Olympics on campus

Students from UAE University (UAEU), Al Ain Women's College, Abu Dhabi University, Paris-Sorbonne University-Abu Dhabi, ALHOSN University, Zayed University (ZU) Abu Dhabi campus and other educational institutes in the UAE competed in the Sport and Cultural Olympics for women last week. They played basketball, volleyball, soccer, table tennis, badminton and chess. The week-long competition was organised by UAEU and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and took place at UAEU in Al Ain.

For some students, this was their first sports competition. For others, it was the last championship of the year. UAEU was crowned the winner. However, for most students, the matches were a chance to take part in sports and even start preparing for next year's championships.

High spirits... and scores

UAEU came first in table tennis, football, volleyball and chess, in addition to a cultural category that tests students' knowledge of sports. The team also won second place in chess and third in badminton and basketball.

Asma Jomaa, a badminton player, started playing badminton seven years ago while in university. "I chose this sport because it's fun and unique," she said.

Seven years of practice has boosted her confidence immensely. "Our performance was great, even though my teammates in the volleyball team were not able to attend the final round," she said.

Hind Yassine has been playing chess since elementary school. Even though this was her first inter-collegiate competition, she was able to win second place.

Hind was also part of the volleyball and football teams. "We have been playing volleyball for four years; we often perform well," she told Notes.

ZU heats up the competition

ZU gave UAEU some tough competition. Wegdan Al Mutairi, international studies student at ZU's Abu Dhabi campus, participated in the basketball, football, volleyball, table tennis and badminton matches.

Her team won first place in the basketball and badminton categories. It earned them enough points to rank second in the overall competition.

"I played basketball and volleyball, but as a sports coordinator; I supervised all the games. Zayed University Abu Dhabi campus is always in competition with UAEU, and even in the finals it was us playing against them," Wegdan said.

ZU Abu Dhabi has participated in other sports competitions this year.

"We have been practising throughout the year in an institute outside the university because we do not have a gym. We felt prepared for this competition," Wegdan said.

As to why they didn't win the championships, she said: "Our team is good but sometimes we lack coordination during the game, because we constantly have new players on the team."

Getting in shape

The 20 aspiring athletes from Al Ain Women's College (AAWC) had only five days to practise for the competition. They participated in the football, basketball and volleyball categories.

Fatima Al Ameri, student services senior officer, said that students' preoccupation with academics and the lack of a university gymnasium were the two main reasons for the lack of practice.

"The fact that we can't play outdoors in university limited our ability to practise," said Maha Al Daheri, a first-year student enrolled in AAWC's classroom assistant programme.

"I had one week to train for this tournament and although this is very frustrating, it does not affect my motivation."

"It was hard for them to compete because they haven't competed for years, but they put in their best efforts," Fatima added.

Nayla Salem, foundation student at AAWC, played all three games her college had entered. "The hardest for me was football because I was goalkeeper and I hadn't trained well," she said. The best part, she said, was the excitement and support from the enthusiastic audience.

The AAWC volleyball coach, Angie Elsmore praised her students for their team spirit. "It was the first time they played together as a team, and I am sure they will get stronger in the future.... Team spirit is great considering this is their first experience," Elsmore said.

Gearing up for next year

Winners or losers, there will be future tournaments to prepare for.

"Next year we will prepare better and with enough training from the coach and motivation from the students, we will be able to win the competition," Fatima said.

Eman Al Daheri, a foundation student who volunteered to be part of the AAWC football team, said: "Competing against other players is a great feeling. I definitely want to be part of the team next year."

Championship winners, students from UAEU said they have a number of tournaments lined up next year. Alawiya Awad, sports coordinator and coach, said she was proud of her team's accomplishments and expected them to perform well in future too.

With levels of motivation being high among all the student participants at the competition, it looks like upcoming competitions will be fiercer than the one just passed.