Sharjah to host 11-day games for Arab women

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  • Smackdown: Volleyball, which was part of the first edition of the tournament two years ago will return for the 2014 event

    The second Arab Women Sports Tournament (AWST) will kick off in Sharjah next month in an attempt to boost female sport in the UAE and across the Arab world.

    Forty clubs and international teams from 10 countries will participate in the tournament, set to take place from February 2 to 12.

    The first AWST took place two years ago and included five sports – basketball, volleyball, table tennis, shooting and athletics. This year, archery and fencing have been added as two additional events and while the Sharjah Ladies Club are the main hosts and organisers of the tournament, 10 other venues across the Northern emirate have been chosen to host some of the matches and competitions.

    “AWST’s goals are to promote and develop women’s sports and establish Sharjah as the first Emirate in the UAE to do so, to enhance communication between female Arab athletes and promote equal opportunity, and to elevate the technical standards of women’s sports and create competitiveness and awareness,” said Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Sultan Al Qassimi, the head of the organising committee.

    “It was the success of the first tournament that spurred us on to make the second edition even bigger and better. People were so over-whelmingly positive and the sporting community so receptive to the tournament and what it represents, that we quickly realised that there exists a real need for this type of event, done professionally and with broad participation.”

    The 10 countries set to participate are the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Palestine, Oman, Sudan, Jordan, Yemen, Egypt, and Iraq.

    “We have a very strong UAE presence in the tournament across all seven of the tournament’s team and individual events,” said Sheikh Khalid. “We have no fewer than three UAE-based clubs taking part, totaling 87 individual participants.

    These figures are a clear indication of the leading role that Sharjah and the UAE are taking in promoting women’s sports in the region.”

    “It is no secret that women’s sports, both world-wide and in the Arab regions, have traditionally played second fiddle to those of their male counterparts.

    “An unfortunate state of events that, unless we create platforms such as this one, is not likely to change.

    “Through this tournament we want to give our amazing female athletes the opportunity to compete on a level that does their skill and dedication credit and also show the women of Sharjah and the Emirates that women’s sports matter.

    “Our aim is to create a snow-ball effect, where AWST acts as a catalyst to the creation of positive change in the way women’s sports are perceived and I believe we are already doing just that.”

    With the introduction of fencing in this year’s edition, seven fencers from the Sharjah Ladies Club (SLC) – Rayan Talib, Ghadeer Talib, Sarah Nasser, Dana Humaid, Reem Osman, and Hind Hussein, and Al Anood Al Mabrouk – have been preparing for the AWST with a vigorous programme which started with a camp in Doha, training alongside Qatari fencers, before returning to the UAE to resume their practice.

    “Our fencers are aware of the great task they have ahead of them, especially with the presence of some of the best Arab fencers in this tournament,” said Reham Hanafi, the fencing team coach at SLC.

    “Our team consists of young talented athletes, who are gaining experience day by day, and improving their performance to a level we are confident will be the best representation of Emirati women at this important pan-Arab event.”

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