While many across the nation are watching United States teams compete at the highest level, the 2016 Olympics, children participating in an annual summer program are getting the chance to compete with their peers.

Purpose of God Annex is training participants of its summer program to compete in the inaugural Joy-O-Lympics. Training for the event, slated for the last day of the summer program on Aug. 19, will launch Tuesday at various gyms in the community, according to Bishop Samuel Jones, founder and president of the nonprofit.

Jones said Joy-O-Lympics, a scriptural reference to the Nehemiah 8:10 phrase, “The joy of the Lord is my strength,” will feature various competitions, including broad jump, high jump, shot put using a baseball, 100-yard dash, 40-yard dash and tug of war, to name a few.

The event will be held at John Cotten Tayloe field and is a multi-purposed approach to building character, physical and health fitness, promoting sportsmanship and respect and teaching children STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) through measuring distances and clocking times for competitions, according to Jones.

Jones said he used to host the event at his church in the early ’90s, and children from other cities in the region attended and competed against local children. He hopes to eventually expand the Joy-O-Lympics and open it to the community and beyond.

“The summer program kids will be participating this year to test the event,” Jones said. “We want to keep the fun in it.”

Jones said community leaders will also be in attendance to show support, and parents can come out to watch their children compete.