American "Hunger Games": Teenagers from across the country to compete for scholarships
On Tuesday, the final stage of the "Patriot Games" will take place — a sports competition for high school students organized as part of the events dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
The final day of the competition will be held in the city of Geneva, located about 80 kilometers north of Cleveland. Teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17 took part in the event. Two students, a boy and a girl, were selected from each American state to participate. In addition, representatives of some American military bases, Native American tribes, and U.S. territories joined the competition.
The participants went through a preliminary selection process, in which they had to answer questions related to American patriotism. In the final stage, Trump intends to watch the performances of the 32 best participants, who will compete for victory in athletic disciplines.
The main prizes will go to two winners — a boy and a girl. Each of them will be able to count on a scholarship of 125 thousand dollars.
The competition began on Sunday and is taking place on the grounds of SPIRE Academy, a sports training complex and boarding school. The program includes several sports disciplines, including track and field events, dodgeball, and kickball, a team game combining elements of baseball and soccer.
The event is organized by the nonprofit organization Freedom 250, which is supported by the White House. It is engaged in preparing various events timed to coincide with the celebration of the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.
The organizers plan to make the competition accessible to a wide audience. The "Patriot Games" are being broadcast live on the sports television channel ESPN. In addition, the ABC television channel will show a special one-hour program devoted to the event on Thursday evening. The broadcast is scheduled to begin at 9:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time, which corresponds to 1:00 a.m. Friday Greenwich time.
At the same time, the event has already become the subject of political disputes. Trump's opponents criticize the organizers for insufficient diversity among the participants and for the format of the competition. Some of them draw parallels with the dystopian novel and films "The Hunger Games," in which two teenagers were selected from each region to take part in a deadly competition.
Source: Reuters
