High-schoolers to get 'MISTified' this weekend in Toronto
(March 7, 2012) – Excitement is building among high-schoolers from across the Greater Toronto Area and Southern Ontario in anticipation of the Annual Muslim Interscholastic Tournament (MIST Toronto) set to take place at York University this weekend.
“This weekend prepare to get Mistified!” Farah Khan, spokesperson for MIST Toronto, told IQRA. “Going into its fifth year this upcoming weekend, MIST Toronto has quickly earned the reputation of becoming an educational, interactive, and captivating program amongst both students and parents.”
“The goal of MIST is to bring high school students from all across the region to foster their creativity, promote communication, and motivate them to become leaders in their respective communities,” Khan added.
MIST was founded in 2001 by a freshman at the University of Houston who saw a need for a program that can guide high school students in all aspects of their academic and personal life.
MIST Toronto was the first MIST region to be established outside of the United States back in 2008 and, in just four years, MIST Toronto not only became the largest MIST region, it became the biggest Muslim high school event in North America.
“Starting out with just 80 high school students, today MIST Toronto has grown to accommodate 700 high school students from Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo and the Greater Toronto Area,” said Farah Khan.
MIST Toronto currently features over 35 different competitions from Arts, Writing & Oratory, Brackets, Group Projects, Knowledge & Quran, and Sports.
In its hopes of reconnecting students to the basis of their spiritual values, the theme this year is titled “Family: Reconnecting our Hearts to Home” which focuses on the role of families and the ideals of relationships with its members.
Although majority of the attendees this weekend will be the contestants, dozens of Muslim community members, industry professionals, and University and College students will be volunteering, judging, or moderating for various competitions.
The tournament will be held on March 10th and 11th, 2012 on the York University campus with the much anticipated Awards Ceremony taking place on March 12th at Oasis Convention Center.
This summer Toronto will be hosting the MIST Nationals Competition on July 6th – 8th, 2012 bringing in the best competitors from all 11 MIST Regions (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, South California, Toronto, and Washington DC).
“For the first time since its inception, MIST Toronto will have the opportunity to showcase its talent and its spirit to other MIST regions that have never experienced the same thrill and intensity offered by MIST Toronto,” said MIST’s Farah Khan.