Amidst a cacophony of shouts, cheers and the echoes of bouncing balls, young women from several Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) institutions were having the time of their lives playing sports for fun. It was not an ordinary sports tournament at Dubai Women's College (DWC) in Al Nahda, Dubai, where winning was the ultimate goal. Students from rival teams could be seen giving each other useful tips and encouraging each other to play better.
The tournament
For the first time, students from all the HCT women's colleges competed in football, volleyball and table tennis tournaments. The purpose was to promote friendly competition and for students to learn new skills and to experience positive competitive behaviour.
All students completed a one-hour skills session in their chosen sport before being divided into teams. DWC's health and physical education staff, with the assistance of female teachers from the other HCT campuses, conducted the sessions.
The staff said the competition did not pit one college against another; rather students from various campuses were teamed up.
Non-threatening sports environment
Julieanne Douglas, health and physical education teacher at DWC, said faculty members decided to have this first tournament because there were very few "non-threatening" tournaments for female students.
"The girls were competing in some university tournaments but it seems that the level they were playing at was a little too hard. So it wasn't much fun for the students and we wanted to have a sports event where the girls could mix with each other," Douglas said.
She added that staff wanted the event to be an inter-college event for all HCT women's colleges "because the students don't get to know one another and they're always competing against each other even though they're part of the same organisation".
She said: "We wanted them to come together and enjoy each other's company in a non-competitive and fun environment."
Douglas said students at the HCT tournament learnt basic skills in the first session and then were assigned to mixed teams and even skilled teams. Medals were given to the top three teams.
According to her, the students do not have a high skill level because they have not been exposed to a lot of physical education in primary and high school. "This is now changing, of course, but this generation of girls was not exposed much to physical education. So if you're not exposed to those skills, it's difficult to compete at university level and with students who've had different education systems."
Douglas said DWC would like to become more competitive in the future but first wanted students to have a positive sporting experience before training for competitions.
"We have done three sports and if everyone had fun today we'll do another one in April and change the sports; basketball will definitely be on the agenda. We will review those two tournaments and then we may branch out to the other colleges who may then host tournaments," she said.
Young sportswomen
Mariam Mousa Al Ameri, a business student at Sharjah Women's College (SWC), said she has been playing volleyball for several years. She was among the few accomplished volleyball players who took the time to offer advice and tips to less-skilled fellow students.
"The sport is not new to me. I was about 12 or 13 when I started playing in school and now I play at the college."
Mariam was also part of the Sharjah Women's Volleyball Club but dropped out when she started college. "I stopped playing because I could not focus on both — my studies and sports. The timings were also difficult."
Now Mariam trains about two hours a week and also helps her friends learn the sport.
Al Ain Women's College (AAWC) information technology student Zaina Askar Al Karbi also started young with volleyball. She has played with the Al Ain Sports Club and although she participates in some tournaments, they are not highly competitive. "It's just for fun," she said.
Zaina is one of the few female Emirati students who have played sports regularly from a young age. "I've been playing volleyball since I was 12 and I train about one hour a week. I love the sport — it's my favourite."
Kalaitham Al Shamsi, who is studying business and information technology at DWC, started playing sports when she was a child growing up in Umm Al Quwain.
She now lives in Dubai but says she loves all sports, especially basketball.
Kalaitham played table tennis on the day of the tournament but said not many girls wanted to play it.
"At DWC we have two hours of physical education a week but in high school it was only 45 minutes," she said, adding she would like to continue being active after college.
