that a program called "65x60 igual a Fidel" (65x60 equal to Fidel) has been carried out, which has had an impact on the improvement of conditions in the Sports Initiation Schools (EIDE) and other facilities that will serve as venues for these Games.
The 60th edition of the JEN will be held in all provinces from July 1 to 15, with action in 31 disciplines, which speaks highly in favor of the work that, from the base, Inder develops to ensure the necessary generational relay in the sports movement in the largest of the Antilles.
