UIPM 2019 Global Laser Run City Tour: At the double for a thousand schoolkids in Barcelona (ESP)

The Olympic city of Barcelona embraced Laser Run not once but twice in the summer of 2019, engaging more than 1,000 children in UIPM’s most popular development sport.

More than 600 young athletes from 30 schools flocked to the Esportiu ‘Mar Bella’ complex near the beach for the first Global Laser Run City Tour, kickstarting a successful week in one of Spain’s biggest cities and the capital of Catalonia.

The second GLRCT had a strong Olympic resonance as it took place at the Anella Olimpica de Montjuic, within the sports facilities created or redesigned on the mountainside when the city hosted the 1992 Olympic Summer Games.

This event drew 522 participants from 36 schools, confirming the mass appeal and inclusive nature of Laser Run in all urban communities where sport is encouraged.

A spokesperson for the local organising committee said: “As a relatively small sports federation, Laser Run gives us the opportunity to organize competitions that can engage between 500 and 1,000 children – which was unthinkable until this format was created.

“This gives us a very strong impulse to promote our sports and draw more athletes to our sport.

“At the end of the day, the feeling of happiness comes when all the teachers send us their congratulations in relation to the event, and above all for making boys and girls participate with a desire to have fun together, despite their differing ages.

“We are thankful to all participants and coaches, to the local organising committee and to UIPM for supporting this event with positive emotions.”

The GLRCT was created in 2017 to provide an entry point to UIPM Sports for people of all ages in urban communities around the world.

Another 100 cities have been selected in 2019 as hosts of the GLRCT or the Biathle/Triathle National Tour. The full calendar can be viewed at the UIPM website, where you can also find more information on UIPM’s various multi-discipline sports.

In September, the UIPM Laser Run World Championships will be incorporated into the Pentathlon World Championships for the first time in Budapest (HUN), where Laser Run is also on the programme for the 1st World Urban Games.

In December, Laser Run and Triathle will both feature for the first time in the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippines.

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