The director of AITEX, Vicente Blanes, was on hand early to open the AITEX Olympics for fourth-year high school students. The motto of the Olympics is ‘Young people trained for modern textile industry’. More than 420 students took part in the Francisco Laporta Sports Centre in Alcoy from the following high schools: Las Carmelitas, Las Esclavas, José Arnauda, La Salle, IES Cotes Baixes, IES Andreu Sempere, Santa Ana, San Vicente de Paul y Salesianos San Vicente Ferrer.

Throughout the morning of April 30, students took part in various activities such as paddle tennis, volleyball, paintball track, handball, mad race obstacle course, golf simulator, videogames and a mountain bike circuit. In addition they all participated in an orientation circuit which involved following a series of clues around the sports centre to demonstrate their understanding of the different sectors in the textile sector. A fun and educational way of finding out by the industry and its different sectors.

Rafael Pascual closed the Olympics with a speech thanking all the students who attended and also the City of Alcoy for its support. He underlined the importance for young people to be aware of the employment possibilities in the textile industry and its bright future. Alberto Belda, councillor of education and sports in Alcoy, spoke on the importance of the activities to promote sports among the young and that the day was a fun way to learn more about the textile sector. To end the conference, AITEX raffled 9 mountain bikes, one for each training centre, among all the participants.