Around 300 fifth-grade students from eight schools across the Vega Baja took part in the sixth edition of the Artichoke School Olympics, held at the Sadrián Stadium in Almoradí.
Pupils from five Almoradí schools—CEIP Canales y Martínez, CEIP Heredades, CEIP Manuel de Torres, CEIP Pascual Andreu, and CC Santa María de la Huerta—joined students from CEIP Antonio Sequeros in Benejúzar and Orihuela’s CEIP Miguel Hernández and Colegio Jesús-María San Isidro for a day of teamwork, learning, and celebration of the region’s signature crop, the Vega Baja artichoke.
Organized by the Alcachofa Vega Baja Association in collaboration with Almoradí City Council, the event is part of the pre-programming for the National Artichoke Congress and has become one of the most anticipated school events in the area.
The Olympics featured ten challenges combining sport, tradition, and learning. Students competed in relay races using artichokes as batons, javelin-style throws, and aiming for the “gol,” a traditional container used in harvests.
Other activities included peeling artichokes against the clock, slalom races through crates, creative challenges such as composing and performing an artichoke-themed rap, and knowledge tests covering cultivation, math problems linked to the sector, and even team names in multiple languages.
All teams were recognized for their participation, with trophies awarded to every school. In the competition results, CEIP Miguel Hernández from Orihuela claimed first place, followed by CEIP Pascual Andreu, CEIP Canales y Martínez, CC Santa María de la Huerta, and CEIP Heredades from Almoradí. CEIP Antonio Sequeros took sixth place, followed by CEIP Manuel de Torres and Colegio Jesús-María San Isidro.
Almoradí’s mayor, María Gómez, praised the “extraordinary atmosphere and engagement from all schools,” emphasizing that the Olympics combine education in values, regional pride, and fun.
Marga Guilló from the Alcachofa Vega Baja Association added that seeing nearly 300 students enjoy themselves while learning about the effort behind the local artichoke “ensures the future of the sector, helping them feel a sense of ownership over this important crop.”
