Fourth edition of UAE School Olympics gets under way
GAMES AIM TO IDENTIFY, NURTURE TOP-CLASS INTERNATIONAL ATHLETES
he archery competition for boys and girls got under way yesterday at the Armed Forces Officers Club to kick off the fourth edition of the UAE School Olympic Games that will be held at various venues.
An initiative from Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President, UAE National Olympic Committee (UAE NOC) under the directives of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman, Dubai Sports Council (DSC), the UAE School Olympic Games seeks to identify and nurture top-class international athletes through an annual organisation of competitions in select Olympic disciplines.
Earlier this year, the executive board of directors had ratified the appointment of technical directors for eight Olympic sports including track and field, swimming, shooting, judo, archery, taekwondo, Jiu-jitsu and fencing. The archery competition for boys and girls is being held at the Armed Forces Officers Club, while judo will be at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, the taekwondo at the Military Physical Education Centre and the fencing competitions for boys and girls at the Abu Dhabi Hall for Girls.
Shooting, jiu-jitsu
The shooting for boys and girls under-14 will be held at the Police Officers Club, Abu Dhabi, while the track and field competitions for boys and girls will be at the Military Physical Education Centre that will also host the jiu-jitsu competitions for boys under-12 and under-14.
After having a two-tier competition system, the board of directors endorsed a three-tier system starting this year that includes competitions at zonal level followed by specialised training of athletes at specially-set up centres the UAE.
In addition, the high-powered panel of experts led by Wolfgang Thiel (Germany) and assisted by Olympic champions Saeed Aouita (Morocco), Sergei Matrossian (Ukraine), Kim Jeong-ho (South Korea) and Ramzi Baltayeb (Tunisia) has already started strengthening the pool of athletes through the youth development programme coordinated by the UAE NOC.
“After three years, we are in a much better position to take this competition to the next level. We are pleased with the 20 the ten all over per cent rise in the number of athletes in all eight disciplines as this ensures we have an increase in the numbers with an eye on the future,” Mohammad Al Kamali, General Secretary, UAE NOC, told Gulf News.
“One of the biggest positives for us has been that we have managed to get the entire country engaged with the UAE School Olympic Games, and now we need to build up on the success of the past few editions,” he added.