Abu Dhabi : More than the estimated 130 teams and 1,800 children who competed in the 2010 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Harlequins Junior Rugby Tournament, it is the organisers who will be truly cherishing its resounding success, and so they should be. Pulling off an event of its magnitude in two days is an enormous task, so imagine having to do it in one and at relatively short notice.
That was the situation which confronted organisers of the tournament due to the passing away of Shaikh Saqr Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi last week which led to the cancellation or postponement of several events across the UAE as a mark of respect. But the team led by tournament director Guy Fulbrook responded magnificently. Despite losing out on one full day, the change to a knockout format still ensured every team got more than one game to play. And as a whole, the spectacle went along so smoothly that the only chaotic scenes were of parents going bananas along the touchlines while passionately supporting their little ones.
Knockout time
"We always have a back-up plan just in case something goes wrong," said Fulbrook. "What we decided to do on this occasion was put it into a format called double elimination knockout. Basically you ditch the league games and just go into a straight knockout tournament. It guarantees teams a minimum amount of games so they aren't coming down just for one game. And it seemed to work pretty well." An understatement to say the least, but Fulbrook, who is also manager of junior rugby at Abu Dhabi Harlequins, said the participating teams were just as responsible for the end result. "We had great support from the clubs in Dubai and Al Ain and Sharjah, as well as the teams who came from overseas," he said.
It was the first time the tournament was held at Zayed Sports City, the new home for Abu Dhabi Harlequins, and the hosts went all out to make sure their guests were left satisfied.
"There were a lot of people at Abu Dhabi Harlequins club who stayed up very late on [Friday] night doing spreadsheets and calculations," said Abu Dhabi Harlequins chairman Rory Greene. "They made sure the young adults from under-18 down to the children from the under-6s got to play rugby."
But Fulbrook earned special praise from Greene. "All credit goes to Guy Fulbrook and his team. They had to reschedule a two-day tournament into one day and everyone mucked in and they've got the impossible done," said Greene.
Jerry Freds, chairman of Bromley Rugby Club in the UK, who were among several overseas teams that took part in the tournament, joined in the applause. "To have to cut down to one day at the last minute, it must have been an absolute nightmare. But they did a tremendous job," he said.
It just gets better
Abu dhabi : From 43 teams in 2005 to over 130 teams in 2010, the stats clearly suggest just how far the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Harlequins Junior Rugby Tournament has grown. And Guy Fulbrook, the tournament director for all six editions so far has no doubts that next year's edition will get even bigger now that the event has moved from Al Ghazal Club to its new home at Zayed Sports City.
"The tournament will definitely get bigger next year. We will see a lot more international teams coming down," said Fulbrook. "We have three full rugby pitches plus a full size soccer pitch and a half size soccer pitch and we have more space available if we wanted to. Space is no longer a problem."
Rory Greene, chairman of Abu Dhabi Harlequins believes the tournament's growth indicates how much the sport has developed in the UAE. "The UAE is really on the map now. A lot of teams from overseas come out here. We are now very competitive against those teams giving them great games of rugby. That proves the standard here is really improving," he said.
