2011 Coptic Olympics

The first annual Coptic Olympics took place on the first weekend of July at the Coptic Centre in Birmingham. On Friday night, members of the Birmingham team were finishing some last minute touches to the grounds of the Coptic Centre, having transformed it in 3 weeks into a marvellous set of facilities with renovated playing areas and new equipment. In the evening they welcomed members of other church teams staying the night in the centre.

Saturday began with a Divine Liturgy in the Church and afterwards an opening prayer ceremony lead by His Grace Bishop Missael. To conclude the ceremony, the timetable of events for the day was confirmed and teams were told where to go for their relevant fixtures.

People from all over the Diocese had come from as far as North Wales, Manchester and Nottingham. Whilst the sporting activities went on, there were several fundraising events taking place around the centre including face painting, car washes and music.

By 7pm all the events had finished and the results were collected and validated. After the Raising of Incense, the closing prayer ceremony was lead by His Grace again who awarded medals and trophies to the winning teams in each competition. It was overall a great day of Christian fellowship and unity for the family.