Other Sports February 2008

No fence-sitting by Qatar

Qatar is maintaining its reputation for staging world-class sport and has now set its sights on hosting another major international event.
Fresh from the spectacular success with the Asian Games, the ambitious Gulf peninsula is now aiming to secure the 2013 World Fencing Championship.

Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, secretary-general of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), is confident about Qatar’s chances.
Despite being fairly new to the sport, Qatar has built a strong reputation as a venue for world-class.

Sheikh Saoud, who is also the president of Qatar Fencing Federation (QFF), said: “We have strong chances of winning the rights to host the 2013 World Fencing Championship. Next year, we shall submit the bid documents and then wait for the final decision, which will be taken in 2010.

“In’shallah, we will win the rights to host the championship,” he told reporters at the close of the fifth Qatar Grand Prix fencing tournament at the Aspire Academy in Doha.

The president of Federation Internationale D’Escrime (FIE), Rene Roch, was full of praise for Qatar’s organisation skills, saying:
“Qatar has high-standard venues, hotels, and the know-how of organising such events is quite remarkable.”

Although Qatar’s 14-member squad did not impress with their performances, finishing at the bottom of the overall standings, Sheikh Saoud was quick to come to their defence.

“It is tough for the local fencers to compete against the world’s best,” he said. “However, we are working on a few development programmes so that we can promote fencing among schoolchildren.
“The individuals’ final was quite interesting. I think Radoslaw Zawrotniak of Poland was the deserving winner. The level of competition this year is high because we have hosted the top players from around the world.”

The 2008 Qatar Fencing Grand Prix – its fifth staging – featured 163 players from 37 countries contesting individual and team championships.

They included the world’s top fencers, competing for points towards their international rankings and a prize purse worth more than $31,000.

The winner in the individual event collected $5,000 with the winning team pocketing $6,000. The second placed individual won $3,000 and the two third-place finishers $2,000 each. $1,000 went to those finishing fifth to eighth.

Teams finishing second and third took home $5,000 and $4,000 respectively.

Competitors were also entitled to win platinum, gold and silver cards which gave them additional prize money and incentives from the host association.

The tournament was open for all fencers holding a Fédération Internationale d’Escrime (FIE) licence for the 2008 season.

Aspire aims high

Aspire is Qatar’s visionary sports academy, dedicated to discovering the best young sporting talent from the region, and transform them into world-renowned champions.

Since launching its academic curriculum in September 2004, Aspire has become established as an elite sports institute developing exceptional athletes.

The Academy integrates this training with intensive, comprehensive intellectual education, giving them all the support they need to succeed.

This generates a sports culture in Qatar, where each generation of athletes inspires the next.

Services include state-of-the-art facilities that match the highest international standards, scholarships and grants to less privileged athletes in developing countries, and short-term camp training options during the summer or winter breaks.