Announcement on the 2020 Marathon Student Contest

The Marathon Education Committee of the Hellenic Canadian Academic Association of Ontario (HCAAO) invites high school students across Ontario to participate to the annual Marathon Student Contest on the social significance of the Marathon Race and its historical meaning and connection to the Battle of Marathon.

The student contest is part of the Toronto Marathon Initiative by the Consulate General of Greece in Toronto in partnership with the HCAAO and with financial support from the Hellenic Heritage Foundation (HHF). Winners of the student contest will be recognized with a monetary award of $1,000 each, during the Toronto Waterfront Marathon Wreath Ceremony in October, in which gold-plated olive branch wreaths from the area of Marathon in Greece are offered to the first-place winners of the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

Students in Grades 9-12 who are studying one or more of the following subject areas are eligible to participate:

•    Classical Civilization (Grade 12)
•    World History (Grade 11)
•    Healthy Active Living Education (Grades9-12)
•    Introductory Kinesiology (Grade 12)

The 2020 contest is also open to high schools attending the Ontario Student Classics Conference on May 7, 2020 at Brock University.

Educational material including a power point presentation, notes and instructions on the objectives, format and timelines of the contestwill be available through the OSCC webpage. In addition, the contest material is available to the TDSB high schools during Greek Heritage Month through the TDSB webpage. The presentation focuses on the origin of the Marathon race in honour of Pheidippides and other Athenian soldiers who ran 42 km from Marathon back to Athens to announce the victory and protect the city of Athens itself demonstrating the power of the human mind and civic responsibility. Teachers who are interested in engaging students in the contest can use the presentation to initiate discussion in their classes. Students who are interested in participating in the contestmust submit their essay/poster/short video or other creative work to the Marathon Educational Committee by email (see details below).

Topic:The meaning of the Marathon race in contemporary societies

Objective:Students are invited to consider the meaning of the Marathon race in contemporary societies. The Marathon race itself stands as an appropriate symbol of incredible human effort and mental strength. Furthermore, the initiative aims to demonstrate the close link of the Marathon to the essential values of “Olympism”: excellence, respect and friendship. The promotion and development of these values through the Marathon contribute not only to the lifelong enjoyment of sport, but also to the education of the whole human being.

Language:English

Format:Students can participate in the contest using one of the following formats: a) essays submitted in Word format, 3 pages max, Arial 12-point font, double-space; b) electronic posters should be submitted in Power Point format; c) short videos should be uploaded and submitted as a link to a site (e.g. vimeo, youtube), 2 mins max; or d) any other example of creative work on the topic (e.g. a portfolio of photographs, collage etc) as long as it can be submitted electronically. All outside sources used must be appropriately cited.

Submissions:Submissions are to be sent to the adjudication committee during the period between May 15 to May 31, 2020 via email to:

Awards: The Committee will adjudicate the submissions to select one top submission per grade (Grades 9-12). Winners and runner-ups will be announced via email to all participating schools by the end of the academic year. The fourwinners will be recognized with a monetary award during the Toronto Waterfront Marathon Wreath Ceremony in October.

The monetary award is $1,000 for each winner. To receive the award, the contest winners are expected to attend the Marathon Wreath Ceremony organized inToronto during the month of October 2020 (date TBA).Should a student be unable to attend the ceremony, they may be asked to forfeit their prize, in which case the prize will go to the runner-up.
The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon will also offer up to 100 students the opportunity to participate in the “5K run”, which is held in conjunction with the Toronto Waterfront Marathon.