Dubai: Organisers of the 2015 Fazza Championships have added an international archery competition to the annual event, scheduled to get underway with a falconry competition next week.
Held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, the 2015 Fazza Championships were officially announced by Abdullah Hamdan Bin Dalmouk, CEO, Hamdan Bin Mohammad Heritage Centre in the presence of Souad Ebrahim Darwish, Director of Championships at Hamdan Bin Mohammad Heritage Centre, Damithan Bin Suwaidan, Head, Fazza Championship for Falconry and Thani Juma Berregad, Head, Fazza Championships for the Disabled, and others late on Sunday.
This will be the seventh edition of the annual competition that is meant to give traditional sport of the UAE a fillip, while also attracting attention of foreigners visiting the country. “The Fazza Championships are an ideal way for our sportspersons to express themselves through the more traditional forms of sport. This is our heritage and we need to preserve this aspect and pass these on to generations to come,” Berregad told Gulf News.
“Though most of the competitions are by invitation only, we have already started receiving queries from countries in Europe and some of the Gulf nations,” he added.
For the first time this year, the organisers will have a falconry competition in the Talwah Faroukh category to be held from December 8-16, that will kickstart the 2015 Fazza Championships. “Going by the number of entries we have received so far this looks like a competition that was waiting to happen. We have received entries from across the UAE and some from the Gulf nations,” Bin Dalmouk noted.
Sponsored by Al Tayer Motors, Land Rover and Global Village, the annual championships have attracted attention of some of the top sports personalities from across the globe in the past. This year’s championships will have competitions for the disabled along with events for shooting, deep sea-diving and Saluki racing.