Winners of the King Abdullah II Award for Physical Fitness were honoured at a ceremony held at Al Hussein Sports City on Tuesday.

His Majesty King Abdullah, who acted as patron at the event, presented 32 gold medals to students who achieved high marks during the evaluation stages.

The King also honoured schools that won first place and members of the Award Central Committee.

Some 12,000 students from 148 schools took part in this Royal initiative, which seeks to encourage youth to become more physically active and lead healthier lifestyles.

Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Khalid Touqan, who presented silver and bronze medals to the runners-up, said the award would be implemented on a larger scale next year.

The award, which has three levels: School, governorate and ministry, aims at reaching all schools across the country by 2009.

The award was held in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and under the supervision of the Royal Health Awareness Society, a nonprofit organization established under the direction of Her Majesty Queen Rania.

HRH Prince Feisal and HRH Princess Sumaya also attended today's event held at Prince Hamzah Hall.

The Jordan Times