Mississauga hosts schools from Pickering to Waterloo at Muslim Inter-Scholastic Tournament
Published May 19, 2022 at 2:08 pm
More than 600 high school students are gathering for the Muslim Inter-Scholastic Tournament, taking place this weekend at the University of Toronto’s Erindale campus in Mississauga.
The Muslim Inter-Scholastic Tournament or MIST for short, is an educational, interactive program of competitions and workshops geared towards bringing high school students together. From the beginning, the goal has been to develop leadership, communication, and other creative skills, all while gaining a deeper understanding of Islam and Muslims.
There will be more than 25 schools participating from Mississauga, Pickering, Waterloo, Scarborough and others from across the province.
This year, MIST Toronto will be celebrating fifteen years of empowering high school students, the future leaders of the country. The 2022 tournament will allow young students the opportunity to express their thoughts, while learning strategies to deal with stereotypes and prejudices against Islam and Muslims.
“For me, the last two years have been challenging. As a young person, it is so easy to feel disconnected from our communities especially with mosques closed, everyone going to school and working from home.” said Mariam Sadek, one of the competitors this year. “MIST is really allowing for the opportunity for us to return to some semblance of normal with people who have been through the same challenges we have from when the pandemic began.”
“I’m excited to see the influx of young people willing to spend a long weekend doing what they are passionate about.”
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The theme this year is ‘The Conviction in Courage – Finding the Balance between Fear & Risk’ and Meshall Awan, MIST Toronto’s Competition Co-Chair, said the interpretation of the theme will revolve around “whatever their vision of courage is.”
There will be an eclectic mix of competitions at the two-day event, which runs from 11-8 Saturday and Sunday. There will be technical presentations, a science fair, Qur’an knowledge tests, arts contests (3D, graphic design, fashion, photography), writing & oratory (creative writing, spoken word), a math Olympics and group projects that cover business venture proposals and short films.
Two basketball tournaments are also on the agenda.
With lockdown restrictions, this is the first in-person tournament in two years. The competition went virtual in 2020 and 2021.
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