Sports | Friday 22 December, 2017 6:30 am |

The Supreme Organising Committee of the Arab Women Sports Tournament (ASWT 2018) has approved 10 venues for competitions and team training for the fourth edition of AWST, organised by the Sharjah Women’s Sports Foundation (SWSF) from 2-12 February.

 

The decision follows a series of inspections carried out by the members of AWST’s Technical Committee and the members of the Board of Directors of the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees chaired by Prince Talal Badr bin Saud bin Abdul Aziz, President of the Arab Sports Council. They inspected a range of sports facilities in Sharjah to ensure their compliance with technical standards endorsed by the international federations of each sport.

 

HE Nada Askar Al Naqbi, Deputy Head of AWST’s Supreme Organising Committee, Head of its Executive Committee and Director General of SWSF, said: “AWST has seen an increase in popularity, the number of participating clubs, sporting events and the level of skills and achievements. This requires us to ensure the competitors have the very best international standards and services.”

 

Al Naqbi added: “In its eagerness to continue the tournament’s success and build on the great participation of the past, SWSF is sparing no effort to make the fourth edition a very special event that lives up to Sharjah’s sporting stature. The SWSF will also continue the enormous efforts that have been made over the past two decades to advance Arab women's sports. The selection of fully equipped sports facilities enjoying the highest safety standards is another of the most telling signs of the tournament’s accomplishments.”

 

The facilities will be provided with a fully equipped ambulance service and expert medical teams to intervene quickly to deal with injuries that might occur during the games. The SWSF has contracted with four hospitals to transfer emergency cases.

 

SWSF’s gymnasium and shooting arena will be the venue for the target practice, training and matches for the 10m air rifle and 10m air pistol competition, while the University of Sharjah and Al Manar School Gymnasium will host the volleyball training.

 

The basketball competitions and training will take place at the Sharjah Sports Club branch in the Al Saman area of Sharjah and at SWSF’s Gymnasium. The University of Sharjah will also host basketball training.

 

For karate, AWST’s Supreme Organising Committee has decided that all karate competitions and trainings will take place at the Sharjah Sports Club in Al Hazana area.

 

Al Theqa Club for the Handicapped will host athletics competitions and training, while table tennis matches and training will take place at the Higher Colleges of Technology. The Sharjah Equestrian and Racing Club will host show jumping competitions while the fencing matches and training will be conducted at the Gymnasium of the Sajaya Young Ladies of Sharjah.  

 

In April, the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees approved SWSF as the official organisers of AWST’s fourth edition, featuring basketball, volleyball, table tennis, fencing, archery, shooting, athletics, karate and show-jumping.

 

AWST 2018 participants will compete in nine sporting categories, namely, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, fencing, archery, shooting, athletics, show jumping and karate. In April 2017, AWST’s SOC announced that the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees (UANOC) approved SWSF to be the official organising entity of AWST’s fourth edition. SWSF was established under an Emiri decree in November 2016 by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council Ruler of Sharjah. It is chaired by his wife, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, who is aided by an advisory committee comprising expert members in this field. SWSF enjoys the administrative and financial independence necessary to pursue its objectives.