Winners of the 'Prime Minister's Cup' Road Cycling Competition Announced

The final phase of the amateur 'Prime Minister's Cup' road cycling competition was held for the second year in a row in the Gegharkunik region, covering a 40 km stretch from the peninsula of Lake Sevan to the village of Shoghakat.

Before the start of the competition, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan welcomed the participants and personally rode through the area designated for the race.

This year, 4,214 students from 940 schools participated in the preliminary phases of the competition. It is held in two age groups, with teams made up of 7th to 9th and 10th to 12th grade students from public educational institutions in Armenia.

In the 7th to 9th grade competition, the first place was taken by the Mesrop Mashtots First Basic School in Sevan, Gegharkunik region, followed by the Akunk Secondary School in Kotayk region in second place. The top three concluded with the Secondary School in Sevkar village, Tavush region.

In the 10th to 12th grade competition, the Akunk Secondary School in Kotayk region emerged victorious, with the number 5 high school in Vanadzor, Lori region, taking second place, and the Secondary School in Pemzashen, Shirak region, securing third place.

Present at the awards ceremony were Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan, Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan, and the Governor of Gegharkunik region Karen Sargsyan.

“The project we started last year by acquiring bicycles for our schools is fulfilling its purpose. What is happening here is the culmination of the many cycling competitions that have taken place during this time. The deep purpose of all this is to promote a healthy lifestyle and to cultivate a caring attitude towards nature. All of this needs to be sown from school,” said Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

According to Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan, there has been an increase in the number of participants this year. “This year, more than 4,000 children participated in the community phase. This figure exceeds last year's numbers by three times. The teams participating in the finals were very determined. This year, we are also paying great attention to judging,” said the Minister.

The schools that took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places in the final phase were awarded certificates of the corresponding category from the Ministry, as well as trophies, medals, and cash prizes. The 1st place school received 4,000,000 AMD, the 2nd place school received 2,500,000 AMD, and the 3rd place school received 1,500,000 AMD.

Physical education teachers from the awarded schools were also honored: 700,000 AMD for the 1st place, 500,000 AMD for the 2nd place, and 300,000 AMD for the 3rd place.

The winning teams' student participants were also awarded cash prizes: 150,000 AMD each for 2 participants in the 1st place, 100,000 AMD each for 2 participants in the 2nd place, and 75,000 AMD each for 2 participants in the 3rd place.