During These Important Days, the Goal of the ‘Prime Minister's Cup’ is to Show the Connection Between Daily Events and Citizens, Says Pashinyan

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended the awarding ceremony of the ‘Prime Minister's Cup’ amateur swimming competition. This was reported by the press office of the Prime Minister’s Office of Armenia.

The competition was held at Lake Sevan, in the beach area adjacent to the Shoghakat community (formerly Shorja) in Gegharkunik Province, with two age categories: the first category for women aged 18-35 and men aged 18-40, and the second category for women over 36 and men over 41 years old. Women competed in a 1000-meter distance, while men swam 1500 meters.

The awards were presented by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Vahram Dumanyan, Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan, and Gegharkunik Governor Karen Sargsyan. Pashinyan also awarded souvenirs and diplomas to the oldest participants.

The Prime Minister welcomed the attendees, participants, and winners of the competition. “First, let me congratulate everyone on the 32nd anniversary of the adoption of Armenia’s Declaration of Independence. We are working, and the idea is precisely this—the ‘Prime Minister's Cup’ competitions are held on important days for the statehood of Armenia. Of course, it does not always coincide perfectly, but the events of the Cup are dedicated to different state days, and the goal is to show the connection between daily events and the citizen, the individual, to demonstrate our will to live and create, to have an independent state, to win, to make breakthroughs, to bring new ideas and to implement those new ideas.”

Pashinyan emphasized the importance of increasing participation in future events, stating, “I have to honestly confess that there was indeed a moment when we thought we would not be able to hold the ‘Prime Minister’s Cup’ swimming competition in Lake Sevan. We discussed and feared that the number of participants might be minimal. Ultimately, we decided that even if one person participated, we must carry out the competition for that one person’s reaction. Although having more than 130 participants is a very good indicator, our task is to ensure that the number of participants increases every year.”

He further noted, “Our next task is to draw attention once again through this event to Lake Sevan, its tourism potential, particularly the potential of this eastern shore, and also to create opportunities for our beloved compatriots to express themselves in the competition and test their strength. I would like to ask everyone to applaud our participants of all ages because it was indeed a great surprise when I learned that 75 and 81-year-old citizens are participating in our competition.”

Pashinyan also highlighted that the Prime Minister's Foundation will donate 200,000 drams to the oldest participants of the competition.

“The Prime Minister's Cup competition is ongoing, and I want to speak about a nuance. We want to conduct ‘Prime Minister's Cup’ competitions in sports where, in fact, as few expensive infrastructure requirements as possible will be needed so that all those who wish can train and participate in competitions. Lake Sevan, unfortunately, has a very short season, but it is accessible to everyone; anyone can learn to swim and prepare for future competitions. Similarly, running competitions, table tennis, and cycling are relatively affordable sports, though they require a larger investment. However, the school road racing competition becomes the most important and beautiful cornerstone event of the ‘Prime Minister's Cup’ series.”

Pashinyan concluded by thanking the companies that support the organization of this competition, particularly the South Caucasus Railways company for its logistical support, as well as the sponsors. He noted, “The government of Armenia covers all the costs of the competition and will continue to do so, but when partners also join and contribute to the organization of this event, it is certainly doubly gratifying. I thank the organizers, the rescuers who assisted, and all the attendees and participants of the competition. Until our next encounter on September 20 at the next competition of the ‘Prime Minister's Cup’ for the ‘Road Racing’ event.”