The Peninsula
Qatar will celebrate the 9th edition of its National Sports Day on Tuesday. The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), along with various national sports federations, will mark the day by offering members of the public a wide-ranging program of sports activities and demonstrations.
The National Sports Day has been celebrated across Qatar since 2012 and is an extremely popular day that aims to bring people together in celebration of sport while encouraging people of all ages to stay fit and active.
QOC has also again organized a Team Qatar Sports Village to be held at Barahat Msheireb in Doha from 8am until 8pm.
The event will feature a diverse range of sports catering for all ages, including: athletics, basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, table tennis, boxing, wrestling, taekwondo, karate and judo. Throughout the day there will also be live sports workshops featuring gymnastics and martial arts, as well as on-stage entertainment from football freestylers and sport jugglers.
Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain, Secretary-General of the QOC, said: “This year is an Olympic year, which makes National Sport Day 2020 an even more significant day! The events and activities we have planned with the valuable help of national sport federations and stakeholders, will give our community the opportunity to try new sports and enjoy engaging workshops. There will be an opportunity to meet with some of Team Qatar’s star athletes. It is our hope that these world-class athletes will encourage young people to be physically active, and perhaps even inspire the future generation of Qatari athletes.
“Qatar recognises the importance of sports, and it is a key goal of ours to encourage people to stay fit and active, not only on National Sport Day, but all year long. Qatar is one of the first countries in the world to have a paid national holiday which is dedicated solely to sports and exercise, which reflects both the forward-thinking leadership of Qatar’s sports leaders, and the fact that sport is an important pillar of the Qatar National Vision 2030.”
One of QOC’s primary aims for the National Sports Day is to promote a healthy community both physically and psychologically by educating the community on the many benefits of participating in sports.
QOC’s efforts to promote sports, physical education and sustainable development within the community are all steps towards helping to achieve the Qatar National Vision 2030.
National Sport Day is a pioneering initiative adopted by The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who issued the Amiri Decree No. 80 for the year 2011 on December 6, 2011, concerning the National Sport Day. The Decree states that the second Tuesday of every February shall be a sports day which encourages everyone to participate in sporting activities.