ASPIRE launches talent centres to boost sport in Qatar
January 16, 2007
An imaginative talent program run by ASPIRE, Doha’s Academy for Sports Excellence, launched this month, aimed at increasing levels of fitness and creating greater sporting participation among children in Qatar.
The pioneering Talent Centres are located at ASPIRE and six independent schools, run by members of the Academy’s dedicated Talent Centre team and aided by specially trained physical education teachers.
Children aged between seven and 11 are taking part in the regular extra-curricular classes, which introduce them to a range of new sporting disciplines using ASPIRE’s advanced techniques and facilities.
For the first time this year, multi-sport classes are open to girls as well as boys, to help ensure that sporting opportunity is accessible to all.
Dr. Hazem Anabtawi, Sports Coordinator at ASPIRE said: “A central part of ASPIRE’s philosophy is to encourage healthy activity across the community. We want children to attend the Talent Centres to boost not only their overall fitness, but also their enjoyment of sport.
“Discovering untapped sporting talent and inspiring a wider interest in sport are key priorities for ASPIRE, and we hope the new Talent Centres will provide the opportunity for many children to flourish and develop positive attitudes towards participation in sport.”
A fundamental part of the program includes developing movement skills, such as running, jumping, throwing, kicking, catching, hitting, balancing and rotation. An emphasis will also be placed on physical fitness.
Learning these skills is vitally important to primary school children, as this age group has been proven to possess the fastest rate of learning ability. The Talent Centres are specifically designed to maximise this potential for lifelong fitness, benefiting the individual and the community as a whole.
The most important core concept is that young people should participate in as wide a range of sporting activities as possible, and keep their options open about the sports they follow later in life. Developing a range of transferable skills enables them to actively participate in a wide range of sports, and also helps them keep fit and active.
Dr. Andreas Bleicher, ASPIRE Sports Manager, said: “The Talent Centres are designed to provide an ideal environment to give children the best start and opportunity to identify their sporting strengths. ASPIRE is seeing a large number of children with a great deal of passion and excitement for sport, which bodes very well for the future of sport in Qatar.”