Machine-translated from Faroese and not yet reviewed. Read the original.
Several old favourites
At FÍF’s executive committee meeting on 9 January, the competition calendar for 2003 was finalised.
Several old favourites are on the calendar. The Grand Prix series starts on Flag Day and ends at Ólavsøka.
The Autumn Series also continues. Talks are currently under way with the series sponsor, P/F Esmar Simonsen, about continued sponsorship of the competition.
Track and field
As in previous years, open meets and the Faroese Championships in athletics will be held at Svangaskarð and at the throwing field in Tórshavn. This is necessary because there is no throwing area at Svangaskarð. Splitting the competition up like this is undoubtedly only the second-best solution. At the same time, participation in track events at Svangaskarð has been falling in recent years. This is a great shame, but probably a consequence of this being the only athletics facility in the country, and on top of everything it is unfinished.
Schools Championships
One initiative that will hopefully boost interest in athletics is the Schools Championships (Skúla FM), which will be held on Saturday 17 May 2003.
On that day, one boy and one girl from each year group at every primary and lower secondary school in the country will get the chance to try their hand at athletics.
There will be running, jumping and throwing events. The plan is for the schools themselves to organise qualifying competitions as part of their PE lessons.
Guttorm Sørensen, who has long experience in athletics, has been appointed organiser of the event.
Marathon
For the first time since the Island Games in the Faroe Islands in 1989, there are plans to hold a marathon in the Faroe Islands.
Various ideas have been put forward, but initially the plan is to hold a city marathon in Tórshavn on Saturday 19 July. As the race is in Tórshavn, Bragdið has the main responsibility for the event.
Hopefully the chance to run a marathon in the Faroe Islands will encourage more runners to put a bit more into their training. Perhaps others will also set themselves the goal of trying to complete this classic distance.
The competition calendar can be seen here
