Ladies, get your falcons out for special training scheme
abu dhabi — Not that they couldn’t do it in the past, but women are about to get, for the first time, their own special falconry training programme. The Abu Dhabi Falconers’ Club’s (ADFC) is in the process of setting up a “Ladies Section”, meant for women of any experience, who live in the UAE.
Starting from this November, girls and women of any age and nationality are welcome to try their hand at falconry. The training will last for 15 days and will be on till January 2017.
“The club will supply all the materials for both the theoretical and practical classes, even the falcons, if the ladies don’t have one. No experience with falcons is needed. Even ladies who never held a falcon may apply, as well as the more experienced ones, as we offer different level training,” said Angelique Engels, a trainer with ADFC.
If participants want to bring their own falcons, they may do so, but the birds need a health certificate (disease-free certificate) issued by the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital.
The classes include handling a falcon, how to care for it, how to feed it and how to train it. All courses, both practical and theoretical, take place at the ADFC’s premises and are run by female trainers.
Established in 2013 under the umbrella of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, ADFC is organising several national annual falconry competitions, but it also offers facilities to train and practise sustainable falconry.
“Following the training, we will organise falconry competitions for our participating ladies, but we also hope this will encourage them to take part in the bigger annual competitions of falconry, such as the one at Al Dhafra festival,” said Engels.
Usually, yearly membership costs Dh1,800, but to keep the good news flowing, ADFC is offering the ladies training programme for free during the first year. This means that as soon as they sign up, the get one-year free membership with the club, making use not only of the training, but also the services and facilities of the club for an entire year. These include keeping the falcons at the club in optimal conditions, which is particularly needed in the summer, when falcons would normally migrate to Central Asian plateaus for cooler temperatures.
The ADFC will also set up a special majlis for female falconers at its headquarters at Al Falah, Abu Dhabi, a place where they can exchange experiences, ideas and stories of their falconry adventures, just as the men do at their own majlis at the club.
“There are lots of female falconers out there, but they never had a place of their own. We’ve only just announced the new ladies section and we already have many inquiries and registrations,” added Engels.