The fourth edition of Ramadan Sports Festival organised by Aspire Zone Foundation reached its conclusion on Monday night, July 6, 2015. The festival has been characterised by a number of exciting and unique competitions since its launch on June 22, 2015 with high levels of skill on display in each of the different tournaments.

Basketball and Volleyball conclude the festival with fast-paced and exciting games

The final games of the men’s basketball and volleyball competitions were both played on the closing day of the festival. Team Kabayan Express was crowned champion of the basketball after defeating Doha ballers 30-29, with Kabayan Express securing victory in the last few seconds of the game. The results mean that Kabayan Express finished in first place, Doha ballers in second place and Spurs in third place. Additionally, team Always Young, whose members are mostly Qatari, was awarded on the final day of the competition with the best team prize.

In the men’s volleyball, the Qatar University team was crowned champions of the tournament, after defeating Palaboys 2-0, which came second overall. Team Voli Q came third after defeating Smaisma 2-0.

Excellent performance by Aspire Staff in the ladies table tennis

The Aspire staff table tennis tournament also finished on Sunday. During the competition, there were a number of closely fought games. Overall winner of the tournament was Marcelina Mouelhi, followed by Abegail Sabado who came second with Olga Pchelova in third place.

Commenting on her victory, Marcelina Mouelhi, said: “I’m delighted to have participated in the Ramadan Sports Festival for the first time. Each of the games I played in reaching the final were difficult and challenging. I’m very grateful to Aspire Zone Foundation for this initiative. It’s a great opportunity for staff to meet one another and challenge themselves outside of the office environment. I look forward to participating in more events in the future.”

At the end of the tournament, Mrs. Lolwa Al Marri, head of the Events Section in Aspire Logistics, awarded the tournament cup and medals.

2015 Ramadan Sports Festival: strong development and growth in sports and competitions

One of highlights of this year’s Ramadan Sports Festival has been the addition of a number of new sports which attracted large numbers of teams to participate, including those representing businesses, as well as individuals. New events this year included the Aspire Embassies Tournament which involved 12 teams representing diplomatic missions in Qatar, the Aspire Banks tournament in which eight local banks took part, and the junior futsal and women’s futsal tournaments.

Commenting on the growth and development of Aspire Zone Foundation’s Ramadan Sports Festival, Mr. Nasser Abdullah Al-Hajri, Marketing Director at Aspire Zone Foundation, said: “we are always looking to expand and develop our programmes. This reflects our ambition to broaden our activities to attract as many people as possible, of all ages and from different parts of the community. We want to encourage everyone to join us and play their favourite sport – this is in line with our vision of supporting an active and healthy society.”

Mr. Al-Hajri, added: “what really highlights the success of our festival, now in its fourth year, is the growing numbers of spectators and participants who have come back to take part, indicative of their support and enthusiasm for our programmes. Another key factor is our ability to provide and successfully organise all the necessary facilities and resources for all participants. We have a very professional technical and logistical team at Aspire Zone Foundation who have a great deal of experience in organising such major events – this is crucial to the success of the festival every year.”

With more than 1,200 participants, the festival’s 12 competitions covered a number of different sports including football, basketball for men and women, volleyball for men and women, table tennis for people with special needs, beach soccer, and American football.

Most of the competitions were held in the Aspire Dome, which provides world-class facilities, equipment and the ideal atmosphere for both players and spectators. The Dome’s cooled Multipurpose halls and pitch hosted a number of competitions including football, basketball and volleyball, in addition to a number of other sports.

Ongoing collaboration with national organisations

Aspire Zone Foundation has collaborated with a number of important organisations in delivering a several of the sports, including competitions that had specific requirements. For example, the table tennis tournament for people with special needs was organised in collaboration with the Qatar Paralympic Committee. The competition was widely praised by participants. Faisal Jaber, the eventual winner of the mental disability category, said: “I would like to thank Aspire Zone Foundation for this unique tournament and its continued support. This is the first time I have taken part in the Ramadan Sports Festival and it was a great feeling to come first. I look forward to participating in future events.”

Aspire Zone Foundation also collaborated with the Qatar Women’s Sport Committee in organising a group of ladies competitions such as the basketball, volleyball and the futsal tournament.

The Futsal: increasing demand

For the first time, futsal tournaments were organised in a number of different categories during this year’s Ramadan Sports Festival. The futsal tournaments proved to be a massive success, attracting large numbers of fans and participants. The number of participating teams across the different categories exceeded 25 teams in total.

Continued communication with audience and media

In line with its efforts to spread the benefits of the Ramadan Sports Festival as widely as possible, Aspire Zone Foundation has kept in touch continually with a variety of interested parties to update them on the festival programme and the results. A dedicated page was created for this reason at www.lifeinaspire.com to highlight the results each day. Aspire Zone Foundation also had a daily news release covering the festival’s activities in local newspapers and online news portals, in addition to interacting with audiences through social media channels.

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QNE

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