156 teams to vie for Dh2m at Gov Games
DUBAI — Would you be willing to face the ultimate ‘Storm’ for a chance to get your hands on a Dh2 million prize?
From today, 156 teams comprising employees from government entities will be doing just that as they take part in the ultimate battle of mental and physical strength down on Kite Beach as part of the Gov Games.
Announced back in March, the initiative was launched by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council. But the wait is now over as the four-day battle commences today.
So far, full course details surrounding Gov Games have been kept under wraps to ensure a level playing field for all those participating.
But on Tuesday, Khaleej Times got a sneak peek of one of the obstacles. And all we have left to say is good luck, and don’t be afraid to get wet!
With a VIP deck located in the middle of the 10 obstacles, those not participating will have a perfect view of the blood, sweat and tears being shed by the participants.
“We wanted to break routine of typical team exercises, so have created these to be challenging, but fun, whether you’re an athlete or not,” a representative from The Executive Council said on Tuesday.
While giving a tour of the course, Marwan bin Essa, director of Gov Games, said teams will need to “strategise to succeed”. “It’s not all physical. Strategy will be your biggest power.”
Taking the mediapersons through several obstacles, he said his personal favourite in the qualifying rounds is the Guillotine. It requires participants to swim through water, then all five members have to lift a wall weighing 100kg and climb under it.
“You’re wet and slippy so it’s not as easy as it sounds,” he said.
The second stage of the Guillotine requires the team to then climb over a 4-metre wall, before hitting five buttons as quick as possible. The quicker you pass, the higher the score.
Personal trainers Gail Ramage and Clare Kershaw were among the first to try Iron Grip. Speaking after completing the obstacle, Clare told Khaleej Times: “It was really good but tough. We’re personal trainers and it wasn’t as much as a breeze as we thought. It’s a great initiative. Next time, I just would not waste so much time on the monkey bars.”
Another obstacle is Human Ladder. And again, more water is here to add an extra dimension to the challenge. Participants will form a human ladder and all have to make it to the top of a wall by climbing on each other. After getting through, the team will have to put weight blocks on a sleigh and make it to the end of the section by pressing buttons.
But what’s the most difficult? According to Essa, it’s ‘Brain Mania’. “To me this is the most difficult one we have created.”
And tackling these obstacles at 5pm today will be the 66 female teams competing on day one. They will be the first to take to the beach and will fight it out across seven obstacles.
Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, will be the first female minister to lead the ministry’s team at the Gov Games.
The six best performing teams will wave goodbye to those who didn’t make it through and will go on to compete in the final on day four (Saturday), where they will come face to face with the mega obstacle, ‘Storm’.
On Thursday and Friday, it will be the men’s turn as 90 teams will battle it out across a total of nine obstacles to become one of the six qualifying teams to reach the final round. Climbing to heights of over eight metres and travelling more than 1.5km together as a unified team will be just one part of the formidable final featuring the ‘Storm’ obstacle set-up.
As well as local teams, 12 international teams have stepped forward to take on the challenge, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the London Metropolitan Police Service, the Los Angeles Police Department.