The Sharjah Sports Family Award (SSFA)’s Board of Trustees conducted a workshopon Wednesday (July 11) to shed light on the second edition of the award, its goals, categories and participation criteria at the General Authority for Sports.Organised by the Sharjah Sports Council (SSC), SSFA enjoys the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs and Chairperson of SSFA. The activity marks the beginning of a series of promotional campaigns planned by the Award’s Board of Trustees in cooperation with federal and local sports clubs and athletic bodies and institutions. It is in line with SSC’s strategies to strengthen cooperation and partnership with these institutions in order to encourage and attract the largest number of Emirati families from across the UAE to participate in the award.The workshop was attended by HE Issa Hilal Al Hazami, Secretary General of SSC; HE Nada Askar Al Naqbi, SSFA Secretary General and Director General of Sharjah Women’s Sports Foundation (SWSF); Dr. Salah Taher, Head of SSFA’s Technical and Arbitrarily Committee; HE Abdullah Ibrahim, President of Sports Media Association, and members of the local sports federations, and a group of players from SWSFclubs.HE Issa Hilal Al Hazami underlined the award’s objectives and the role it plays in creating a new generation of young Emirati leaders in sports. He emphasised that the award reflects HH Jawaher Al Qasimi’svision to inspire Emirati nationals to lead a healthy lifestyle and embrace sporting activitiesand provide everything that would encourage Emirati families to adopt sporting and physical activity that reflects positively on their mental and physical health and their lifestyles.
HE Nada Askar Al Naqbi made a detailed presentation of the award’s philosophy, and the goals of the upcoming edition. She highlighted the importance of choosing the General Authority for Sports as the first destination for its promotion campaign because the authority is the umbrella under which all sporting activities fall, a move that will contribute to strengthening the award’s messages and helping attract the largest possible number of entrants.Al Naqbi said: “The extent of a community’s involvement in sports is one of the strongest indicators of people’s wellbeing and national progress. A family’s active perusal of sports not only benefits its health, but also contributes to strengthening a community environment conducive to unlocking one’s creativity potentials in a variety of sports.“Thefamily is the first school. It is within their familiesthat children are introduced to human values and their characters are shaped. The family is the starting point of growth and development, and should be given the recognition and opportunities they need to be able to build healthy and capable generations who will serve our nation.” Dr. Salah Taher highlighted the latest updates on the award’s second edition, which spans four categories, including“Sporting Family”, “Family of Sports Heroes,”“Hero/Heroine with a Disability” and “Family Participation in Community and Health Sports”.
Dr. Mohammed Abdul Azim said the award will continue to receive applications on its website,www.ssfa.ae, until December 12. Outlining the participation criteria, he said that it was limited to Emirati nationals with outstanding achievements in individual or collective sports, both locally and internationally. In a detailed presentation, the deputy head of the Award’s Technical and Arbitrarily Committee explained how to apply and revealed that the winners will be announced and honoured during a ceremony in February 2019. Launched in 2014, SSFAreflects Sharjah’s keenness to ensure human health and safety. The award aims to foster a spirit of athleticism and loyalty in children, giving them a better sense of their national identity. The award is also dedicated to motivating young Emiratis to join sports clubs, athletic institutions and national teams to receive training that will equip them to pursue sports locally and internationally. It also focuses on the efforts of Emirati sporting families who contribute to enriching the local sporting scene with trained athletes who secured the biggest achievements in individual as well as team sports.