The Tinia were athletic competitions held in Tinos August 15 to 17 1895 with the participation of more than 100 athletes from all over Greece and were a preview of the Olympic Games of 1896.
Historical data
After the international conference "For the study of the principles of sportsmanship and the revival of the Olympic Games", which was held in Paris in June 1894, in which it was decided to revive the ancient Olympics and was assigned the holding of the First Modern Olympic Games in the Athens, no sporting event had been organized, so the Greece to prepare for the event from a competitive perspective.
For this purpose, on August 15, 1895, three-day games, the “Tinia”, were organized by the then newly established National General Assembly. (founded in 1893) with the collaboration of the Evangelistria Foundation of Tinos, the Brotherhood of Tinos and the Municipality of Tinos. The games included various sports and were a prelude to the Olympic Games which followed the following spring 1896 in the Athens. At the same time, they were the link that connected the revival of the Olympic Games with “Olympia”, the so-called Zappeian Olympiads, which had been held in Athens four times in the second half of the 19th century, the last in 1889.
The initiator of the games was the young sports fan Xenophon's Tomb who came from the village of Ysternia on Tinos and was a member of the Panhellenic General Assembly. However, the president of the Panhellenic General Assembly did not embrace the idea. So Sochos, representing the Brotherhood of Tinos, addressed the Board of Directors of the National General Assembly, which accepted the proposal. Part of the expenses of the games were taken over by the “Panhellenic Sacred Foundation of Evangelistria of Tinos”, whose presidency was held by the doctor N. Armakollas. It initially offered 2,000 drachmas for the games and then another 1,000 drachmas. The contribution of the Municipality of Tinos was 70 drachmas. In total, they cost 10,000 drachmas. The needs were covered by a fundraiser in the parishes abroad and thus the amount was collected for their holding.
In Tinia, the new international sports regulations were applied for the first time, and medals to the first two in each event, silver and bronze, as in the 1896 Olympics and various innovations were tried, such as the use of a pistol by the starter of the road races. There was also a kind of festive opening ceremony with a torchlight procession and music from the Philharmonic. The athletes were hosted and a meal was served. Although the organization was affected by the strong wind, their holding was very important for the preparation of the First Modern Olympiad and for the development of Greek sports.
The official state was conspicuous by its absence from the games, which was commented on by the press: “The games in Tinos were successful. And it was impossible not to be successful since the royal family supported them so much. As is known, Prince Nicholas sent a letter with many… wishes. During these games, the Minister of the Navy, Mr. Levidis, prevailed in the… speeches.” (''Scrip'' 20/08/1895, p. 2)
Participations
Tinia had a pan-Hellenic character and athletes from Greek sports clubs from many cities took part. Many of the athletes who took part distinguished themselves at the Olympics the following year, while others developed into gymnasts and promoters of the athletic ideal. From what is known, 9 sports clubs from Athens, Piraeus, Smyrna, Patras and Syros participated.
Competitions
30 events were held from all the popular sports of the time, as follows:
- Track (7): roads, jumps, throws
- Gymnastics (5): springboard, single lever, double lever, rings, horse
- Fight (1)
- Weight lifting (2): with one and with two hands
- Climb (2): on callus, on tissue
- Swimming
- Shooting
- Rowing: it did not happen due to rough seas, except for an impromptu harbor boat race
(source: https://el.wikipedia.org )
