Minister inaugurates centre to combat drug ... - Qatar Tribune

QT SPOTLIGHT ON SPORT DAY
Friday, February 8, 2013
www.qatar-tribune.com 19
Aspire Zone’s fitness campaign
attracts over 13,000 in 6 weeks
QTA, QTF plan
5-day fiesta on
Palm Island
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
ASPIRE Zone Foundation’s
(AZF) community-centric fitness
programme ‘Step into
health’ has attracted over
13,000 individuals comprising
60 percent Qataris of all
ages since its launch six weeks
ago, and the number is rising
every single day.
The initiative, which is
sponsored
by
Commercialbank Qatar,
RasGas and Qtel, is aimed at
engaging the people of
Qatar in a self-managed lifelong
plan based on a moderate
amount of daily healthy
activity.
AZF President Hilal al
Kuwari said, “At Aspire Zone,
we continuously aim to find
ways in which we can inspire
members of the Qatari community
to enhance their fitness
levels and transition
smoothly into a healthier
lifestyle. To do so, we build on
all our accumulated knowledge,
resources and expertise.”
Commenting on the initiative,
Director of the Healthy
Lifestyle programme at
Aspetar Dr Mohammed Gaith
al Kuwari said, “Modern scientific
research has confirmed
that the majority of
people do not undertake even
3000-5000 steps daily.
Moreover, it has been proven
that the impact of increasing
movement on an individual’s
health doesn’t manifest until
they have started walking
10,000 steps a day or more.
Dr Ez Aldeen Ibrahim speaks at an event, in Doha, recently.
Therefore, walking 10,000
steps a day has a bigger
impact on our health than
exercising three hours a
week.”
In addition, over 50 percent
of the registered Qatari participants
in the programme
are females, a further reflection
on the ease of the programme
for individuals with
busy lifestyles.
Dr Ez Aldeen Ibrahim,
Coordinator, ‘Step into
health’, added that more than
Dr Mohammed Gaith al Kuwari
60 percent of all registered
participants fall in the 25-45
age bracket.
Mohammed Abdullah al
Malki, one of the participants
expressed his satisfaction
with programme’s enabler, a
pedometer, and said, “I’d like
to express my gratitude to
AZF for this initiative and
making the device free of
charge for all participants.
This is an excellent AZF programme
designed to encourage
members of the community
not only to participate,
but more importantly to continue
in the long term and
make this a daily part of their
routine.”
A number of participants
reiterated Malki’s sentiment,
adding that the secret to
achieving the goal of 10,000
steps a day is uploading the
data from their pedometers
and regularly checking the
results through a mobile
application made available
for free from AZF.
‘Step into health’ joins an
array of other communityinspired
events by AZF that
are designed to support its
vision to encourage a healthy
lifestyle through fun and popular
physical activities such as
walking, running, and swimming.
The programme is
unique as it is based on noncompetitive
and recreational
exercise that can be easily fitted
into everyday life. It has
been designed for everyone
aged 16 and above.
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
QATAR Tourism Authority
(QTA) will team up with
Qatar Tennis Federation
(QTF), for five-day programme
of wide-ranging
entertainment and sporting
activities from February 12.
The programme will take
place on Palm Island to
highlight natural sites in
Qatar.
The activities will be supported
by the Private
Engineering Office and
Tennis Academy.
During the events, the
Private Engineering Office
will provide private old sailboat-the
dhows, which is
part of the civilisational and
cultural heritage of the State
of Qatar.
Qatar’s National Sports
Day (NSD), a national holiday
to celebrate sports of
every kind, also aims to
encourage everyone to take
up sports to reap the health
benefits of regular exercise.
QTA’s participation serves
to highlight Doha’s emergence
as the region’s sports
capital and QTA’s bid to
make sports tourism a key
part of the sector in Qatar.
QTA’s Director of
Tourism Abdullah al Badr
said: “The significance of
National Sports Day lies in
spreading awareness about
the need to embrace a
healthy lifestyle through
sport. At the same time, it
serves to underline QTA’s
strategy to promote sports
tourism in the country.”
The programme will take
place on Palm Island and
include theatre performances
to keep children entertained,
alongside clowns
and face painting, while
mini tennis courts and
beach tennis, a first in
Qatar, will provide the spur
for them to take part in
sports on the day.
Assistant Secretary-
General of Qatar Tennis
Federation Tarek Darwish
Zainal said that the programme
will be from
February 12 to February 16
from 10 am to 3 pm, under
the supervision of QTF
trainers and workers, to
offer the best service to the
participants and to answer
their queries.
He added that the Qatar
Tennis Federation is always
keen to support and contribute
to elevate the level of
sports in Qatar and highlight
its accomplishments
internationally.
“The organisation aims at
expanding the base of sports
participation among individuals
and encourages
them to exercise, especially
when it comes to tennis
which has evolved significantly
in Qatar.
“This is very well noticed,
with Doha hosting international
tennis players. The
QTF is organising the
“Qatar Total Open 2013” at
Khalifa International
Tennis and Squash Complex
from February 11 to
February 17.”
22% residents
changed diets
after first Sports
Day event: QSA
IHSAN YOUSSEF
DOHA
A RECENT survey conducted
by the Qatar Statistics
Authority has revealed that
22 percent of the respondents
have transformed
their diet after the first
National Sports Day celebration
held last year to keep
them fit.
The Sports Public Opinion
Survey further points out
that after the 1st National
Sports Day Celebration, 36
percent made exercises part
of their daily routine and 42
percent became much interested
in getting their body
into shape.
The Sports Public Opinion
Survey was conducted on
various sports practices in
the country and reveals the
number of sports participants
by age group, how
much people spend on
sports, favorite places and
times to exercise, and the
number of sports participants
in the 1st National
Sports Day held last year.
According to the survey,
89.2 percent of the respondents
participated in one
form of sport or the other
and youth between 20 and
29 years old accounted for
35 percent. Among these
Qataris made up for 36 percent
and non-Qataris
accounted for 34 percent.
Of all the sports, walking
and jogging were the most
popular practiced sports
with Qatari practitioners
leading by 59 percent and
non-Qataris constituting
49.3 percent.
In terms of educational
status, the majority of sport
practitioners were Qatari
and non-Qatari degree holders.
Qataris with a bachelor’s
or higher degree constituted
77 percent of total participants
in sports with women
representing 60.5 percent.
Non-Qataris on the other
hand accounted for 78.3 percent
of sports practitioners,
of which women made up
for 23.2 percent.
As to the type of exercise,
walking and jogging were
the most popular sports
practiced by those with a
According to the
survey, 89.2
percent of the
respondents
participated in
one form of sport
or the other and
youth between
20 and 29 years
old accounted
for 35 percent.
bachelor’s degree including
Qataris (28.6 percent), and
non-Qataris (35.2 percent).
There were 45.2 percent of
married Qatari sport practitioners,
of whom women
represented 40.4 percent
whereas among 56 percent
married non-Qatari sports
practitioners women made
up for 17 percent. Among
children, 70 peecent Qataris
and 78 percent non-Qataris
were enrolled in sports
clubs.
The survey also found that
35.2 percent Qataris and 41
percent non-Qataris spent
below QR1,000 on sports
equipments.
Barwa Bank staff gears up for marathon
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
BARWA Bank is supporting
Ziyad Rahim, its head of
Market Risk, as he attempts to
enter into the Guinness Book
of World Records by completing
the Marathon Grand Slam
in the fastest time.
The Grand Slam entails
completing a marathon on
all seven continents of the
world and the North Pole.
The current record is 324
days and Ziyad is planning to
complete the Grand Slam in
only 44 days.
Last year, Ziyad became the
first Qatari resident to complete
a marathon on all seven
continents. In 2012, he also
completed the 250km
Marathon Des Sables, considered
the toughest footrace on
Earth, while raising awareness
about Noma disease in West
Africa.
The World Record attempt
will begin in Antarctica on
February 25 and conclude at
the geographic North Pole on
April 9.
In between the two events,
Ziyad will participate in Punta
Arenas marathon in Chile on
February 28, Cyprus
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
SALAM International will
organise a range of sporting
activities on February 12.
The events will include
table tennis at The Gate shopping
centre, a bowling competition
in Gondolania,
Villaggio and basketball
games in the Industrial Area.
Salam staff will also participate
in the sports walk on the
Corniche.
The table tennis event is
being held in collaboration
with the Qatar Table Tennis
Association and Qatar
Ziyad Rahim of Barwa Bank takes part in a marathon, recently.
marathon on March 10, Los
Angeles marathon on March
17, Auckland marathon on
March 23, Cape Town
marathon on March 30 and
the Dead Sea marathon on
April 5.
As part of his attempt on the
record, Ziyad will be raising
awareness for Care Pakistan, a
Women’s Sport Committee,
who have provided Salam
International with all the
tables and equipment. Two
professional players from
Qatar Women’s Sport
Committee will also be playing
a demonstration game to
kick off the activities.
Deputy COO of Salam
International Abdul Salam
Issa Abu Issa said, “We fully
support the Emiri decree concerning
Sport Day. The event
is essential to raise awareness
about the importance of
sport, which is of great benefit
to the physical and mental
health of everyone. We
should all celebrate sport as
part of an overall healthy
lifestyle. Sport and good
not-for-profit organisation
that provides free education
for the poor in Pakistan.
Commenting on the challenge,
Ziyad admits that it will
be a tough ask to run eight
marathons in less than eight
weeks. He thinks travelling
as well as jet lag to be the
biggest challenge in attempting
this record. Due to work
and family commitments,
most of his journeys will be
over the weekend.
He went on to say, “The flying
time including transits
over the eight week period will
be between 300 to 330 hours.
My trips to Los Angeles,
Auckland, Cape Town and
Cyprus are at the weekend. So,
I will be flying for 20 hours,
run a marathon and immediately
fly another 20 hours to
get back to the office”.
The other challenge facing
the long-distance runner is
the constant variation in temperatures.
Some of his races
will take place in 30 degree C
while temperatures in
Antarctica and the North Pole
can drop to minus 50 degree
C. The North Pole marathon
is the only marathon that is
not run on land but on the
frozen Arctic Ocean in
extreme temperatures.
Barwa Bank Group CEO
Steve Troop said: “We are all
inspired by Ziyad and wish
him all the very best in realising
an achievement that very
few can even hope to attempt.
“Ziyad is a truly outstanding
athlete and his personal motivation,
dedication and commitment
to being the very best are
the values that we, as a young
organisation, aspire to at a corporate
level.
“Barwa Bank encourages all
our employees to take part in
exercise. We are launching a
staff fitness programme to help
further promote a healthy lifestyle.”
Salam International lines up slew of events
Salam International staff at a sport event, in Doha, recently.
health in general, contribute
to strengthening our individual
capabilities and is a driving
force towards building the
society to which we all
aspire.”
Salam International is
expecting enthusiastic participation
in the activities it has
organized for its employees
and their families, and is hoping
for a repeat of the success
of last year’s events, which
were a triumph of friendly
competition and fun.
Salam International is a
long-term supporter of sports
initiatives and awareness. The
company was the official sponsor
for the prestigious Qatar
Fencing Grand Prix 2013, and
hosted the finals in The Gate.