Pan-Armenian Games
Encyclopedia
Multi-sport event
A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports between organized teams of athletes from nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of international significance was the modern Olympic Games.Many...
, held between competitors from the Armenian diaspora
Armenian diaspora
The Armenian diaspora refers to the Armenian communities outside the Republic of Armenia and self proclaimed de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic...
and Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
. They consist of various competitions in individual and team sports among the Armenian athletes. It takes place in Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
, the capital of Armenia.
Eligibility
The Games are open to Armenian passport-holders (irrespective of national origin) and citizens of other countries who have Armenian descent. Spouses of those of Armenian descent are also eligible to compete.History
The idea of holding a Pan-Armenians Games was first thought by Soviet diplomat Ashot Melik-Shahnazaryan. He first thought of the idea of organizing universal games for all ArmeniansArmenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
while he was on a business trip in 1965 to Brazzaville
Brazzaville
-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
, Republic of Congo, that was getting ready to participate in the first Pan-African Games
All-Africa Games
The All-Africa Games, sometimes called the African Games or the Pan African Games, are a regional multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa...
. But because Armenia was a Soviet republic and that such an idea was considered by Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
to be nationalistic, Shahnazaryan had to wait until Armenia attained independence to try and put forth his brainchild.
In 1995, Ashot Melik-Shahnazaryan for the first time publicly announced his intentions to create the Pan-Armenians Games while he was in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
as a guest for World Games of AGBU. He quickly gained the support of the Armenian diaspora
Armenian diaspora
The Armenian diaspora refers to the Armenian communities outside the Republic of Armenia and self proclaimed de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic...
with whom he did not have any contact during Soviet times. The idea of organizing sporting events for all Armenians and the motto of the future World Committee "Unity through Sport" was highly supported by representatives of Homenetmen
Homenetmen
Homenetmen is a pan-Armenian diaspora organization devoted to sport and Scouting. The motto of Homenetmen is "Elevate Yourself and Elevate Others with You" .-Foundation:...
, AGBU and Homenmen in diasporan cities such as Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and many others.
During the founding meeting on April 30, 1997 in Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
, World Committee of Pan-Armenian Games (WCPAG) was created, with the help of traditional Armenian unions of the Diaspora and the Iranian-Armenian
Armenians in Iran
Iranian-Armenians , sometimes called Persian-Armenians, are Iranian citizens of Armenian origin. Their number is about 100,000. However, recent estimates put the numbers between 40,000-80,000 due to emigration. They mostly live in Tehran and Jolfa district, Isfahan...
cultural-sport organization "Ararat". Representatives of state and public organizations of Armenia, NKR and also Armenian communities from Iran
Armenians in Iran
Iranian-Armenians , sometimes called Persian-Armenians, are Iranian citizens of Armenian origin. Their number is about 100,000. However, recent estimates put the numbers between 40,000-80,000 due to emigration. They mostly live in Tehran and Jolfa district, Isfahan...
, Argentina
Armenians in Argentina
The Armenians in Argentina are ethnic Armenians who live in Argentina. In South America the largest population of Armenians is in Argentina where some 130,000 Armenians live . The core of the population came from Cilicia, Syria and Lebanon...
, Turkey
Armenians in Turkey
Armenians in Turkey have an estimated population of 40,000 to 70,000 . Most are concentrated around Istanbul. The Armenians support their own newspapers and schools...
, Australia, Germany
Armenians in Germany
Armenians in Germany are ethnic Armenians living within the modern republic of Germany. Like much of the Armenian Diaspora, most Armenians immigrated to Germany after the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Others came later, fleeing conflicts in places like Iran, Azerbaijan and Lebanon. Another influx came...
, Canada, Cyprus
Armenians in Cyprus
Armenians in Cyprus or Armenian-Cypriots are ethnic Armenians that live in Cyprus. Armenian-Cypriots maintain a notable presence of about 3.500 on the island , mostly centred in the capital Nicosia, but also with communities in Larnaca...
, France
Armenians in France
Armenians in France are ethnic Armenians living within the modern republic of France. Like much of the Armenian Diaspora, most Armenians immigrated to France after the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923. Others came later, fleeing conflicts in places like Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Iran...
and other countries became members. Ashot Melik-Shahnazaryan was elected the first president of WCPAG. He also became the creator of the emblem, cup, medals, almost all the symbols of the organization and also the official anthem and the farewell song of the games.
Today, the WCPAG is a non-governmental, international organization that collaborates with the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
(IOC), UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
and other international sport units and contributes in developing sport in Armenia
Sport in Armenia
A wide array of sports are played in Armenia, the most popular is football, other popular sports are wrestling, weightlifting, judo, chess, and boxing.. Armenia's mountainous terrain provides great opportunities for the practice of sports like skiing and climbing. Being a landlocked country, water...
.
The Games
The Pan-Armenian Games are complex competitions in individual and team kinds of sport among athletes of the Republic of Armenia and athletes of Armenian origin from other countries. The athletes from various parts of the world represent the cities in which they come from and not countries like other pan-games. The Pan-Armenian Games take place mainly in Yerevan, Armenia. The sports played during the games are footballFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, mini-football, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
, chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
and athletics.
The first Pan-Armenian Games took place from August 28, 1999 to September 5, 1999. Delegations from 62 cities and 23 countries participated in the games. The second Pan-Armenian Games took place in 2001, followed by the third one in 2003.
In 2003, it was decided to transform the Games into once every four years (instead of once every two years). The fourth Pan-Armenian Games were held in 2007. This decision was then subsequently reversed, and the dates for the 2009 games are 8 to 16 August.
The fifth Pan-Armenian Games were held in Yerevan, Armenia, from the 13th to the 21st of August 2011.