Saad Al-Suwaidi
The Al Galayel Hunting Championship is back in its 9th edition and is considered to be one of the best in the region.
Teams compete in a series of competitions to test their traditional Hunting skills, hunting for Antelope, Bustards, and Karwan over 900 Square KM Area in a nature reserve located in the South of Qatar. Contestants are judged based on the amount of game hunted.
Each team is composed of 6 to 8 members. The competition is comprised of 4 heats each of 4 teams. The winner of each heat goes through to the final. The organizing committee of the tournament provides the quarries, which are released strategically during the course of the competition. Quarries are tagged with Algalayel Championship identifiers. 1 million Qatari Riyals will be awarded to 1st place.
The Al-Sulaimi team swept the opening day of the first group of the Galayel hunting championship.
The team rose to first of the group by hunting sixteen Houbara Bustards, earning four hundred points, Team Dukhan came in second with a hundred and fifty points, by hunting six Houbaras.
Al-Shaqab came in third hunting five Houbara and achieving 125 points, Al-Sadd came 4th with 100 points with its share of 4 Houbrara’s and Azzam team ranked fifth with 75 points only by catching three Houbaras.
The Algalayel provides a living example of the rich heritage of Qatar so that the youth of the country understand better their legacy. The competition provides great examples of strong, wise role models for all the people of Qatar and the Gulf. The traditions inherited in the desert life and what it teaches in terms of skills are sophistication, intelligent leadership, and the art of coexistence are televised and coverage is of an extremely high standard utilizing local and international filmmakers.