Dubai: In a first of its kind inter-department sports event, members of government entities from across the country will compete to showcase their their physical and mental strength, with a grand prize of Dh2 million awaiting the winners.
Launched by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, on Sunday, the three-day event will begin on April 26, 2018.
50 teams
The Gov Games will see the participation of more than 50 teams from various federal and local government departments, which also include a team led by Shaikh Hamdan.
’#GovGames’ will challenge participants both physically and mentally, while encouraging them to work as a team. The games will also boost confidence, interaction, and commitment among team members to achieve success pic.twitter.com/79lgibr4yh
— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) March 4, 2018
Designed to promote team spirit and creative collaboration among government employees, the games will see participants working as a team right through its different stages and the group that works best as a team will walk away with the grand prize.
“This is not just a sports event," said Mattar Al Tayer, Vice-Chairman of Dubai Sports Council.
Physical, mental challenge
"This is an that will challenge the participants both physically and mentally, while working as a team. Shaikh Hamdan wants all the government employees to work as a team, he always endorses team work and through this event he wants to re-emphasise the importance of team work.”
We launched the ‘#GovGames’ – the first initiative of its kind in the world – under the theme ‘#1Team1Spirit.’ The initiative aims to encourage team work & team spirit among government employees pic.twitter.com/bi5H29ORa1
— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) March 4, 2018
Being organised jointly by the General Secretrait of Dubai Executive Council and Dubai Sports Council, Gov Games will have two separate competitions for male and female teams of five members each, with two substitutes allowed for each team.
Winners of both male and female segments of the games will walk away with Dh1 million each.
“Gov Games provide a platform for all teams to strengthen their collaboration and team spirit through a first-of-its-kind event that challenges them as they go through various courses and obstacles. As well as promoting active lifestyle, the games will support the development of problem-solving skills and critical thinking while tackling challenges,” said Abdullah Al Basti, Secretary General of Dubai Executive Council.
To be held at the Kite Beach in Jumeirah, the games will feature nine obstacles for the qualifiying round and one major obstacle for the final round.
“Each course is unique and is designed to test the limits of each team," said Marwan Bin Eisa, Director of Gov Games.
"The emphasis of the games will be the teams working as a group and overcoming each challenge as a group. The obstacles will test the teams’ capacity in several areas, including strategy, collaboration, adaptibility, mental agility, stamina, strength and endurance,” Bin Eisa added.
Teamwork
He added that there will be a time cap for each course and a team of judges will assess the participants based on their ability to work as a team in navigating the obstacles within the allotted time.
We, the team of @HHShkMohd, can overcome all challenges … Together, we are confident and ready for what the future holds for us pic.twitter.com/pC3RSI6r6w
— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) March 4, 2018
Bin Eisa said that the teams will be nominated by the head of the participating government entity and the members of the teams will be chosen based on their high levels of fitness as well as mental agility and ability to work with others.
“This is the beauty of the Gov Games where apart from being physically fit the participants should also have the mental strength to overcome any challenge and most importantly he or she should be able to work with a team,” Bin Eisa added.
Sponsored by Meraas Holding, the event will be open for the public to enjoy.
As part of his continued efforts to promote an active and healthy lifestyle among residents, Shaikh Hamdan launched a month-long Dubai Fitness Challenge (DFC) in October last year, which saw the participation of 786,000 people engaging in at least 30 minutes of daily exercise.
