How UAE School Olympics will change lives
Public school students between eight to 15 years old are eligible
Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, could not have chosen a better day to announce a project like the UAE School Olympics: on the closing day of the 2012 London Olympics.
He approved the project a day before the closing ceremony of the London Games at the UAE Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace in the presence of Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, and Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.
What exactly is the UAE School Olympics and what is it aimed at?
To start with, the project is meant for public school students from eight to 15 years who will compete in various disciplines all across the different educational zones in the UAE. Sport centres will also be set up in each education zone to nurture the talents of gifted students as per a plan set up by the UAE National Olympic Committee.
A higher authority consisting of the UAE NOC, Ministry of Education, General Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare and the Ministry of Health will be responsible for supervising the project. The ultimate objective of the project is to expand sport activities, discover children showing athletic promise and improve and develop their abilities in order to prepare them for higher levels of competition.
At the same time, it will aim to instill Olympic principles and values in students and spread awareness about the importance of fitness and sport for a healthy lifestyle.
