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NEWS & EVENTS
Hundreds participate in Queen's Baton Relay
Wednesday, October 30, 2013



The Brunei leg of the Queen's Baton Relay Glasgow 2014 was a huge success with the participation of hundreds of youth yesterday.

The relay was launched by His Royal Highness Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah, the President of the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council (BDNOC), at the Prime Minister's Office.

HRH made his way to pass on the baton to the second bearer at the next stop which is the Amar Pahlawan Primary School.

The relay, which lasted more than two hours, passed through 12 schools in the area.

Maziah Mahusin, who competed at the 2012 London Olympics, was the final baton bearer as she made her way through the penultimate stop, the Budiman Walk.

His Royal Highness Prince 'Abdul Wakeel, who had joined in on the relay from the 11th stop at the Al-Falaah Primary School in Sungai Akar, was then given the honours to hand over the baton back to the BDNOC president at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.

HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah then passed on the baton to Todd Mercer, the Australian High Commissioner to Brunei, who received the baton on behalf of his country that will play host for the next leg of the Queen's Baton Relay.

Hj Muhd Zamri Dato Paduka Hj Hamdani, the co-chairman of the organising committee felt the event was a success and that the attendance of HRH Prince 'Abdul Wakeel came as a pleasant surprise.

"It was excellent. I knew that HRH Prince Wakeel was involved in welcoming the baton at Al-Falaah Primary School. But we were caught by surprise when he decided to join the relay till the finishing at the stadium. So we gave him the honours to be the final baton bearer," said Hj Muhd Zamri in an interview with The Brunei Times after the relay.

"It was thanks to the leadership of HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah that we managed to attend to the matter quickly and smoothly as well," he added.

Hj Muhd Zamri, who is the BDNOC vice-president, also revealed that they have got the ball rolling on competing at the 20th Glassgow Commonwealth Games next year.

"We have received the invitation from Glasgow already. We will go through the usual process with the sports associations nominating their athletes first," said Hj Muhd Zamri.

"It will then be brought up to the Selection committee before the confirmation of the sports we will participate in," he added.

The BDNOC vice-president also went on to thank the Department of Youth and Sports under the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS), Ministry of Education (MoE) as well as other agencies involved such as the police and medical team for their support throughout the relay.

The Sultanate was the eighth of 71 Commonwealth destinations since its journey started from Buckingham Palace in London on Oct 9.

Rebecca Hill, a representative of the 20th Glasgow Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay Team, has participated in all eight legs and said that she enjoyed her stay in Brunei.

"It is difficult to compare because all the countries are different. Brunei celebrated with youth and they made it really memorable," said Hill.

"The Olympic Council and British Commission have been very hospitable. We love the weather and the people are friendly," she added.

"It is also great to see that hundreds of people got to touch the baton today (Tuesday)," concluded Hill.

The relay will end its journey at the opening ceremony of the Games in Glasgow, Scotland on July 23, 2014.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be the last to receive the baton before officially declaring the Games open.

Courtesy from Brunei Times