Ceremony opens 2nd Regional in Marajó of the Pará Open Games in Ponta de Pedras
An initiative of the State Government, through the State Secretariat of Sports and Leisure (Seel), brings together 509 athletes from the Marajó municipalities until Sunday (1st)
The Ricardo Boulhosa Gymnasium hosted, on the night of this Thursday (29), the opening ceremony of the XIV edition of the Pará Open Games (Joapa), with the Marajó II regional, based in the municipality of Ponta de Pedras. The Joapa is organized by the State Government, through the State Secretariat of Sports and Leisure (Seel), and this phase brings together 509 athletes from the municipalities of Soure, Cachoeira do Arari, Muaná, Salvaterra, Santa Cruz do Arari, and Ponta de Pedras, who compete in the modalities of Futsal, Beach Soccer, Volleyball, Handball, and Table Tennis.
The event was attended by the Seel secretary, Cássio Andrade; the deputy secretary José Francisco; the sports secretary of the municipality of Belém, Gleisson Oliveira, among other public authorities.
“I want to greet this table full of authorities, but first of all, my vice-mayor, I want to greet these young athletes who will energize the city of Ponta de Pedras in the coming days in competitions that will certainly bring health, sports practice, but above all, sports represents one word: happiness. I was an athlete, I competed for 15 years in my life and always, in all competitions, sports, competition, championships always brought me a lot of happiness. It is a movement of fellowship, coexistence, joy, and learning as well. And I know what that is, that’s why I make a point of coming here and praising our Pará Open Games,” said Seel secretary Cássio Andrade.
The opening ceremony featured cultural statements and dance performances. The Joapa encompasses all 144 municipalities in Pará in ten regional stages, aiming to promote sports and foster social inclusion through sports practice. In addition to the court competitions, the event rewards municipalities with the best performance through the Efficiency Trophy.
In the first regional, held in Oeiras do Pará (Marajó I), the municipality of Breves won the trophy with 56 points, followed by Oeiras do Pará, with 46 points.
The volleyball athlete from the municipality of Ponta de Pedras, Franciane Rodrigues Lima, highlighted the pride of representing the municipality, making the Olympic lap with the torch of the Games. “I am happy for another edition of the Open Games in our municipality. I can only thank the State Government and the municipal government for all the support, to the athletes from all participating municipalities. And I want to say that my heart is happy to be able to bring the torch, the Joapa torch, which is an important symbol for all of us athletes,” said the athlete.
The schedule for the Marajó II regional extends until June 1, when the competitions conclude.
