The Peru-Italia 7095 school is located just a few blocks away from the Villa El Salvador Sports Center. The students of this school already know that the Pan American and Parapan American sports competitions will take place in this new facility on July 26 and that is why they are ready for the Lima 2019 Games.
“Our students are very excited and we are carrying out several activities such as story-writing, led by the students. They’ve realized that the Lima 2019 Games have made a change in their district and they’re fascinated,” said Maria Isabel Sulca, a teacher at the school.
These activities help the children discover new sports such as “swimming or cycling, because there’s a difference between learning about a sport, and feeling motivated and practicing it,” noted the teacher.
During this visit, students had the opportunity to meet Milco, the official mascot of the Games, and participate in the socio-cultural program prepared by Lima 2019 to promote Olympic and Paralympic values through sports.
“This is a very interesting and educational activity, and it successfully passed the messages along to the students, because an athlete is disciplined, respectful and punctual; that is, they have many values that will be useful throughout their lives. Therefore, sports are closely related to values, and that’s what we need to encourage,” pointed out James Meza, school principal.
Thirty-one days away from the Pan American Games, motivation starts to play an important role for students who play football, handball and volleyball, as well as practice athletics and gymnastics.
“We are very motivated because, first, Lima is hosting and, second, because the Pan American Village and many sports are nearby. We feel very lucky, because we will be able to see well-known athletes, as well as learn about countless sports that can be very useful for their personal and social development,” concluded the principal.
The Villa El Salvador Sports Center will house gymnastics, which will take place from July 27 to August 5, and karate, from August 9 to 11.