Locations and venues for the 3rd Arab Women Sports Tournament (AWST 2016) have been announced by the 3rdSupervisory and Follow-up Committee meeting.Organisers say that the selected halls and stadiums will host all the competitions, as well as provide workout and training space for participating teams. The pan-Arab event, taking place from 2-12 February, hosted by Sharjah and organized by the Women Sports Department at the Sharjah Ladies Club (SLC), will take place across eight venues.Sharjah Ladies Club will host volleyball, the 10-meter rifle and 10-meter pistol shooting competitions. Basketball is to be held at SLC, Al-Shaab Cultural & Sporting Club, and Sharjah Cultural &Sports Club while fencingcompetitions will take place at the Waset Youth Center.Al Thiqah Club for Handicapped will host the athletics and bow-and-arrow competitions and Al Dhaid Cultural & Sports Club will host the 25-meter pistol shooting competitions.
Table tennis will be hosted by the Higher Colleges of Technology in Sharjah, while the Sharjah Equestrian Club will host Showjumping.The announcement was made at the third meeting of the Supervisory and Follow-Up Committee by committee head, Sheikha Hayat bint Abdulaziz Al-Khalifa, member of the Bahrain Olympic Committee Board, with HE Nada Al Naqbi,Deputy Head of the Organizing Committee for the Arab Women Sports Tournament, Head of the Executive Committee, and Manager of the tournament; Khaled Al Hussein, representative of the Public Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare, and committee members, Saad Mohammed Zayed Sofiani, Basil al Shaer,and Howayda Khalil Makki.Sheikha Hayat, who was honoured by the committee for receiving the International Olympic Committee Women and Sport Award for 2015 for the continent of Asia, said that all the venues and stadiums adhered to global standards adopted by the international federations of each game. Sheikha Khalifa added, “Due to its commitment to achieve the best results, the technical follow-up committee gave its members adequate time to select the halls and venues in which the competitions will be held so that the selection would be based on agreed international standards.”
HE Nada Al Naqbi added that in the selection process, the committee took into account all technical aspects related to facilities at the stadiums and venues. Al Naqbi said, “We took into consideration international standards for each sport and examined issues such as the flooring and equipment, making sure that they meet quality standards and would not cause injuries among players. We also examined changing rooms and the capacity of stadiums, and public safety and security procedures inside stadiums and halls.” The AWST was launched after the Sharjah Ladies Club organized a number of successful sports tournaments called Gulf Countries Competition (GCC). Following the success of GCC, HH Sheikha Jawaher established the Women Sports Department in 2008. Arab countries outside the Gulf expressed interest in taking part in future events and as a result, HH Sheikha Jawaher developed the Arab Women Sports Tournament, the first of its kind in the Arab World. Two editions of AWST have already been successfully organized in 2012 and 2014. Contestants participate in eight games; basketball, volleyball, table tennis, fencing, archery, shooting, athletics and show jumping.
Tournament Sponsors:
The Arab Women's Sports Tournament enjoys the support of several leading organizations in the UAE, including the Platinum Sponsor, Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat), the Golden Sponsor, International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), and fourBronze Sponsors: Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority; Golf and Shooting Club Sharjah; Sharjah International Airport and Al Jawaher Reception & Convention Centre. Sharjah Media Corporation is the tournament’s strategic media sponsor, the media sponsors are National Network Communications and Dar Al Khaleej Printing & Publishing. Presenting Media Sponsor is Sharjah Media. Fast Building Contracting Company is the strategic sponsor of SLC’s sports teams, Air Arabia is the official airline, Sharjah Sports TV is the official television channel andthe official contractor for hospitality services, Kunooz Events & Catering with the supporting sponsor, Zalal.