The Katara Sports Village - IGO Katara - opened on the first day of Eid al-Adha, has begun to attract families to enjoy playing different sports and games. The facility, which is located at Amusement City inside Katara and spread over 64,000sqm, is offering about 29 games with play areas for paintball, football, basketball, high jump, baseball, tennis as well as skateboarding and bicycle stunts. Inside one of the two mini football pitches, families were seen having fun playing against each other. Two youngsters were playing a penalty shootout at a goal post where four effigies representing defence players were kept. Children were also seen climbing trees, playing gladiators and walking with the giant soft ball. The Sports Village has been designed to entertain family members of all ages. A group of Filipinos belonging to the Qatar Extreme Sports-Skateboarding community were seen showing off their skills at the quarter ramps. “Skateboarding for us can be described as pure hobby or a lifestyle as we have been doing this for years and you can see that we are all adults,” Carl, a member of the group, said. He thanked the Katara management for including the skateboarding and BMX stunt ramps in the village. “It is a good thing that IGO Katara has brought this here because the venue is currently offering us a proper platform to do our sport,” he said. There are currently up to 60 members belonging to the group. “This is a fun place and especially good for the kids, in good weather. I also noticed that it is well supervised given the number of staff around,” an English woman, who came with her family to enjoy the games, said. Ameera from Lebanon also described the facility as a nice place while mentioning that her children had earlier enjoyed rolling inside the giant soft ball. “My children have just finished trying a number of games and now they are preparing to play football with their father here,” she said pointing to one of the two mini football pitches. A section next to the football pitches serves as a football training ground for the players. Aside the sports rides, the Village also has other facilities such as a ‘Grab and Go’ corner where food and beverages as well as water is being sold. There are also convenience rooms situated close to the entrance of the facility. The Village opens from Tuesday to Sunday every week from 4pm to 10pm. Tickets are priced at QR50 for five credits, QR90 (10 credits) and QR120 (15 credits) and tickets are valid for up to 10 months. Players are eligible to play each game with one credit. http://www.gulf-times.com/qatar/178/details/369018/katara-sports-village-opens

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