Arab Women Sports all set for take-off

900 athletes representing clubs from 14 countries will take part

By Kt Report (moni@khaleejtimes.com)

Published: Wed 22 Jan 2014, 2:44 PM

Last updated: Tue 7 Apr 2015, 9:13 PM

Nada Askar Al Naqbi; Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi; Ahmad Al Fardan; and Osama Samra during the Press conference to announce details of the Arab Women Sports Tournament in Sharjah. — KT photo by M. Sajjad

Nearly 900 participants representing clubs from 14 countries will take part in the multi-event Arab Women Sports Tournament (AWST) from February 2-12. The seven disciplines where the battles will be hard fought are basketball, volleyball, table tennis, athletics, fencing, shooting and archery.
The event will be held under patronage of Shaikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah. Shaikha Jawaher is Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs and Chairperson of the Sharjah Ladies Club, and the Organising Committee of AWST.

This season’s chapter of the AWST will see the Sharjah Ladies Club, Bani Yas, Al Shabab, Ajman, Al Wasl, and the Abu Dhabi Police Club of the strong UAE contingent leading the local challenge. The other strong contenders in the competition are strong Jordan with four clubs and Bahrain. Algeria have archery and shooting as their strong points while Al Hilal Club from Sudan will be competing in just archery.

Also in the fray are units from Iraq and Armenia. Palestine will be competing in fencing and athletics when Al Quds and Areeha will put forward their credentials, while Qatar will be represented by Qatar Ladies Club, which will be competing in basketball, table tennis, fencing, shooting, archery, and athletics.

Kuwait’s Al Fatat Club will be participating in five sports — basketball, volleyball, table tennis, shooting, and athletics while Lebanon’s Shabab Al Fawar Club will be showcasing their table tennis skills.

Two clubs from Libya — Sedi Selim Club and Al Ahli — will be competing in fencing and shooting; Egypt will be represented by the Delphi and Al Sayd Clubs in volleyball and archery; and Yemen’s Al Fatayat Clyb will be participating in volleyball, table tennis, shooting, fencing, and athletics.

Apart from some of the athletes, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee of AWST; Nada Askar Al Naqbi; Head of the Executive Committee and Manager of AWST; Ahmad Al Fardan, Secretary General of the Sharjah Sports Council; and Osama Samra, Directorof Sharjah Media Centre attended the announcement.

Shaikh Khalid said: “Since the establishment of the UAE, the late Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was keen on encouraging women’s education and providing them with appropriate career opportunities, while granting them all possible support to hold key positions in various domains.”

Nada Askar Al Naqbi, Head of Executive Committee and Manager of AWST said: “We were keen on adding new facilities and features to this edition of AWST, starting with the introduction of more organising committees, which were tasked with following up on the Tournament’s competitions and ensuring their smooth execution.”

Ahmad Al Fardan, Secretary General of the Sharjah Sports Council said: “Observers testify that women sports in the UAE are taking great steps towards enhancing women role in this instrumental field, both in the technical and administrative domains, which is guaranteed to elevate women sports to international levels, and cater for Arab women who are interested in practicing sports.”